Writers are already calling a Laker-Clipper match-up: here's an email sent to bill simmons, ganito magiging kainit to (if lakers where to finish the suns)
One recent e-mail from a Clippers fan/reader sums everything up. I'm omitting his name for reasons that will become obvious as you're reading:
"You absolutely hit it right on the head when you described Clippers fans' feelings toward Lakers fans (two weeks ago). I've been a Clippers season-ticket holder for three years (sec. 209) and have been a huge fan since I was in middle school and Michael Cage, Mike Woodson and Larry Drew were our 'stars.' Lemme tell ya, I used to be one of those super-obnoxious sports fans (you're from Boston, you know the type) who would go to my team's games, be as loud and belligerent as possible, heckle the players and argue/fight with the opposing teams' fans. Well, since I've been married -- and especially now since I have a 2-year-old daughter -- I'm a shell of my former rabid self. Now I rarely yell and only cheer or clap in-between giving my daughter her 'Finding Nemo' snacks or her sippee cup. Arguing and fighting? Out of the question.
"But last year, at a Clippers/Lakers game (Clip home game), I nearly lost it in front of my wife and then 1-year-old daughter. First, I had to hear the nearby Laker fans' snide comments for the entire game. Then, with the Lakers getting blown out with about eight minutes to go in regulation, several of their idiot fans, in typical Laker fan fashion, decided to leave. Rather than exit in quiet shame like they should have, they decided to try [to] razz the home crowd and point to the Lakers' championship banners as they left. Well, in a moment of temporary insanity where I forgot that I was a father, husband and non-criminal, I practically leapt over several seats and a couple rows to try [to] murder those smug a-holes. If my wife and the sight of my baby girl didn't snap me out of it, I would've been in jail -- and, worse, had my season tix revoked!
"In a nutshell, these are the type of emotions Laker fans bring out of me. Honestly, I can get along with most everybody, but obnoxious Laker fans? Forget it! It's to the point where we sell or give away every Clipper/Laker game in our season package because I don't want to risk getting too worked up. I used to be a Dodger fan (long story) and hated Giants fans, too ... but they've NEVER had the same effect on me as Laker fans. I don't know if I've been a Clipper fan for too long and have heard way too many comments, or if it's true that 99 percent of all Laker fans are frontrunning, spoiled jackasses who actually think Sasha Vujacic is a legitimate NBA player. What can you expect from fans who orchestrated the first sports championship-related riot in L.A. history (after the Lakers title win in '00) or dress their toddlers in the jersey of an accused rapist/infidel?"