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Clipper Darrell Shows New True Colors -- And They're Lakers Purple And Gold

Clipper Darrell meets Steve Ballmer
Clipper Darrell talks with L.A. Clippers owner Steve Ballmer during a game against the L.A. Lakers at Staples Center on Oct. 31, 2014. He never saw it coming. (Photo by Stephen Dunn/Getty Images)

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Darrell Bailey, aka Clipper Darrell, has spent decades as a Clippers superfan. He hasn't been a bandwagoner, starting his fandom when the Clippers were far from being a powerhouse team. But he's getting swept up in the same mania as many other L.A. fans -- he's officially taking his talents to the Lakers.

He's leaving his signature blue and red behind for some purple and gold. The new Laker Darrell comes just days after he tweeted about how sad he was that the Lakers signed LeBron -- instead of, presumably, the Clippers.

Darrell had teased switching teams, but claimed that he just couldn't pull the trigger:

He'd also posted video getting into it with a Lakers fan as Darrell sadly held his LeBron Clippers jersey, a dream that was not to be. Darrell had grown increasingly negative about the Clippers in recent years, and it seems failing to make this signing was the final straw.

His origin story as a Clippers fan, at least as he tells it, goes to an old boss who fired him and said Darrell would never be anything in life without him -- but as Darrell sat feeling sorry for himself, the Clippers came on. They put on an absolutely miserable performance, but Darrell declared himself a Clippers fan and vowed to stick with them, ride or die. Looks like the ride's over.

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Fans were split over how they felt -- whether it's a smart move and it's time to welcome him over to the other side with open arms, or whether Benedict Darrell is betraying everything a sports fan holds dear.

Clipper Darrell gestures during the second half of the Clippers game against the Memphis Grizzlies on Saturday, March 24, 2012, in Los Angeles. The Clippers won 101-85. (Photo by Mark J. Terrill/AP)

Yeah, Clipper Darrell. That's how we feel too.

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