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John Russell's sports column appears Sundays in Steamboat Today. Contact him at 871-4209 or e-mail jrussell@steamboatpilot.com.

Steamboat Springs — The sting lasted for a few days, but the hangover from the Denver Nuggets, 4-2, series loss to the Los Angeles Lakers could have haunted me for the rest of the summer.

Thankfully, a well-timed vacation to Las Vegas and a few highlights from the Lakers' celebration party were all it took to bring a smile back to my face.

It's not that I'm a poor sport. The Lakers beat the Nuggets and rolled past the Orlando Magic in the NBA Finals. The team deserves to celebrate the championship. But is it really worthy of a parade?

In my closed mind, I feel like parades should be reserved for things like the Fourth of July and New Year's Day, when most people are too hungover to tune in for TV.

I'm a huge Broncos fan, I love the Avalanche, and my love for the Nuggets dates back to David Thompson and Dan Issel - before he was a coach.

If, by some fluke of nature, the Nuggets had upset the heavily favored Los Angeles team and won the title, we would have endured seven-day-a-week coverage, and we would have a new state color, powder blue, and a new state bird, Chris Andersen.

The good news is that Colorado sports fans didn't have to endure the crowds, traffic and frustration that would have come from a downtown parade or the mass assembly at Civic Center Park.

The Avalanche hosted huge celebrations after the 1995-96 season and again after the 2000-01 season. And after the Broncos Super Bowl success in 1998 and 1999, I wondered whether Colorado would ever have regular TV again.

I love the titles - I simply hate all the hype that follows the big game.

After the Lakers won, Los Angeles hosted a huge celebration. The final cost was in the neighborhood of $2 million.

What a waste in a state in which education and other government agencies are envious of General Motors' current financial position. Isn't this the same state in which American action icon Arnold Schwarzenegger can't find the script to save the day?

To be fair, all of the money for the Lakers celebration came from outside sources, but if the Lakers wanted to earn my respect, they would have encouraged donors to give the money to schools or some other public program that's been hit with cuts in the wake of Los Angeles' half-billion-dollar debt.

But based on the number of people who came out to the Lakers' post-championship celebration, I guess I'm in the minority.

It seems the post-championship celebration has become the norm for professional sports, and those of us who don't view it as important will be left behind.

I will continue to cheer for the Denver Nuggets to win an NBA title, but don't expect me to get too excited about a parade. Personally, I hope to be on vacation at the time.