Crowning Moment

Rebounding from the excesses of Monday night, when a celebration of the Lakers’ NBA championship turned into an explosive free-for-all, an estimated 250,000 people filled the streets of downtown Los Angeles on Wednesday for a mostly peaceful, mostly joyful parade honoring the hometown heroes.

The day was marred by reports of sporadic looting and rowdy behavior in the streets around Staples Center, the scene of the Lakers’ season-long glory and of Monday night’s rampage. And an estimated 150-200 people were treated for heat-related problems on a warm, dry day.

But for most of those who turned out for the parade and a brief rally at Staples, it was a glorious day that crowned a season of pride and accomplishment.

“Man, they gave me chills,” said one fan, Michael Charlie of La Puente, who caught a glimpse of Shaq, Kobe and Co. after about eight hours of waiting. He wasn’t kidding about the chills. “Look at these!” he said, holding up his arm. It was covered with goose bumps.

“Everybody’s got the same spirit; everybody’s got the same colors, same shirts on,” said Raymond Lomax, 38, of Los Feliz, marveling at how Laker fever had managed to bring together the city’s disparate communities. For once, he said, “We’re all united.”

Even the beleaguered Los Angeles Police Department drew cheers as its officers roared along the parade route on motorcycles. After taking a relatively restrained stance Monday, police were in a no-nonsense mood, firmly controlling the large crowds in many spots and aggressively going after lawbreakers. More than 600 officers were deployed on foot, horseback, bicycles and motorcycles, and in helicopters and patrol cars.

Their efforts were not enough to stop every instance of hooliganism, however. In one case, a crowd of several hundred people, mostly young men, marched down Figueroa Street, smashing windows, rocking cars and buses back and forth, looting at least one store and throwing a bottle at a patrol car.

“They did it again? You’re kidding me,” Mac Katal, the owner of Alarms Depot Inc., said when he heard that, for the second time in three days, a plate-glass window had been smashed at his warehouse at 21st Street and Figueroa.

The manager of his company, Payman Moradian, said the window had been broken inadvertently by the owner of a catering truck who threw a rock at looters. Moradian complained that police were nowhere to be found.

“What happened to the police? I thought they were going to come,” he said. “I think this is the police’s fault.”

Police did eventually arrive in force, detaining more than 30 people. In all there were 12 arrests Wednesday.

The outbreaks of lawlessness were relatively isolated, though, and out of character with the rest of the day’s events.

The phrase of the day was “Bling Bling,” Laker center Shaquille O’Neal’s hip-hop way of describing the sparkle on a championship ring. The words were immortalized on thousands of placards and banners, and seemed to sum up the luminous, effervescent feel of the parade, which showcased the best side of the city’s nature: multinational, multiethnic, passionate, casual and hip.

“I love L.A., man,” said Jason Navarro of Sherman Oaks, who emigrated from the Philippines 10 years ago. He stood outside Staples Center, ground zero of the celebration, with four members of his family, all of whom had arrived at 6:30 a.m. for a parade that didn’t begin until close to noon and didn’t reach Staples until about 1 p.m.

“We can’t miss this,” said his mother-in-law, Amelia Lising. “We want to be part of history.”

Nearly everybody wore or waved something purple and gold, whether it was a championship T-shirt, a large foam hand with the index finger raised triumphantly, a cap, a sign, a flag or a pennant. Most common of all: Laker jerseys, with No. 8 (Bryant) outnumbering No. 34 (O’Neal) about 2 to 1.

Javier Aguilar, a 23-year-old construction worker, wore No. 8, its rear neckline riding just south of a tattoo that bore the name of his hometown, La Puente, in neatly scripted letters. “Why Kobe?” he asked. “Because Kobe pulled it through in Game 4. He was The Man when Shaq fouled out. Kobe showed he could pull the team through.”

