Laker Girls

Uh, may Lawrence Tanner rest in peace.

I know that the fact that I remember just the way he said, "Laker Girls," is probably not the thing that he wants to be remembered for, but it is.

Sorry.

But man, voice of Lakers basketball arena, in arena for so many years.

So, you know, Kobe Bryant, you're Los Angeles Lakers.

Laker girls.

Laker

girls.

That's him?

Yeah.

Laker Girls.

And he

So I always tried to do something funny or silly.

Like in Spamalot, I busted out the Laker girls, like just...

Do the right thing.

I wish this was not a podcast so you can see me like crumping at the table.

I just keep on weeping.

The good news is that I was able to get it together.

The entrance that I went on for was the second one of the show for the women, the Laker girls, and we come up through a trap door.

And I remember just wiping my tears as the trap door was coming up.

... of any woman shown is being sexualized.

The Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders, the Laker Girls, we take these things as just, oh, yeah, they're, they've been that way for decades, but I go to a lot of Lakers games.

I live in Los Angeles, and I'm watching practically naked women writhing on the floor and moving their hips, and, you know, I, I, I know some of those women, and I don't begrudge them their job, but it is setting a tone that is, hey, women are to be looked at.

Women aren't to do anything.

Another big record with a couple of huge hits, not our style of music, Paula Abdul's Forever Your Girl was a monster album that was in everybody's face-

...

in 1988.

Mm-hmm.

She was a Laker Girl.

Laker Girl, Paula Abdul.

Weird Al came out with Even Worse.

It was, no, it was Winning Time, the rise of, it was HBO, Winning Time, the rise of the Lakers dynasty.

And what was interesting on the Lakers girls, they were wanting like, so when the new owner came in, Jerry Buss, he really wanted it to be as exotic as could be.

And, you know, at the time, I think they just had cheerleaders.

They were