Arellano: ‘When am I gonna come back?’ A lifelong Clippers fan finally sees them in person

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Santa Ana resident Nelson Rodriguez, 37, at the Intuit Dome on Jan 13 to watch his first Los Angeles Clippers game. His favorite team beat the Miami Heat, 109-98 (Gustavo Arellano / Los Angeles Times)

Nelson Rodriguez has rooted for the Clippers his entire life, but the fandom of the Santa Ana resident was out of “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.”

The 37-year-old never owned an article of the team’s clothing growing up, or even as an adult. He can only keep up with them on social media since Nelson doesn’t subscribe to Bally Sports or the NBA’s streaming service. The financial planner works in an office of Lakers fans. His wife, Cynthia, only cares for the Dodgers when it comes to sports.

And until I took my dear friend to the Clippers home game Monday night against the Miami Heat, Nelson had never seen his team in person.

“I don’t know anyone besides you who’d want to go,” he said as we drove up to the Intuit Dome from Orange County around four that afternoon. We left early so we could grab a bite to eat at Con’i Seafood, then wander around the new arena. “If it was Lakers, you’d have 20 hands go up. If I said, ‘Let’s go to an Angels game,’ people would want to go.

“But,” he concluded with a pained smile, “it’s the Clippers.”

Read more: Clippers and their fans show their ‘L.A. Strong’ support during victory over Miami

His dad, a Salvadoran immigrant, taught him to love the team while Nelson was growing up in Buena Park. He stuck with them through the Clippers’ lost years of the 1990s and 2000s because, “I love going for the underdog. When you’re an Angels fan, it’s easy. The Lakers were always the cool option. They get enough praise. They get the famous fans. We get Billy Crystal.”

Nelson’s devotion paid off with the Lob City years, whose trademark dunking and slashing with players like Blake Griffith, DeAndre Jordan and Chris Paul “is how the NBA should be played.” He was further drawn in with the 2019 signing of his favorite basketball player, Kahwi Leonard.

“He beat the [Golden State] Warriors with the [Toronto] Raptors single-handedly and shut up those…

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/arellano-am-gonna-come-back-195440536.html

Author : LA Times

Publish date : 2025-01-15 19:54:00

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