EL MONTE, Calif. — While fans have been away from games, the Los Angeles Clippers have made an effort to show they are a part of the team.
In a season of creativity, the Clippers' game entertainment crew has been surprising fans who have submitted their own stories to the team.
On this particular game night, Chuck the Condor, DJ Dense and the Clippers spirit squad touched down in El Monte, much to the disbelief of super-fan Angus Leung.
"This is going to be a day I'm going to be remembering for the rest of my life," Leung said.
Leung, a track and field coach at San Marino High School, will tell you the Clippers changed his life.
He immigrated to the United States from Hong Kong in 2000, and he arrived in Southern California knowing very little English.
"I didn't really have cable back then. I believe I just had the first nine channels. Channel 5 was my favorite because of all the cartoons they played from 3:30 to 5, and on Fridays after five o'clock on that same channel, they would have the Clippers game on."
Leung began regularly watching the Clippers and the NBA, barely understanding what was going on in a language and game that was foreign to him, but he caught on quickly.
"It is how I eventually got into what basketball is, who the Clippers are, and it made me learn the language a lot, a lot easier," Leung said.
Understanding the sport also gave him a way to connect with other kids on the playground.
"Because of basketball itself, I had the bravery to connect with people," he said. "I was doing better with my vocabulary. I was doing better with the culture of America. I owe it all to the Los Angeles Clippers."
That's why Leung has stayed loyal to the Clippers for over 20 years. When he wrote to the team to share his story, he never thought they would return the love like this.
"I never imagined so many cameras right in front of me. I never imagined having Chuck right next to me," Leung said.
Leung said it reminds him that he's part of a community and that connection means so much more in a time when Asian Americans have been subjected to racism and hate.
"With so many people around me right now — it's special. I'm not alone. Everybody in the world should feel the same thing. We are not alone. With this kind of support from the Clippers family, I just feel blessed," he said.
Leung has a lifetime full of Clippers memories, but on this day, the Clippers family gifted him the memory of a lifetime.