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Clippers Spirit
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This LAist contributor doesn't normally write about sports so we won't focus much on the game itself. After a 54 point first half, Pacers defense (mostly manifesting in Ron Artest's activity and muscle) and a horrible third quarter left Da Clips 5 points short of their 10th victory. We don't think our soon-to-be-all-star Elton Brand will be getting player of the week honors again after the squad doubled their loss total. That said, their record still smokes the woeful Lakers. Speaking of which, hi Samaki Walker! Did the Staples center victory bring fond memories and hope that you could jump on the coattails of another team and collect one more NBA championship ring?
But, no, we're more interested in Clipper fandom and how the growing blue and red audiences haven't quite caught on to how an arena is supposed to sound and what the role of the fan is. When you can always hear the lone guy screaming out taunts to the opposing team -- "Artest! What a stupid haircut, idiot!!" and "Hey ref! Get off your knees and pay attention to the game!" and "Hey Jackson! You suck! Idiot!" -- and you can actually hear the clapping and cheers of the Clippers Spirit squad during time outs, well, you've got a problem. Not until the final seconds of the first half and the last 2 minutes of the game did the crowd show any emotion. We forgot to boo the hate-able Artest whenever he went to the free throw line or entered the game, let alone any time he touched the ball. The DE-Fense cheer was pitiful until those final desperation plays by the home team. The loudest cheers went to the little kid dance squad at halftime.
Sigh.
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Look, we know the Clippers don't get on TV that often (like this game, which was untelevised despite featuring two of the top teams in the league) and you probably don't really know all the players names but Mobley, Kaman, Brand, Maggette and Cassell need to hear you. At times during the game, it felt like we were in a library. Now, it has been awhile since we've been to see the Lakers live but people are invested in those games. Every time LAist goes to check out Clippers basketball, it feels like a group of 15,000 people just happened to walk into Staples Center and a game happened to break out.
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