I am conflicted about the Clippers.
I have never been a Clipper fan nor was I ever a Clipper-hater. The Clippers have always been irrelevant. I barely knew they existed. Sure, they are a hometown team but so are the Sparks. The Sparks were actually more interesting because at least they competed for titles when they weren't busy winning them.
But now that the Clippers are competing and the Lakers are done for the season, little brother has caught my attention. This does not mean I am jumping on the bandwagon or making any kind of allegiance switch. But watching the Clippers, they're a hard team not to like. Elton Brand is a fantastic player with a gentleman's demeanor. Smart guy, nice guy, humble guy, outstanding player. I'm not a fan per say, but I root for the Clippers. Why shouldn't I? My team is no longer in the picture so I have to root for somebody else to some degree, don't I? Might as well be the underdog of all franchises. Especially since they are playing the Suns whose style of play drives me insane. They are a gimmick team, a video game team. Their strategy should not allow them to consistently win games.
My conflict is not so much about the Clippers, I guess, but more about Clipper fans. On one hand, I love Clipper fans. Talk about gluttons for punishment. Not only have these folks stuck by the worst franchise in the history of sports, but they've done so for so very long when there has been nothing, nada, nathan for them to pin their hopes on. There has never even been a glimmer of hope until this season. And yet, they stuck. If it wasn't painful enough to align themselves with a team that was the running joke of the sporting world, their team also had to share a building with the Lakers, one of the greatest and winningest franchises in all of sports. It's bad enough to be terrible but to have to look up at the Lakers' many many championship banners and retired jerseys in your so-called "home" games? Torture. I applaud Clippers fans for being the most loyal (or stupid?) fans I have ever seen. But out of that torture was born contempt. And this is, finally, where the conflict comes in.
Clippers fans hate Lakers fans. They absolutely loathe them with every fiber of their souls. I'm a die-hard Lakers fan so this means they hate me. As much as I respect them for their dedication, why would I want to root for people that despise me? I start to think that Clippers fans have rooted for their team for all these years not because they were the Clippers, but simply because they were not the Lakers. I think these people have bred hatred for the Lakers and have let it manifest as cheering for the Clippers. Now if that is true, I have zero respect for the Clippers fans. I don't want to see people that consider me an enemy jumping for glee. I don't want success to come to fans that, at their core, are not fans at all, but actually a legion of haters.
So what is the truth? Are Clippers fans impossibly dedicated or obtusely deranged? I'm guessing it's probably both. If so, what then is the majority distinction? What's the breakdown here? Is it 50-50, 60-40, what? Beyond that, what should take precedence, rooting for the underdog, nice-guy team that is facing the hated, smoke-and-mirror act Phoenix Suns....or striking down those that call themselves fans but are nothing more than pathetic, jealous, underlings?
With Brand and Kaman getting it done with class and continually exposing the Suns, I think I gotta root for the Clips. Rooting against them just because of issues with their fans would be just as bassackwards as the Clippers fans that root for them because they're not the Lakers.......But wait a second, that is precisely the reason I root against the Red Sox. Shit, I'm a hypocrite. Ah, fuck it.
8 comments:
Root or don't root for the team? That is the question. But the answer is not the fans. Do it for the team.
The Boston Red Sox are a different story:
Fuck the Sox and there fans.
And I hate the White Sox announcers too.
Especially since they are playing the Suns whose style of play drives me insane. They are a gimmick team, a video game team. Their strategy should not allow them to consistently win games.
What don't you get? What's the objective in basketball? To score more points than your opponent, right? The Suns run-and-gun, giving them man advantages, which help them score lots of points. They also have a lineup full of very good shooters (especially from beyong the arc.) It's not luck...these guys have good shooting percentages.
I think the way the Suns play (run up and down the floor, shoot at will and make most of their shots) is the style ANY team would want.
Oh, and go Sawx! We're wicked good! Nomaaaaaaaaaaah!
My question then is "What is conventional basketball?"
Well that might be a conversation for our next road trip but, in short, I will say it involves a center, a power forward, a small forward, a shooting guard, and a point guard...rebounding and defense is relevant...as is something resembling a post game...to be continued.
Well that might be a conversation for our next road trip but, in short, I will say it involves a center, a power forward, a small forward, a shooting guard, and a point guard...rebounding and defense is relevant...as is something resembling a post game...to be continued.
Fair enough. When they have Amare, they are more "conventional," because they do run the offense through him, but unlike most centers, he can run the court on breaks.
That said, when he went down, they did have an unique lineup of smaller, quicker players, but they still are a team of very good shooters and in this day in age when teams are happy to shoot 40%, Phoenix is a needed breath of fresh air.
I don't think because what they do is rare and difficult makes them a gimmick.
well I do. I think they are a joke.
They are in the conference finals and beat the Lakers...
'Nuf said.
Not really. I still think they are a joke.
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