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The NBA franchise that is now known as the L.A. Clippers is a catastrophe. That may be considered a consensus viewpoint, but don't take it from me, take it from one of the Clipper correspondents, Roger Pimentel.
In Pimental's article, he cites location as the root cause of the franchise's troubles. He suggests the Clippers play in Anaheim in order to build up a more geographic fan base, rather than sharing a home with the Lakers.
I'm suggesting that Pimental is half-right. The problem is location. The solution is to return to the franchise's original home and nickname.
Has it not occurred to anyone that the reason the Clippers have languished in two California cities and now three arenas is that they have been cursed for leaving Buffalo as they did in the first place? The only cure for the curse is to return to Buffalo.
Buffalo is a unique market. It is a city rich with tradition, history, roots, and geographical loyalty. It is not a mobile city. The vast majority of residents are natives or have some family ties to the area at the very least.
People who move to Buffalo seldom move out. That applies even to people in typically mobile careers such as media personalities. Most of the local TV news anchors have been in Buffalo for most of their careers. They arrive as up-and-coming thirty-somethings and end up retiring from the same job, as icons, thirty years later.
Those who leave town for economic necessity or youthful wanderlust or some combination of the two still feel extremely bonded to the city, as evidenced by the number of ex-pat groups in all parts of the United States and many far-flung locations around the world. Moreover, many people return to Buffalo after a fling with some other community or some seemingly more glamourous port.
And think about the term ex-pat. It normally applies to nations, not cities or regions. Yet, ex-Buffalonians call themselves ex-pats, as do their old friends and neighbors back home.
As I've said in another article at B/R, being from Buffalo is like being Jewish. It is one of the few places in this country in which it is difficult if not impossible to separate one's identity from one's place of origin, meaning that one's self-esteem and spirituality is largely derived from the shared experience of residing in a particular geographic location.
It's not the kind of place that any person, family, company, or sports team can just pack up and leave without consequence.
One of those aforementioned permanent media personalities, sports anchor Rick Azar (WKBW, Channel 7, ABC) has said that "You can leave Buffalo, but Buffalo never leaves you."
That explains why the Clippers cannot win and can't find love in San Diego, L.A., Anaheim, or anywhere else.
Because you can leave Buffalo but Buffalo never leaves you, the franchise left everything that was special and powerful about itself in old Memorial Auditorium. The "Aud" is the only real home this team has ever had. Until the last brick of this once "rocking" arena falls, later this month, as demolition is completed, the franchise will be more at home in that place than they could ever be anywhere else.
They left memories of Randy Smith's backward dunks. They left memories of Bob McAdoo's offensive overachievements. They left memories of Jim McMillain (ironically a former L.A. Laker) tapping in the winning score at the buzzer in a playoff game against Boston in what most Braves enthusiasts would cite as the best game ever played by the franchise in any location.
More importantly, they left the "stub" of the team's connection to its hometown. This stub has functioned as a "phantom limb" for die-hard Braves fans who still haven't recovered from the team's abduction.
In fact, though it has been thirty years, I would venture there is a greater, deeper base of fan support in Buffalo than L.A..
As my colleague, Mr. Pimentel states in the above-referenced article, "To be fair, the Clippers are perhaps the most futile professional sports franchise in history. Since moving to L.A. in 1984, they've had 22 losing seasons, to only three winning—and an impressive seven seasons below .250....It adds up to only four playoff appearances in that span, which is about as long as I've been alive...."
In contrast, and omitted by Mr. Pimentel, is the fact that, in only eight seasons in Buffalo, the Braves made three playoff appearances, advanced in one, and came within a questionable foul call involving Jo-Jo White of the Celtics from advancing a second time.
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