A few feet away, mixing into the crowd outside the parade’s starting point, the Department of Water and Power building at 1st and Hope streets, Tiffany Green was decked out in a No. 34 jersey, a “Bling Bling” sign attached to her head like some sort of weird, rectangular antenna. She had skipped out of work at the county assessor’s office to watch the parade, and was happy to explain why she was wearing O’Neal’s jersey.

“‘Cause I love Shaq,” she said. “I love Shaq. There’s only one Superman!”

The parade began about 11:30 a.m. after a 20-minute ceremony at the DWP. An estimated 3,000 fans had gathered outside the main entrance.

Purple and yellow streamers descended on O’Neal, the NBA’s most valuable player, as he led Coach Phil Jackson and his teammates to the stage. Among those joining them were Mayor Richard Riordan and Laker announcer Chick Hearn.

“They are the first champions of the 21st century--the start of a great dynasty,” said Riordan, proclaiming June 21 Lakers Day in Los Angeles.

As the crowd chanted “MVP, MVP, MVP,” O’Neal took the podium and said: “It was great doing all this for the city. We’re gonna try to get ‘em again next year. I love you all.”

The parade proceeded down Figueroa. The Lakers, their staff and families rode on the top levels of four double-decker buses, waving to the fans and periodically being pelted with T-shirts, hats and other paraphernalia that fans wanted--and usually didn’t get--autographed.

At the start of the parade, fans were lined up four to eight deep, but the crowd thickened as the team proceeded along the route, spilling well into the street by the time the procession got to Wilshire Boulevard.

Waving their flags and banners and creating a gale-force roar, fans crowded in close, craning for a glimpse of their heroes. Some climbed trees to obtain an unobstructed view. Others watched from parking garages, office windows and the balcony of Seventh Market Place. At the Wilshire Grand Hotel, fans dumped confetti out of windows, and one held out a sign that read “Lakers Can You Play Football Too?”

Once the Lakers reached Staples, they gazed out over tens of thousands of fans filling the arena’s parking lots. Some had been waiting since 4 a.m.

One by one, team members addressed the crowd, culminating in words of wisdom from Shaq. “Can you dig it?” he asked.

In contrast to Monday night, the amount of disorder Wednesday was minor, but it was enough to ruin the day for some people and leave some business managers wondering what will happen when the city hosts the Democratic National Convention in August.

An attendant at a Chevron station on Figueroa was hurt when a gang of looters rushed into the station, snatched chips, candy and cigarettes and hit the attendant in the face, Chevron Corp. spokesman Rod Spackman said.

Not far away, police arrested five men after someone threw a bottle at a police car at 18th and Hope streets. The arrests, and the temporary closure of the nearby Blue Line station at Grand Street, prompted a crowd to gather and begin chanting epithets at police.

In addition, authorities said, a construction site and about a dozen cars were vandalized at 11th and Figueroa streets, adjacent to the new sports arena.

At the nearby Holiday Inn, a group of young men tore down the chain link fence at a construction site, knocked over stacks of drywall and broke bathroom fixtures that were going to be installed at the hotel.

“This is stupid,” said Randy Murrietta, 20, of La Puente as he removed the shattered windshield of his 1993 Ford Aerostar on Wednesday afternoon. “People try to have fun, but they end up acting like animals and destroy what isn’t theirs.”

Looking ahead to August and the Democratic National Convention, Jorge Mujica, the owner of Elvi’s One Hour Photo on Figueroa, wondered whether there would be more trouble.

“With so many people on the streets for the Lakers celebration, we were worried,” Mujica said. “But we have more worry about the convention. We’ve heard that there might be professional demonstrators there.”

Times writers Johnathon E. Briggs, Manuel Gamiz Jr., Jeffrey Gettleman, Carla Hall, Doug Shuit, Erin Texeira and Dan Weikel contributed to this story.

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* SALUTE GRATIFIES LAKERS

Shaquille O’Neal said fans will have another chance to “do the right thing” when team wins the title next year. D1