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Phoenix Suns Buy 'Beat.LA' Domain Name to Drum Up Rivalry vs. Los Angeles
August 7, 2013
When the Phoenix Suns plan for the future, they plan for the future.
Andrew Allemann of Domain Name Wire (h/t Yahoo! Sports) reports that the Phoenix Suns have purchased the Beat.la domain to help inflate the rivalry between the two cities:
As for the Phoenix Suns, the NBA team bought Beat.la for $5,300. GoDaddy just started a marketing push to help brand .la as the domain name for Los Angeles, even though it’s the country code domain for Laos. This is a clever domain for the Suns to drum up their rivalry.
This has "inevitable convenience" written all over it.
The Suns finished with the Western Conference's worst record last season (25-57) and will likely contend for such an unflattering feat once again. As bad as the Los Angeles Lakers are projected to be by some, they still aren't going to be in the same class as Phoenix.
Chances are the Suns' latest investment will bolster the preexisting dislike somewhat, just not to where blinding rage inspires fans to drive the wrong way around their cul-de-sac.
Reviving a once-heated rivalry will take time. More specifically, it will take both teams being good or playoff bound.
Don't forget about those Los Angeles Clippers either. Phoenix isn't just trolling the Lakers, its calling out all of Los Angeles. With the Clippers as dominant as they are, the Suns, like the internet's version of the Boy Scouts, are prepared to take them on as well.
Clearly, however, this acquisition has more to do with the Lakers. They've met the Suns in the playoffs 12 times, the last of which saw Los Angeles take down Phoenix en route to an NBA title in 2010.
Most recently, Steve Nash's desire to win forced the Suns to ship him off to Hollywood last summer in exchange for a handful of draft picks. Sending your best player to a team you hate had to hurt.
But the Suns will lament their "Nashlessness" and 4-8 postseason deficit to the Lakers no more.
They may be light years away from a playoff berth, and this rivalry isn't so much burning as it is flickering or completely extinguished, but the Suns are ready.
One day, in the very distant future, the Suns will wear their newest web domain like a utility belt, ready to take on the Los Angeles Lakers once again.
That's not to be confused with the Laos Lakers.