The beauty of sports—especially sports played in big cities with multiple professional teams—is that fanbases of teams across different leagues come together to embrace big moments when one team is on a special run. Such an instance occurred during Game 1 of the World Series, the ending of which coincided with the Phoenix Suns' game against the Los Angeles Lakers at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles.
Dodger Stadium and the city of Los Angeles were positively buzzing Friday night after star first baseman Freddie Freeman belted a walk-off grand slam to power the Los Angeles Dodgers to victory. And the energy and enthusiasm spread into the Crypto.com Arena, where replays on the video scoreboard showed Freeman's dramatic walk-off.
The arena erupted into cheers.
Fans in LA for Suns-Lakers reacted to Freddie Freeman's walk-off grand slam to win Game 1 of the #WorldSeries pic.twitter.com/QfA3pnuMab
— ESPN (@espn) October 26, 2024
But it wasn't just the fans who were tuned into the incredible moment. Television cameras caught Suns guard Bradley Beal's amusing reaction to Freeman's grand slam.
"Oh he spanked it for game ... Freddie Freeman ... OOOOOO." 😂
— ESPN (@espn) October 26, 2024
Bradley Beal reacting to Freddie Freeman's walk-off home run in Game 1 of the World Series. pic.twitter.com/WxBUriqZaL
That face expression is priceless. Beal was one of several players who found themselves lost in the World Series moment, despite the fact that they were in the middle of a game themselves.
"That s--t was crazy," Lakers star forward Anthony Davis told reporters when asked about Freeman's walk-off. "I was actually like checked-out for a second and looked up. (Forward) LeBron (James) was just listening, the way the ball sounded when he hit it, it was... yeah."
Davis added a "Go Dodgers" for good measure.
Anthony Davis on the crowd…and Freddie Freeman. pic.twitter.com/jmQKKHYITQ
— Dan Woike (@DanWoikeSports) October 26, 2024
Meanwhile, it didn't take long for Lakers' first-year coach JJ Redick, whose team started slow out of the gate Friday night, to figure out why the fans at Crypto.com Arena were cheering.
"With my deductive reasoning, I figured it was only one thing," Redick deadpanned. "That the Dodgers won."
Friday night was a good night overall for Los Angeles sports. The Dodgers took Game 1 and the Lakers stormed back from a 22-point deficit to defeat the Suns.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Freddie Freeman's Dodgers Walk-Off Led to Priceless Reactions During Lakers-Suns Game.
