Dwight Howard Dismisses Booing Clippers Fans in His L.A. Return

A funny thing happened at Staples Center tonight—Dwight Howard got booed by Clippers fans.

Yeah, that’s right. Maybe the Clippers cover up the Lakers banners when they play. Maybe those two teams have a nice little hallway rivalry going when they’re on the floor together.

It doesn’t change an essential fact. It’s Los Angeles and Dwight Howard stood the city up. He came in promising big things. He laughed and clowned around and then he left, and there was just a little bit of a funky taste after that.

The Clippers delivered a beat-down Monday night on Howard's new team, the Houston Rockets. It wasn’t even close. Chris Paul had a huge night, 23 points and 17 assists.

Howard came onto the floor for the warm-ups, all smiles. The crowd showed their appreciation. He picked up three fouls real fast and the crowd didn’t mind much. Howard wasn’t all that bad despite the fouls, almost had a double-double, almost. Kind of like when he called Staples home, for one disappointing season.

Howard dismissed the boos of course, and acted like it was no big deal. Maybe it was, maybe it wasn't. 

Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News saw plenty of Howard last year and chronicled the crowd’s love:

We're all happy that you're happy, Dwight.

Los Angeles is a big sprawling place. It’s easy to make fun of, especially when you don’t live there. It’s a land of make believe, movie stars and tabloid magazines and a million competing agendas. Some people say there’s no sense of community, but they don’t know.

In truth, there is a sense of community. Sports plays a big part. It brings people together, gives them something to believe in. Sports fans in Los Angeles might quarrel like siblings do, but they’ve got each other's backs.

Wait until Howard returns for a Lakers' home game. The welcome will be even louder, believe it.