5. Don’t engage in conversations about Donald Sterling. Ever.
This is the hard part. But it’s something that you have to truly understand if you want to be seen as a true, die-hard, life-long Clipper fan. Donald Sterling is the biggest black mark on our franchise’s history. He was a horrible, horrible man, that you can learn more about with a quick Google search or by listening to that new 30 for 30 podcast. I gotta warn you though, it’s super rough.
People will try to bring him up to you to question your fandom. They will ask you how you can still root for the team while knowing who he was when he owned it. Don’t claim ignorance. Don’t excuse your fandom. Say you’re moving on.
His term as owner DID make it hard to root for the team at times, especially when the franchise was at its lowest points. But, the future is bright now. He is gone. We don’t have to keep living in Sterling’s shadow anymore.
Being a Clipper fan has always been tough, because of what was happening on the court and off. But, we stuck with the team. We never lost hope. We knew that one day, it had to get better.
And guess what? It did. The team is run by an exceptional group of people. Ballmer is a very energetic, and seemingly compassionate owner. The team has more talent than it ever has. There is a new arena on the horizon. There is a good reason to have hope now. So why keep dwelling on the negative? You don’t have to. Stay positive. Enjoy your fandom. You deserve it.
Write that down.