The Rules Behind Steve Ballmer's New Fan Section Dubbed "The Wall" Sound Awesome

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To be a successful NBA franchise, one that competes for and hopefully one day wins a title, you need a few things to go your way. You need the right mix of talent, you need good coaching and a competent front office, you need some luck, and maybe most importantly, you need an owner who is committed to doing whatever the hell it takes/costs to build that winner. 

When you look at someone like the Clippers, they certainly are checking off a few if not all of these boxes. They definitely have the right mix of NBA talent/depth on their roster, especially after the Harden trade. They have a great coach in Ty Lue and a front office that has made smart decisions after smart decisions. The luck part is still TBD, but one thing we certainly know they have is an owner in Steve Ballmer who is determined to not just bring the Clippers their first title, but to finally get this franchise out of the Lakers' shadow.

While most of that is going to depend on what happens on the court, it also helps when you're able to build your own arena, like the Clippers are doing with the Inuit Dome, which is slated to open next year. To the surprise of no one, the NBA came out today to announce that the 2026 All Star game will be played there

OK, whatever. That's not what I care about. What I continue to care about is the details around this new arena. We learned about the 27 to 1 fan-to-toilet ratio which seems like a dream

and we learned all about the LED lights and the new fan section called "The Wall" which sounded like a great idea on paper

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Well now we have even more details about this new fan section in terms of the rules, and I have to admit, it sounds even better than I thought

I don't think anyone is suggesting that Steve Ballmer and the Clippers are reinventing the wheel here, something like this obviously already exists overseas and in soccer, but in terms of bringing it to the States and the NBA, it's certainly never been done on this scale before. This isn't just some sort of small section off in the corner, look at that rendering! While some will make the "do the Clippers even have 51 fans??" jokes, I think this has the potential to be pretty awesome.

I have zero idea how they're going to enforce these rules, but I love them at their premise. If you sit in this section, you can't cheer for the other team, you can't wear their stuff, and you can't sell your ticket to those fans. That's awesome. My question is what happens if you do? Do you immediately get thrown out and banned for life or something along those lines? You know at some point a Lakers fan is going to find their way in that section just to cause chaos, so that's an entirely new element that we've never seen in an NBA game before. I'd say the potential for fights in the stands doubles with something like this, especially given how it will be enforced.

And because this is Steve Ballmer, you knew there was going to be some sort of high level technology involved, and that's exactly what we have here

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Alright, so that's a little creepy in a Big Brother is always watching you kind of way, but if it leads to discounts? You can track my shit all you want. It's not like all of our data isn't being tracked and sold anyway, so you may as well get something out of it. 

This reminds me of way back in a prior life when I told season tickets for the Colorado Rapids back in 2010. I remember what a struggle it was back then to get a "supporters section" going because things were new and people didn't really give a shit because, for the most part, the team stunk. As time went on and the team got better? It's become a massive part of the fanbase just like you see all over the world. If done correctly, something like that can really work. 

That's why I'm interested to see how this translates to the NBA and for the Clippers. The team should be plenty good enough, and while I do wonder if the truly passionate fans are still being priced out of that section, I do like the idea of bringing a student section vibe to the NBA. It's a great idea that will ultimately come down to the execution. If they can pull it off, it's something that can help shape what life is like in that new arena. Think of what we're seeing with the Kings and their arena with the victory beam. If you win, this corny shit isn't so corny and can actually work.

Just think about how electric it's going to be when the Clippers are in their new arena and right in front of The Wall we see Steve Ballmer doing Steve Ballmer things while he loses his mind

If that creates a real homecourt advantage, don't be surprised if other teams copy this idea. Granted this is the Clippers so you should always prepare for disaster, but perhaps getting into their own building will do wonders for their juju, which in turn could make The Wall one of the best fan experiences in the league.