Assessing the Los Angeles Clippers After the Blake Griffin Storm

We are in the middle of a string of storms here in Southern California. 

They would probably rank as a four on the one to 10 scale of storms for our friends in the Pacific Northwest who are used to this sort of thing.  Here in Southern California however any hint of precipitation brings out the panic. 

Every TV show on every channel was interrupted with word that the storm is the type that could bring tornadoes.  Not that it would or has, but that it could.  That was enough to send all of So Cal into full fledged panic mode.  To the point that the junior high basketball team I coach saw their game cancelled.  The game was indoors.  An indoor basketball game cancelled because of rain.

That's why people laugh at us Southern Californians.

Well, that and the fact that we are home to the Clippers.

Perennial doormat.  Worst run franchise in all of sports.  Black sheep to the other basketball team in Los Angeles.  Fans of the red, white, and blue clad Clippers have heard them all.  The most consistent and loudest barb of them all being the dreaded Clipper curse.

Even the coach of the other basketball team in L.A. took a shot at the Clippers using the tried and true curse theory.  He suggested it's less a curse and more karma.  Thankfully, he pointed the franchise in the right direction.  Much like a priest who dishes out penance he suggested the Clipper owner perform more mitzvahs (or good deeds) to eliminate some of his past sins.

The NBA coach with more championships than any other is also, by far, the most quotable.

Well, at least there is a way out Clipper fans.

This year has been different for the Clippers.  It started out with great promise; but that has happened before.  The team started with a dud; that happens almost every year.  Whats been different this year is how the team responded to the dud.

Instead of getting accustomed to the taste of losing the team seemed to regroup.  Their younger players were growing up before our very eyes and playing well.  Their older players were playing with young legs.  The team seemed to bond and had a chemistry about them rarely seen in a Clipper uniform.

Of course, through it all, through every big win against an elite team and exciting basketball game played, the team and it's fans kept an eye out for him.  The team and it's fans always had their focus on the game at hand but he was in the periphery.  We were all waiting.  Waiting for him.

Him, of course, is the first pick in the NBA draft, Blake Griffin.

That loud squealing sound you heard a few days ago was the wind rushing out of the Clipper sail.

It was like wanting a Christmas gift for months.  Pestering your mom and dad day in and day out for it then finally rushing to the tree on December 25th and getting it.  Only to realize a few days later that you really don't like the gift as much as you thought you would.

It's like wanting that girl for months.  Pestering her with every line you can think up until she finally agrees to go out with you.  Then at dinner she orders the most expensive thing on the menu and talks about herself the whole time.  Thanking you for a nice time with a hug.

Denied.  Let down.  Frustrated.

Welcome to the life of a Clipper fan.

So, now what?  It's back to finding a win within a loss like in the Cavalier game.  It's back to banging the "Chris Kaman is an All-Star" drum.  It's back to being excited to watch Eric Gordon get some national attention in the Dunk In.  It's back to watching the team play well, most nights.

It's back to waiting until next year.

Welcome to the life of a Clipper fan.