LA Clippers Historic Playoff Run
Los Angeles NBA team advances to the second round for the first time in 30 years.
In most NBA cities, a team advancing to the second round of the playoffs is nice but not historic. For the LA Clippers, it is a three-decade benchmark.
If you are a fan of the Lakers, Spurs or Pistons, getting past the first round of the NBA playoffs may be fun, but it is also expected.
If you root for the Los Angeles Clippers, however, realizing that your hometown favorite has won its first-round series and advanced to the second round probably has you feeling faint and wondering if the world is, in fact, coming to an end.
The Clippers knocked off Denver in round one of the 2006 NBA playoffs, advancing to the second round for the first time since 1976. Yes, your math is right; that's thirty years - three-oh!
Why they weren't even called the Clippers back in those days, and eight of their current players weren't alive yet. In order to truly grasp the significance of the Clippers' achievement, you have to have a clear perception of this amount of time - 30 years.
Consider the history involved here. The last time the Clippers advanced to the second round of the NBA playoffs, life in America looked like this:
- Gerald Ford was president.
- Drivers paid 60 cents for a gallon of gas.
- The hot new car was the Volkswagen Golf.
- Platform shoes were a trendy woman's style.
- People watched videotapes on their Betamax VCR.
- Apple launched its first computer.
- Farrah Fawcett was every young man's dream girl; many old men, too.
- Barbara Walters made more money than any other woman on television.
- Chris Evert was the Wimbledon champ.
- Bold Forbes raced to victory at the Kentucky Derby.
- Nadia Comaneci scored seven perfect 10s on her way to three gold medals at the Olympic Games.
Oh, and Pittsburgh won the Super Bowl.
It would appear that things really do come full circle every thirty years.
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