Magic Johnson arrived in Los Angeles as a wide-eyed teenager in 1979, when Dusty Baker, Ron Cey and Steve Garvey starred for the team that had captured the affection of the city.
“I've seen how the Dodgers can be as big as the Lakers,” Johnson said when he announced his pursuit of an ownership stake in the Dodgers in 2011, “and I want that to happen again.”
His vision has come to pass, at least by one measure. The Dodgers are more popular than the Lakers, for the first time in the four years a Loyola Marymount survey has asked Los Angeles County residents to identify their favorite pro sports team.