I wouldn't say I'm a LONG time Clips fan, but I have been a dedicated fan of them since the 05-06 season. As I'm only 18, I missed the Manning era and have little to no recollection of the 05-06 season aside from going to Game 6 against the Suns... And since that fateful day, I've been following the Clippers religiously, hoping that I could see my favorite underdog team become relevant again. Whether it's for one season or a decade, I wanted to see this team win games. They've always had the pieces but it was never completely put together. But a stroke of luck named Blake Griffin came along, and everything else is history.

Here we are now, our 15th game of this shortened season is just looming around the corner; the Clippers traded for best-in-the-league point guard Chris Paul, acquired Finals MVP Chauncey Bilups via amnesty, signed Caron Butler, and re-signed DJ, all in a crazy and unbelievably short off-season. The media bombarded the Clippers with high expectations, and in a short few weeks, the Clippers were relevant and the talk of the town.

But we all know that, it just happened only a month ago. But God damn, it has been one crazy month. I eagerly await games more than I have in any other season. My family watches every game together downstairs, so I no longer am stuck in my room during games. My friends don't bash me anymore about the Clippers, and most of the time it's me actually bashing the Lakers, and it's an incredible feeling,

It's odd though, going from a team who need 31 games last season to get 9 wins, then going to a team that needs only 14 games to reach 9 wins this season. It's so different that it's almost overwhelming at times. This isn't the same Clippers of old. The front office is making bold moves, Donald Sterling is actually putting forth money, and the Clippers are relevant, with a sold out crowd every game and praise from the likes of known Clipper haters like ESPN. I'm the happiest I've ever been as a Clipper fan, and why shouldn't I be? Why shouldn't we all be? This is probably the best Clippers team we've ever had, and they can only get better from here.

The one thing I can't seem to wrap my mind around, however, is how all of this happened so fast. How we went from worst in the West to the team leading the Pacific Division over the Lakers. How we EXPECT to win games, not hope for the best. It stills blows my mind to see Chris Paul walk onto the court in a Clippers uniform (not lately but hopefully Wednesday he will). I used the phrase "overwhelming" earlier, and I think it suits the change we've seen here in the past month. I don't expect things to change soon, everything just seems too perfect. My lingering pessimism as a Clipper fan is gone, and we're rooting for a winner.

It's a glorious time here in Tinsel Town. Words cannot express how I feel right now about this team, and I'm sure all of you feel the same... and now I don't know where I'm going with this. Anyway, GO CLIPPERS and GO JUMBACOOOOOO!!!