Clippers Basketball

Our view of the court

I went to nearly every basketball game in high school, but didn’t become a true fan until college when I developed a crush on Don Ford, the UC Santa Barbara (my alma mater) Gauchos forward who went on to enjoy a brief career with the Lakers. In fact, the last pro basketball game I remember attending was a workout match at Loyola University, when the Lakers used to practice there in the mid-1970s.

Tim, however, loves all things sports, especially when the teams are from Los Angeles. Currently, he’s particularly infatuated with L.A.’s “other” basketball team, the Clippers, who are on a hot winning streak. So excited is he, in fact, that he snagged four tickets to last night’s Clippers game in his radio station’s corporate box at Staples Center. He immediately invited two friends to go with him and was in the process of selecting a third, when I casually asked, “Gee, can your wife go, too?”

I don’t watch basketball on TV, so Tim was stunned. Nevertheless, he invited me along. We took the lightrail downtown, ate dinner at L.A. Live, and then went across the street to Staples. We were the first ones in the box.

When the Lakers are playing, the station fills the box with all kinds of food and drink. Not so during Clippers games. If you’re hungry or thirsty you go to a concession stand, buy what you need and then bring it up. The exception is an outrageous dessert cart that is wheeled from box to box during halftime. The desserts aren’t free, but they look extremely scrumptious and so are impossible to resist. Tim had a waffle ice cream cone with sprinkles and chocolate sauce, while I munched on a huge lemon bar. Yum!

The box

This is going to sound weird, but the game had almost a charming, naïve quality about it. Despite their superior record, the Clippers still seem like the Lakers’ poor country cousins. Their female cheer squad, called the Spirit, was less of a force than the Laker Girls, even though they found a reason to change their outfits five times! Also, the pre-game and between-quarters entertainment consisted of dance routines by high school cheerleaders and other amateurs. I clapped the loudest for a group of older women whom the announcer said were “over 30—some even in their 50s!” They looked damn good (and young) to me!

The worst part of the game? The blasting hip-hop music that dared us not to at least tap our feet. At one point, the sound guy apparently goofed and put on Hendrix’s “Crosstown Traffic” for about 30 seconds. Relieved, I yelled out, “More Jimi Hendrix, please!” But no one heard me. My ears hurt by the end of the night.

Still, the game was lots of fun, even though the Clippers slaughtered the Warriors, 115 to 89. The biggest compliment of the evening? Tim asked if I’d like to go with him to another game later this year. I said yes.

Victorious!

Lakers Press Pass

One of the best reasons to live in Los Angeles is the plethora of renowned sports teams within the city limits: professional, college and (I’m guessing) amateur as well. This is especially important to Tim. But even I—who has no time to follow one team let alone several—would hate to live in a town that doesn’t offer year-round sports. Right now, the focus is on the Lakers as they play Boston for the national basketball championship. Tim’s radio station broadcasts the Lakers, so not only has he been able to see some games in-person, he’s also seen many of the celebrity fans who sit courtside during those games. I asked him to write a blog entry about his most recent Laker adventures. Here’s what he had to say:

I work at the local station that carries the Lakers. All season I've had a press pass that would allow me to go to any of the games. I only started using it once the playoffs began. Since I don’t have a specific function for the broadcast, there is no assigned seat in the arena for me. So, like all the other orphans (radio stringers, foreign journos, hangers-on) I head up, way up, to what's called the “hockey press box.” It's higher up than the cheapest seats in the last row of the arena. At least we get to sit between the baskets. There’s plenty of room to stretch out and read the newspaper, plus there’s a counter to lean on if I’m inclined to watch the game. The best part is an uncrowded restroom with no lines.

My first game was amazing. During halftime one of our broadcasters told me to go with him downstairs. We first went to the Chick Hearn Media Room, where I saw TJ Simers & Bill Plashke from the L.A. Times and many of the TV sports guys from the local L.A. stations. He then took me out on the floor of the arena. The press pass was like a golden key; you waved it and people said, “Come on in!” We walked by Jack Nicholson, Dyan Cannon and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

“There’s Andy Garcia,” I said to myself. “And Teri Hatcher!” I also saw Jeffrey Katzenberg and Steven Spielberg. My head was spinning, but I, of course, played it cool like the SoCal native I am.

I called Cindy from the floor and told her everybody I'd seen. She only cared about Andy Garcia.

Back to the media room for one last run through, then up to the hockey press box for the second half. I stopped to get a beer on the way back. Unfortunately, the press pass gets you nothing at the concession stand but a blank stare and a cashier saying, “One beer, $12.”

To our radio station's delight, the Lakers made it to the NBA finals. Suddenly my all-access pass was worthless.

“Only the NBA can issue credentials for the finals,” I was told. “Sorry!”

This was particularly distressing because the Lakers are playing their longtime rivals, the Boston Celtics. There had to be something I could do . . .

My boss came to the rescue. He requested passes in case there was some glitch with the broadcast that we needed to fix. The team has played 41 home games this season, plus the first 3 rounds of the playoffs, and not once have we needed to rush over and save the day with technical daring-do. But it does allow me to roam up above the 300 level and find a place to sit. I passed on the first game and set my sights on Game 2 today.

During the playoffs the station does a remote broadcast before each home game. Our broadcast booth, which I usually set-up, is in front of the Staples Center, near Magic Johnson’s statue. All the swells have to pass by our location to get to their VIP entrance. I’m always surprised to see the many obviously wealthy men, middle-aged and older, bring their very beautiful daughters and, in some cases, granddaughters to enjoy the game (wink wink, nudge nudge).

The Lakers easily won Game 1 on Thursday. I'm hoping they continue their good play today. You can find me in my favorite seat at the top of the arena. I’ll be the one watching the game through binoculars.

POSTSCRIPT:

Tim just got home. The Lakers lost, but he got some good photos, including one of former Laker Rick Fox (handsome!), and a short movie of the action (click on it to make it go).