New Los Angeles Clippers owner Steve Ballmer introduced himself to fans in an introductory pep rally at the Staples Center on Monday, and he did not disappoint.
Ballmer, the former Microsoft CEO who's known for his emotional speeches, was beyond excited. He started chants, professed his love for Los Angeles, gave the crowd his email address (sballmer@clippers.com), and attempted to usher in a new era of Clippers basketball with overwhelming enthusiasm.
Ballmer bought the Clippers for a cool $2 billion (four times the record sale for an NBA team, according to the LA Times) after former owner Donald Sterling was banned from the NBA because of racist comments he made to his girlfriend.
In the wake of the Donald Sterling scandal, Ballmer made a fantastic, passionate speech delivered at a near-scream for 13 minutes.
The best part came at the nine-minute mark, when he told the crowd:
"We're going to be hardcore. HARD-core. HARDCORE! We're going to get better everyday. We're going to be tenacious. Something knocks us down and we're going to get back and keep coming and coming and coming and coming. Did you watch these guys? That was hardcore! Hardcore baby! Nothing gets in our way, BOOM! Keep coming. HARD-core. The HARDCORE Clippers, that's us."
Here's the entire thing:
The Clippers players were excited/utterly baffled:
Ballmer!
Sterling bid to buy the Clippers finally closed last week after a judge ruled that Donald Sterling's estranged wife Shelly Sterling had the authority to sell the team on behalf of the family trust, ESPN reported. In an interview with ESPN, the billionaire explained why he wanted to spend $2 billion on a basketball team.
"It's very, very exciting. I'm a basketball nut," Ballmer told ESPN. "I've got time. I love Los Angeles. I love Seattle, too, which is where we have our home. But the notion of spending a lot of time in Los Angeles has been exciting to me for years. The community down there is great. I look forward to supporting the community, the fan base, the staff, Doc [Rivers] and the players to take this thing to higher heights."
