El Monte, California – While the fans were away from the matches, the Los Angeles Clippers made an effort to prove that they were part of the team.
In a season of creativity, The Clippers Entertainment Squad has surprised fans who have passed on their stories to the team.
On this special game night, Chuck Condor, DJ Dennis and the band the Soul Clippers arrive in El Monte, much to the disbelief of Angus Leong.
“This will be the day I will remember for the rest of my life,” Leung said.
Leung, the athletics coach at San Marino High School, will tell you that the Clippers changed his life.
He immigrated to the United States from Hong Kong in the year 2000 and arrived in Southern California with very little knowledge of the English language.
“I didn’t really have cable at that time. I think I only had the first 9 channels. Channel 5 was my favorite because all the animations run from 3:30 to 5 and on Friday after 5 am. Same channel, they’ll have a clippers match.” . ”
Leung began to watch the Clippers and NBA regularly, barely understanding what was going on in a language and game that was alien to him, but he quickly caught fire.
Leung said, “This is how I finally became what basketball is, who was the catapult, and it made me learn the language so much easier.”
Understanding the sport also gave him a way to communicate with other children on the playground.
“Because of basketball itself, I had the courage to communicate with people,” he said. “I was better at using my vocabulary. I was doing better with American culture. I owe everything to the Los Angeles Clippers.”
That’s why Leung has been loyal to the Clippers for over 20 years. When she wrote to the team to share her story, she never thought they’d love each other this way.
“I never imagined that there were so many cameras in front of me,” Leung said. “I never imagined Chuck was next to me.”
Leung said it reminds him that he is part of a community and that this connection means so much more than that at a time when Asian Americans have been subjected to racism and hate.
“With so many people around me now – it’s special. I’m not alone. Everyone in the world should feel the same way. We are not alone. With this kind of support from the clippers family, I feel lucky.”
Leung has a life full of scissor memories, but on this day, the scissors family gave him the memory of a lifetime.