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Anaheim tried to woo the team back in the mid-'90s and the Clippers actually played a few preseason games there. Sterling was never seriously interested in moving the team out of LA proper, though.
I've got a theory on whom the Clipper fans are:
1. Laker haters
2. People who either can't access or afford season tickets to the Lakers (someone correct me if Clippers season tickets cost more).
3. Fans that swing both ways (Clips and Lakers, not that other thing)
4. Friends, family and employees.
5. And bandwagoners (of course)
I'm not talking trash (really, the Clips have all of the bragging rights at this point), I'm just curious because I've never met a Clippers fan in real life.
Anaheim tried to woo the team back in the mid-'90s and the Clippers actually played a few preseason games there. Sterling was never seriously interested in moving the team out of LA proper, though.
No, the Clippers played part time at the Pond as it was called in the late 90's. I know Sterling wasn't interested (short of landing Kobe Bean Bryant) but I'm saying he should have done so full time regardless of the money he could make in LA proper just for the sake of creating your own iden y.
Money >>>>>>> "creating your own iden y." Especially for a miser like DTS.
Laker fans will be on full suicide-mode when the Clips win it all this year. I never thought I'd live to say the day when the Clippers become the more loved and better LA team, but damn, it's about to happen anytime soon.
The Lakers have been to the Finals, what, 25 times since they moved to LA with 11 les. I don't think anyone is gonna lose any sleep.
I lived in SoCal for about 5 years. Never met a Clippers fan. Since then, I've met two. That's it. They might have taken a piece of the Asian fanbase there for some reason. But other than that, I can't figure it out either. They literally didn't exist when I was there. It was just an extra game where the visiting team can come watch their favorite team play. I loved Clipper games b/c it usually meant I could afford lower bowl tickets and watch the Spurs win on the road.
So only successful franchises get fans? I realize the world of professional sports exists because of bandwaggoning fans, but there are fans of teams that have never won anything.
Also, sometimes people want to go see the game, you don't have to necessarily be a fan of either team but most likely you'll cheer for the home team if you're not committed.
You're wrong then. When the ownerships of both teams have changed, and they are at opposite ends of the success spectrum, there are plenty people in Lakerland sitting on back patios at 2am smoking cigarettes and worrying about their futures.
This would not be the case for the GSW or Sacramento, however since these two franchises share Staples Center, it's not that far fetched to think of market share moving to the Clippers. It's years down the road, but if the Lakers don't right that ship they might give the Clippers enough life to put a hurting on them.
Which means they're not a fan of the team, just spectators. If the Lakers stay down and the Clippers stay up, then they will have time to build up their fan base. They have an owner who isn't just about the bottom line anymore and actually cares about winning now.
The Lakers have such an outstanding legacy that the Clippers could make 15 straight Finals appearances and still not have more diehard fans than the Lakers. It would make things a lot more even but still not see them surpass the Lakers.
And throughout my life I've been a chief Laker hater. Just calling the facts.
DMC had a dream ... Martin had a dream ...Alliyah had a dream ...
There's a lot of transplants in LA. Native Angelenos tend to root for the Lakers. The Clippers natural fanbase are people that moved to LA and don't like the Lakers. They were also a much cheaper option if you wanted to watch visiting teams and players compared to the Lakers.
Fans are largely "what have you done for me lately" people. You cannot compare them to any other team in the league because no other team shares an arena with another team in the same league. I don't think the Lakers will have fewer fans than the Clippers, probably ever, but Lakers big wigs don't want Clippers getting in on the TV deals that might bite into their pockets. I know they share profits in the NBA, but the fans like who they grow up watching. How many here have bought a Dr J jersey lately?
Meanwhile you've been having a nightmare.
Not really I'm built for this 12,13 year drought between 88 back to back and three peat I'm cool with a young rebuilding squad if it takes another 5 to win again so be it. I just want the pick
Another 5. LOL.. Jerry Buss ain't comin' through that door.
Maybe but a sling of Clipper success is not going to suddenly change the way people view the Clippers vs. the Lakers. It will take decades of the reverse of what has been happening an the fan allegiances that have been built up. Right now, the only diehard Clipper fans, probably anyways, are the few who were fans before they started winning and kids under the age of 12 more or less.
It's why I say they should have been in Anaheim these last two decades, at least they would have clearly been the OC's team even if inevitably the Lakers would have been much more popular.
I wonder if you could find clipper fans who were actual fans during the Pooh Richardson-Loy Vaught-Derick Martin era. Those Clipper teams were truly comical.
Being in Anaheim wouldn't have changed the piss-poor ownership/management that drove fans away. Not sure what your obsession is with that, tbh.
Bad management or not, people in the OC are provincial and territorial. They are connected to but see themselves as separate from LA. I remember an Angel fan calling in to the Jim Rome Show and telling a Dodger after he called in saying he may switch to the Angels that they didn't want him some years back.
We can agree to disagree but there's something to be said for being on your own as opposed to being seen as an inferior undercard.
Another way to look at it is that being in Anaheim would make the difference between the Knicks and Nets, who had their own iden y as New Jersey's team despite being a few miles from NYC (and have it now in Brooklyn). Or the Raiders and Niners. Sure one team is vastly more popular but at least they don't completely overshadow the other.
People want to be associated with a winning team. I'm not talking about the gots that say they are Lakers fans but never spent a dime on the game. I mean turnstile people, filling seats and such, buying jerseys. What Lakers fan will have a Jordan Hill jersey? You have Blake, Paul and Jordan in the same arena as the Lakers "anon" players, and with the Sterling facade, the Clippers are building a reputation slowly as a serious team. Sterling would never do what's required to win, but Balmer might. New ownership changes everything, and that works for the Clippers and the Lakers.
To each their own but you notice the Clipper fans aren't coming to your defense.
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