This is For The Win’s daily newsletter, The Morning Win. Did a friend recommend or forward this to you? If so, subscribe here. Have feedback? Leave your questions, comments and concerns through this brief reader survey! Now, here’s Mike Sykes.
Good morning, folks! Welcome to the Morning Win. Thanks for reading today. We appreciate you.
Quick lil’ storytime for you. I went to the Washington Spirit’s final home game against the Chicago Red Stars on Sunday. Fantastic outing.
One of the things I enjoy the most about going to soccer games is the fandom. It’s electric. The Spirit, specifically, have a “Spirit Section” for fans to sit in and cheer on the team.
There are no actual seats there. The fans stand the entire time, up on their feet with hands in the air, cheering for Washington. They have specific chants they get into throughout the game. And don’t let the Spirit score a goal — you won’t be able to hear yourself think. That’s what a true home field advantage looks like. Whenever I go to a soccer game, I always wonder why this isn’t more of a thing at basketball games.
Steve Ballmer seems to have had the same thought when envisioning The Wall in the Clippers’ new Intuit Dome.
THE WALL WINS: The Wall defeated Kevin Durant (temporarily) in its first game.
Out of all the bells and whistles included in the $2 billion arena, the enormous fan section is the most impressive thing included. It’s 51 rows of uninterrupted fan seating. No cut cards. It’s honestly impressive.
Reading about it was one thing — seeing it in action was another. The fans were menacing. They were loud. They broke into song. They weren’t exactly the most organized group of fans quite yet, but it’s only Game 1. They didn’t need to be. Their raucousness, alone, was enough to get the job done.
Imagine shooting free throws in front of this. No wonder it broke Kevin Durant.
"The Wall" at the Intuit Dome is menacing on the free throw line 😳
PHX-LAC 4Q on ESPN pic.twitter.com/Hbzt7cME3Q
— NBA (@NBA) October 24, 2024
This is such a fantastic idea that every NBA team needs to steal. The environments around the league have gotten way too chill over the years. It just doesn’t feel like arenas get as loud as they used to.
I vividly remember when the Steph Curry era began to peak in Golden State in 2013 at Oracle Arena. Those “Warriorrrrrrrrrs” chants used to give me chills. Those rarely happen now. What you’re more likely to run into these days are teams just pumping artificial noise into the stands to rattle the arena. The vibes, outside of the exciting moments, are generally just too chill these days.
That’s not on the fans, by the way. It’s more about the vibe in the arenas now. Between the increases in ticket prices siloing out some passionate fans, the intrusive advertising you see everywhere in arenas these days and the sponsored gimmicks that take up arena space, there are simply just fewer people coming to games and cheering like their lives depend on it.
Not those fans on The Wall. They’re there to play the sixth man on the court role in earnest. It’s a beautiful sight to see and something that could potentially give the Clippers a competitive advantage. At the very least, it’ll make watching Clippers games much more entertaining for those sitting at home.
STEVE BALLMER JOINS IN: Ballmer sat with The Wall at the Intuit Dome’s NBA debut
This should be something every team in the NBA copies. If the Clippers, of all teams, can bring passionate fans into the arena and get them to cheer like that, then almost every team should be able to do so.
All they need to do is make space for it to happen.
Could Russell Westbrook be the missing piece?
The back half of Russell Westbrook’s NBA career has been tumultuous, to say the least. The future Hall of Fame point guard has played for five teams in six years and has crashed and burned at every stop.
Now, he’s a Denver Nugget. And it’s easy to expect the results to be similar here. But our Robert Zeglinski writes that Westbrook could be the key to unlocking a new element for Denver’s offense in his latest for FTW.
“Two summers ago, Jokic’s Nuggets climbed the NBA’s summit, capturing the franchise’s first-ever championship while soft-launching dynasty discussions. The Nuggets fell short of winning back-to-back titles in May. They then fell into an offseason marked by turmoil at worst and stagnancy at best.
As the Nuggets see it, the now-eldest player in their regular rotation could catalyze them to glory once more in simultaneous pursuit of his first-ever elusive championship ring. Westbrook could be their new Bruce Brown, the backup, relentlessly competitive guard who brought endless intensity en route to Denver’s 2023 title”
Zeglinski explains how Westbrook has already shifted the Nuggets’ culture in a big way with his feature. He’s playing the mentor role for Jamal Murray and a motivator for the rest of the squad.
It’s an interesting fit that I didn’t think would make much sense initially. After reading this, though, I think this partnership between Westbrook and the Nuggets could be promising.
MORE ON WESTBROOK: Read Robert’s full piece here
Kennesaw State broke college football
No, I can’t believe Kennesaw State beat Liberty either.
One team came into the game 5-0 without a loss. The other came into the game 0-6 without a win. Both teams left with a “1” replacing that zero.
What made the moment so delightful, though, was State fans rushing the field a bit too quickly before their win. Cory Woodroof has more here:
“As they darn well should’ve, the Kennesaw State fans in attendance for the historic home victory stormed the field in celebration. However, they were about a second too soon on their first attempt (really at no fault of their own).
There was about a second left on the clock when it looked like the game was over, and Liberty had the ball down three points. If there would be some sort of last-ditch Hail Mary in the team’s arsenal of plays, the Flames would technically have a second to try it.”
What a moment. I know the Alabama-Vandy game will likely be considered the upset of the year, and rightfully so. But this has got to be up there, man. It’s Kennesaw State’s first win against an FBS school and it happened like this.
College football is the best.
Quick hits: Pistons gonna Piston … Trade deadline buyers and sellers … and more
— The Pistons somehow got a technical for having six players on the court against the Pacers because, of course, they did. Here’s Cory with more.
— Christian D’Andrea put together a buyers and sellers list for all 32 NFL teams here as we head toward the trade deadline.
— The New York Liberty are partying with Meghan Thee Stallion now after winning it all. I’m jealous. Meg Hall has more.
— An Eagles fan dropped a “Go Birds” at Kamala Harris’ Town Hall meeting on Wednesday because of course. Charles Curits has more.
— Here’s Cory Woodroof with five running backs who could be available at the trade deadline.
— And here are picks against the spread from the staff for the College Football weekend ahead.
That’s a wrap, folks. Thanks so much for reading. We appreciate your time. Peace! Have a great Thursday.
-Sykes ✌️
