My Second Favorite Team is Better Than Your Second Favorite Team

1995- On our way through Sacramento, CA, my ex-wife surprised me w/ tickets to see the Clippers and the Kings. It was a great game- went to overtime. I was wearing my white leather sleeved, officially licensed, letter-men jacket- a true Clipper fan. The team was the pretty much same as always- rebuilding. With Garry Grant, Loy Vaught, & Elmore Spencer- the new franchise cornerstones, I could travel to see my team, proudly working my well-branded leather, and not elicit much more than pity, if not awe. The Bay City Rollers probably had a huge fan club in their day, so why wouldn't the Clippers have at least a few dozen stubborn, refuse to stop believing, believers. I guess that others might have thought me a team employee, or perhaps part of the organizational family. I didn't care strangers thought. It was a very nice jacket, and I was wearing it. No one threatened my life. It wasn't a Baltimore cap in the Yankees' bleachers. It was the Clippers.

But this insane fanness was not entirely my fault:

1979- I got a free Clipper ticket to opening night at the San Diego Sports Arena- descent seats, especially considering the price.  Lloyd Free, Sidney Wicks, Bill Walton, and they were playing Magic's Lakers in his very first game as a pro. Magical was right.  And when Jabbar hit the buzzer beater in the 4th quarter to close the deal, the Clippers were mine.It was a sky hook from the middle of the key, drawn up during a last second timeout. Walton defended the shot well, but it went in. Magic went crazy, like he'd won another championship, but that would have to wait until June.

It was, as it turned out, my first NBA game too, and I fell in love, but somehow I picked the wrong girl. It could have happened to anyone. It happened to me.

But to prove the existence of free will:

2010- I've had a new wife for so long that she's not all that new any more. That game back in '95 was great time, and a very thoughtful gift, but I made a much better choice my second time around. Life in Portland, well, I've been here many years. I'm a Blazer fan. KP sure could teach the Clippers a thing or two about rebuilding on a schedule. I've been Rip City through the Porter/Drexler teams, remembering fondly, the day they traded for Buck Williams. It was a signature stroke. I remember Sabonis w/ much love. Roy and Batum, on and on- they're my favorite team, my only favorite team. I mean, what kind of guy has a second favorite team. It's like having a second favorite liver cancer, like a second favorite personality disorder, or allergy. Besides, that old jacket in the back of the closet is way too beat up. It doesn't fit anymore. And it's not for sale.