Darrell "Clipper Darrell" Bailey is not your average Clippers fan. The 41-year-old businessman wears a custom tailored suit (half blue, half red with the Clippers' logo on the back), sports a pair of custom-made red, white and blue sneakers and drives a pimped-out red, white and blue BMW 7.40i that would make even Xzibit do a double take.

Normally this would seem strange, but the outfit and the car suit Bailey. He's the Clippers' unofficial mascot. And he has the consecutive attendance streak to prove it. 

356 games and counting.

When Bailey enters the Staples Center, everyone lights up like their favorite uncle just walked into the room. Fans greet him by name, asking for pictures and reassurances about the upcoming game.

What's up D? We gonna win tonight?

He's happy to oblige each request with a smile and a dose of his good-natured Clippers banter.  

In the halls, Bailey plays the charming Pied Piper, moving from group to group with a big smile on his face. But when he gets to his seat - section 107, row 9, seat 21 - he's all business, analyzing the game with fans in his section, pumping up the crowd and heckling opposing players with unparalleled enthusiasm. 

His favorite line? "U-G-L-Y. You ain't got no alibi. You ugly!"  

He even has a signature dance, which is, of course, memorialized on YouTube. 

All of this qualifies Bailey as the unofficial mascot of the team. A hype man of epic proportion, but Flava Flav he is not. Behind the showman exterior is an intelligent, well-spoken basketball fan who would do anything for his favorite franchise.

Never was that more apparent than two years ago, when Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban flew Bailey in from Los Angeles and offered him a salaried position to become "Dallas D," the official fan of the Mavericks. Cuban pulled out all the stops. He treated Bailey like a marquee free agent, putting him up in a fancy hotel and giving him free rein of the Mavericks' arena. 

Bailey was tempted. But in the end, he decided to stay with the Clippers. He didn't want to let the fans down. And besides, what choice did he have? He and the Clippers were destined to be together.  

It's been that way ever since a fateful day 15 years ago, when Bailey was fired as general manager of a chain of local communications stores. Feeling discouraged, he turned on the TV and found solace in the Clippers, a team that perfectly mirrored his plight.

"I was upset," said Bailey. "[I] turned the TV on and the Clipper game came on. And they said the same about them. How horrible they were, they'd never amount to anything. And I said this is going to be my team. We gonna ride or die together."

Since that day, Bailey has been a die hard Clippers supporter.

At first he watched from afar, catching games on TV and scrounging tickets when he could. But nine years ago, Bailey's fortune changed and he was able to afford season tickets. He's been at every home game since.

A self-proclaimed "shy" guy, Bailey let loose near the end of his first season as a ticket-holder, dancing around the aisles in his Clippers jersey. The cameramen caught on, and Bailey quickly became a JumboTron sensation.

Soon after, "Clipper Darrell" was born.

Bailey's costume started out as a Clippers jersey, but in 2005 he decided to step up his game when NBA Commissioner David Stern announced a league-wide dress code that required players to wear Business Casual attire.

"I said shoot if the players gotta do it, why not the fans?" said Bailey.

He went out and bought two suits - one red, one blue - and had a tailor combine them into the ultimate Clippers suit. The result was an instant success. The evolution of "Clipper Darrell" had begun.

Bailey paid $1,300 for the original suit, but now he gets them for free as part of a sponsorship with swsuits.com. He is also sponsored by Metro PCS. As a result, he no longer has to pay for season tickets. This has inspired him to form a foundation called the Clipper Darrell Foundation which will give tickets to underprivileged fans.

He plans to launch his first program in January.

Coincidentally, after receiving charity himself, Baily was inspired to purchase his most expensive fan accessory: the Clipper Mobile. 

Bailey created the Clipper Mobile as a personal 'thank you' to Clippers owner Donald Sterling, who sponsored Bailey on an impromptu trip to Phoenix in May 2006 to watch the Clippers play the Suns in Game 7 of the Western Conference Semi-Finals. Sterling let Bailey fly with him and his family on a private jet to Phoenix and put Bailey up in the Ritz-Carlton for the game. Bailey customized a car in Clippers colors to show his gratitude.  

The modified BMW cost an estimated $13,500. Bailey says his wife didn't mind the high price tag, but made him promise to refurbish the kitchen when he told her of his plans to turn a room in their house into a haven for red, white and blue.

"She knows the Clippers are my outlet," said Bailey. "She'd rather the Clippers be my outlet than having me a mistress on the side."   

Bailey describes his fanatic persona as an outlet, an excuse to "come to games, cheer, and have fun." But for Clippers Nation, he has become more than that. He is as much a symbol of the franchise now as the red, white and blue logo that adorns the back of his jacket.

This association is apparent in more than just cheers and backslaps. The team has been in decline since the 2005-06 season and Bailey hears his share of complaints from fellow fans.

Most of the criticism revolves around Clippers coach Mike Dunleavy, who has seemingly lost touch with players and fans in recent years.

In public, Bailey listens attentively to the gripes of his fellow fans, occasionally giving input, but mostly just nodding along. In private he's more vocal about his preferred plan of action. 

"Dunleavy's a great GM," said Bailey. "Coaching, I don't think he can do. I feel that if they want to win, Dunleavy needs to step down as coach."

Bailey, who is sticking to his offseason prediction of 52 wins this season for the Clippers, would like to see Dunleavy replaced by a coach who pays less attention to statistics and more attention to motivating the players.

He says Byron Scott, who was recently fired as coach of the New Orleans Hornets, is the ideal man to lead the Clippers back into the playoffs. He likes Scott's up front, honest approach and thinks Scott could relate better to the team's roster than the dour Dunleavy.

"Dunleavy always puts out percentages," said Bailey. "I don't believe in percentages...it's all about winning that game. It's all about getting the team to the playoffs." 

Bailey's frustration is justified. He's cheered his hardest for nine years, and it's taken its toll. The "Clipper Darrell" suit now comes equipped with a jacket pocket full package of lozeneges. And by the end of the game they're all gone.

When asked how many years he has left as a fanatic, the wear shows on Bailey's face like primer peeking through a chip in the paint.

"I probably got a few more years," Bailey said. "My voice is getting weaker. Dancing and acting crazy, I've probably got 20 years. But actually yelling at games? It takes a lot out of me."

[Follow "Clipper Darrell" on Twitter and Facebook, or visit him at his Web site: www.clipperdarrell.com.]