Steve Ballmer's Game 7 ploy to recreate 'The Wall' in Denver hilariously blew up in his face
Steve Ballmer's Game 7 ploy to recreate 'The Wall' in Denver hilariously blew up in his face
It's easy to make fun of him, but I think L.A. Clippers owner Steve Ballmer actually deserves a lot of credit.
He's invested a lot in the Clippers' fanbase and the franchise on the whole. He's built them a cool state-of-the-art arena. He seems to care a lot about the Clippers' success as a team and the culture they've built for themselves and their fans. Also, he's very visible and prominent (often to a theatrical degree, but that's OK).
In terms of major sports owners, it can be a lot worse than having someone like Ballmer from a fan's perspective.
Ballmer did his best to help the Clippers and their fans before Saturday night's Game 7 against the Denver Nuggets. Ballmer went out of his way to buy out an entire section for fans from "The Wall" behind the basket (and closest to the Nuggets' bench).
I can't lie. Unless you're the Nuggets or their fans, this was pretty cool to see:
Ballmer even flew them AND bussed them to Denver's arena:
Ballmer's plan seemed to work at first. His section of Clippers fans in Denver was so loud initially that Jamal Murray and Aaron Gordon actually got booed while walking off the court following their pregame warmups:
Unfortunately for Ballmer, his plan kind of blew up in his face, the way most things have for the Clippers in this era.
Because by the end of the game, after Denver broke the game wide open, at one point building a 35-point lead before entering cruise control, this section of "The Wall" probably couldn't have been any quieter. For all Ballmer did to bring support for his franchise by bringing Clippers fans to Denver, the Clippers' players did not oblige, as they clearly quit the moment the Nuggets landed a haymaker in the form of a 15-0 run to start the second half.
In fact, from the start of the second quarter to 8:49 in the fourth quarter, the Nuggets went on an 82-42 extended run with no reserves on the floor to end the game and the series. Phew. James Harden was predictably invisible, Kawhi Leonard was an astonishing -33 during his minutes (the worst of his career), and Russell Westbrook got the last laugh.
Ballmer seems like an owner who cares deeply about his fans and his team. That is admirable. But these Clippers are definitive living proof of one sports axiom.
Even a good owner can't wash the stink off a loser franchise by themselves.
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