Celtic Pride
I have a strange relationship with the Boston Celtics. If someone came up to me and said: “quick, name your top 5 favorite sports teams”, odds are the Celtics would be named third, right after the Red Sox and Patriots.
Having said that, it’s a distant third. I’m not that big of a basketball fan and I keep up with what the Celtics are doing, know who is on the team, occasionally watch them play, but they aren’t at the very top of my sports priority.
It’s also a complicated relationship, as while historically they are the most successful franchise I root for, I was only first introduced to them in 1992, the very end of the Larry Bird era, and the beginning of a forgettable, rebuilding mode. So for most of my life time they fit the mode of me rooting for loser teams and no amount of banners on the Garden’s ceiling would make me think otherwise. But things have changed for the better. by now I’ve had a few years to appreciate this current core of Celtic players and the success they bring. As the eastern conference finals are about to begin, thinking about it, the best part about this year’s team is how, somehow, they make it happen. They weren’t supposed to make it here… They are old and banged up and had a terrible start to the season. They’ve been old and banged up for like four of the past five years. So what? Although, never making it easy on themselves, like they didn’t get the memo about how a playoff series can end in 4 or 5 games, they get it done. Who’s old now?
I don’t know if they have a chance against the Heat. The Heat are younger and hungry and have that LeBron dude. But they are also banged up, and when it comes to big threes, the real one resides in Boston and it’s a big four by now. Still, rationally it’s probably a long shot. I don’t really care. I know that win or loss, they’ve gotten further than I expected them. And yes, that’s the best part about it. When your team makes it when they weren’t supposed to, it’s a different feeling. It’s a bigger thrill and more to taunt your friends with. And maybe it’s a whole lot of pride. Celtic Pride.
Ain’t it the truth? [Photo by wakinboston via Flickr]
