Clips Nation Night 2012: Birthday court time!

Exciting news everybody!

For the third season in a row, Clips Nation will host a group ticket event for a Clippers game that features court time after the game. And this year it's on a Saturday, so we don't have to get up early the next morning for school or work! It also happens to be my 50th birthday, so come out and help me celebrate if nothing else. (That means if you're playing against me you have to let me win.)

If you have attended one of these in the past, you know how cool it is to get to play some hoops on the Clippers court at the conclusion of the game. If you haven't attended before, here's another chance.

The game is only two weeks away and we have to purchase a certain number of tickets as a group to keep the court time. We've never had a problem reaching our sales target before, but please don't delay in purchasing tickets. Here are the details -- if you've done this before, and you know the drill, this is the really important stuff that you must know and the links you must follow:

Date: Saturday, Dec. 1, 7:30 PM

Game: Los Angeles Clippers vs. Sacramento Kings

Purchase tickets here (password REPRESENT)

Fill out this questionnaire

You must buy your tickets at the link for Clips Nation to get credit for the sales and to be a part of the group event after. The password is REPRESENT (all caps). There are tickets available in the 100s for $72 and in the 200s for $34; these are discounted prices, and there are no service charges, so this is a really good deal. Tickets are limited and this game WILL sell out (they all do these days) so don't delay in buying yours.

So I know how many people are planning to play and also so I have a feel for the types of players we have available in the interest of trying to make the teams relatively even, please fill out the questionnaire ASAP. I need you to fill out the questionnaire for everyone in your group who wants to play. If someone shows up on game night, even if you bought a group ticket, if your name is not on this list, I'm going to have to reserve the right to say no. I will do my best to accommodate everyone, even the late comers, but it just gets too crazy if we've got lots of people showing up at the last minute.

Season Ticket Holders, you're welcome to play as well. Just email mbaker at clippers.com and let him know you'll be there, and then fill out the questionnaire so I know you're coming.

This opportunity came up at the last moment and we haven't worked out any details for any pre-game activities yet. I'll post more on that as we get closer, but trust me, the important thing is what happens after.

We'll have a post game meet up and go down to the arena level as a group. If you are attending the game but not planning to play basketball, you are of course still welcome to come down court side and watch all the action.

One thing that is hopefully pretty obvious -- bring something you can play basketball in, including the proper shoes with non-marking soles! Also, and this is less obvious, please bring two T-shirts to play in -- one white and one dark. That way we might be able to tell the teams apart when we get on the floor.

Based on the time frame, we'll need to use the same basic tournament structure we have used in the past. We will target having eight teams -- the first four games are half court five-on-five. The four winning teams play each other in semi-final games that are also half court, and then the Final will run full court. That's seven games, spread across four time slots. We don't have time for more than that. That's the maximum -- if we have fewer people, then we can hopefully play more games, or more full court possibly.

A note about the games. The night we play can be very stressful for me. We don't get a lot of time on the court, and organizing the teams and the games is a big task. We've had 8 teams of up to 10 people in the past to get 80 people a chance to play at least some ... and if we have people show up at the last minute wanting to play it presents a problem. As I always I want to make it go as smoothly as possible, and I'm reserving the right to limit who is playing based on factors like when you purchased your tickets and how long you've been a member of the site. Thanks for your understanding.

So come out and celebrate my big birthday, and play some hoops! it's going to be Blog City, Baby!