Steve Ballmer’s best moments: Watch LA Clippers owner and former Microsoft chief’s crazy videos
Steve Ballmer and his infamous cheerleading have found a more suitable home than the corporate world of Microsoft he waved farewell to yesterday.
Ballmer’s breathless exuberance and enthusiasm of the kind only Americans are capable is probably the most memorable thing about his time at the tech company, ahead of even his business successes or missteps.
Luckily, many of the best moments have been caught on camera.
Ballmer’s departure as chief executive last year was an Oscar-worthy performance in which he described the company as his "fourth child" and, well, got a little choked up. He was the company's 30th employee after all. It’s been emotional.
To take the biscuit in the crazy video stakes, however, rewind to the heady days of 2000, when Ballmer danced around the stage to Gloria Estefan’s “Get on your feet”. There’s screaming, there’s jumping, there’s dancing, there’s a combination of both ("jancing"?). Is there any other chief exec who could get away with this?
And then there’s the rallying, if a little sweaty, “developers” chant, which he reprised two years later- with a twist. The original of this is so legendary, it’s a suggested search when you Google Ballmer’s name.
Unearthed from the mists of time (the 80s) is a clip of Ballmer selling the hell out of the latest Windows. No wonder he became chief exec, who would say no to this?
He later reprised the role for the Windows XP launch, but sadly not for the subsequent Windows 7 or 8 launches.
As the new owner of US basketball team the LA Clippers, he demonstrated that shouting and crowd rallying isn't just reserved for Microsoft. At his first Clippers press conference, Ballmer looked perfectly at home with the equally passionate sports fans.