I’ve got to be honest with you guys, the regular season is starting to bore me. Am I alone on this one? I’d imagine I feel a lot like Jack Black does while he’s eating dinner. Regular food just doesn’t taste as good when you know the desert is coming out next. I mean, nothing washes down a platter of ribs like a pound of cake, right Jack?

Here’s what we know about the Lakers:

• They won the West by a landslide.
• They blew their chance at home-court throughout by losing to Philly and Atlanta.
• They really could care less about the remaining nine games on their schedule.

Of course, they’d never say that, but we all know actions speak far louder than words. I could spend this article writing and re-writing the same things you’ve been reading and re-reading, but where’s the fun in that? If I wanted to be repetitive, I could always take a job writing for the CW.

Instead, let’s build from what we talked about in last weeks’ OOB: Emotional Lakers Fans.

A few years ago, my roommate Wade (Ironically a huge Miami Heat fan), slipped a box of Boca Chicken Patties in the freezer. One lonely night, for some unexplainable reason, I decided to eat one, fully assuming that I would instantaneously find myself in the Mary-Kate Olsen position by the toilet. I couldn’t have been more wrong. I started eating those chicken patties like they would magically turn into abs. I’d eat a chicken burger, a double-chicken burger, a salad with chicken; any food inclusive of a soy chicken patty was amazing.

I mean, who knew that soy protein actually increases estrogen levels in the human body? Surely not I. Of course, that explained Gossip Girl and an increased number of hair products, but what about all the emotional outbursts during Lakers games? What is it about sports, or more specifically the Lakers, that can turn a grown man into a clingy, overly-emotional chick?

Let’s explore.

Every regular season, we spend about 250 hours watching the Lakers. If you want to include the playoffs, the time spent reading articles (like this one) and watching highlights, you’re probably up to around 375 hours of life invested into pure Lakers basketball.

That’s the equivalent of just over nine regular work weeks. Imagine putting nine weeks worth of time into something at work, only to see it blow up like that one girl you used to date in Jr. High. Simply put, the more time invested, the more sway it has on our emotions. When the Lakers win, we win, because our small time investment paid off. When the Lakers lose, we lose, because our small time investment seems wasted.

Makes sense, right?

It explains why life suddenly stops when Bynum is holding his knee on the floor; and why we have a sense of hope when we hear his return is close.

It explains why we’ll be disappointed when Lebron James hoists his first MVP trophy; and why we’ll feel redeemed when Kobe Bryant hoists his first Finals MVP trophy.

Lastly, it explains why last years’ Finals loss to the Celtics still stings; and why this years’ championship celebration will make us forget it all.

You can also view this article by visiting The Lakers Nation.