Far, far away from Indianapolis, where the palm trees bluster in the breeze — 1,997 miles away in Hesperia, California — is a mayor named Larry Bird. No. He wasn't named after that other Larry Bird. That Larry Bird was only in kindergarten when the mayor was born.

Mayor Bird's family owned this name long before Indiana had even heard a whisper of its beloved French Lick baller turned Boston Celtics superstar.

The late 50s-something Mayor Bird's dad is Larry Bird and his grandpa is Larry Bird. His son is the fourth generation of Larry Birds.

Yet Mayor Bird, even with a reign over a city of nearly 100,000 people and a job as a high school principal, has never quite been able to get away from the basketball version of his name. Every day. Every time. When people hear his name, they reference the Larry Bird.

Mayor Bird can hold his own with the Larry Bird talk. He knows all about him. Too much about him.

He rooted against Larry Bird his entire life.

Rough as a rival

Mayor Bird was a senior in high school, sitting with his dad in a crowd doused in forest green T-shirts. The Bird family — which has lived in the Hesperia area for decades — was at the 1979 NCAA championship game in Salt Lake City.

They were there as a senior gift for Mayor Bird, to cheer for the player he adored — Michigan State's Earvin "Magic" Johnson.

He was taking on Indiana State's Larry Bird.

Awkward.

It was a bit unfortunate. Mayor Bird's dad had grown up in Michigan and was a diehard Spartans fan. His cousin had gone to high school with Johnson. Living in California, the Birds went on to become intense L.A. Lakers fans.

"So, we literally rooted against Larry Bird his whole career," said Mayor Bird. "But, boy, did we respect Larry’s game. He was amazing. But it was rough with him being on our rival team. Really rough."

When Bird began to make news in the late 1970s, the elder Bird was a high school basketball coach. Mayor Bird's dad coached basketball for 40 years at the high school and college level. And he was good at it. He is in the Southern California Hall of Fame.

Mayor Bird was a junior in high school when basketball Bird started to make a name for himself at Indiana State.

Still, it was Johnson's last college game and first pro game — when the Lakers played the Clippers in San Diego in 1979 — that Mayor Bird was sure to attend.

Wonder if Johnson ever knew just how hard Larry Bird rooted for him?

Potholes and politics

These days, with Johnson retired and Mayor Bird deep in a career and with a family, basketball has taken a backseat to potholes and politics.

He became mayor of Hesperia in December when, after a new city council was seated, Bird was appointed to the position by a 3-2 vote. At the time, Bird said he felt honored by the appointment, adding that his grandfather also served as mayor of a small town.

Mayor Bird said he has benefited from name recognition in politics, but not the kind you would think. It's his family people know of; they have been in the area for 60 years.

"Being the third Larry Bird, that helped a lot," he said. "But, sure, it’s recognizable everywhere."

Mayor Bird had people take his campaign signs to Disneyland and Charger games and snap a photo, which he then posted on social media.

"People regularly said, 'Didn’t he play basketball?'" Mayor Bird said.

His favorite story of dual names, though, was when a clerk asked, “Were you named after Larry Bird?" He responded, “Well, he was a kindergartner when I was born.”

She said, “Oh. Well were you?”

Mayor Bird admits he doesn't mind any of it. But he also wants to be entirely transparent. All those Larry Birds in his family are officially named Lawrence Bird. They go by Larry for short. The other Bird was born Larry Joe Bird.

As for that little blue Twitter logo, named "Larry the Bird" after the basketball Larry Bird, (the co-founder of the social media company is a Celtics fan), Mayor Bird said he has a suggestion.

"We can share it," he said. "I’m sure he’d be good with it."

The non-mayor Larry Bird didn't immediately respond to a request for comment on the other Larry Bird.