Championship Odd's and End's

[Ricky_is_god]

I rarely write on this board, although I am here reading multiple times a day. Although I was born a year after the last Celtics Championship, and do not remember in person the past dynasties (although I have a pretty good working knowledge of the entirety of Celtics history) I consider myself an enormous Celtics Fan. My friends all root for the C's because of me, and of people I meet, that is my defining characteristic, Celtic Fan. I loved the label, but I had never really been proud to be that guy until now. There aren't a lot of people I know as big of a fan as I am, so I wanted to come on here and just get some things off my chest from the emotional week it was for all us fans. Here are just a few things I found, and found myself doing this week.

-First off, in the fourth quarter on Tuesday, I had to put my phone on vibrate, there were too many congratulations phone calls and texts to even field at the time. It's nice to have a dominating character trait like Celtic Fan, when the Celtics are dominating.

-During the entire trophy presentation, and coverage afterward I couldn't sit down once. I felt myself pacing and fist pumping when I heard Paul Pierce got the MVP, and nearly shared a tear with him on the podium when I saw how truly happy he was to win a title WITH the celtics. He left the realm of being a good player on a bad team, and joined the, Cousy's, and the Russel's, and the Hondo's, and the White's, and the Cowens's, and the Bird's, and the Mchale's, and the Parrish's in Celtics Lore. He came into this season as a very good Celtic Player, and left as the next name in line of Celtic Legends. I could not have been happier, it meant so much to him to join that fraternity, and it looked like they were happy to welcome him.

-Like everyone did, I at times questioned Doc over the last few years, but one thing was for sure, even if I wanted him gone as coach, I would have loved a tee time with him the next day. He is a great personality, and no matter how I felt about his coaching, I always liked and respected the person he was. When this team was assembled I knew he was the perfect coach; a good leader, and a good friend to players. A players coach to the veteran's accepting their input, and the great teacher he had always been to younger players. Between his career long coaching struggles, and the loss of his father, it felt really good seeing him pump his fist and point to the crowd off the back of the Duck boat on Thursday.

-The parade was incredible. So much Green. Pierce smoking the Cigar with the MVP trophy over his head. KG swatting hands away from his team mates as they wanted to even touch HIS trophy. But I think my favorite part was Ray Allen. The reception for each of the big three was very Different. People felt happy for Pierce as he finally made it. They were excited for Garnett because of all his energy and he was holding the trophy, But when Ray passed on his Duck tour boat, it was just general appreciation. More applause than cheers for Allen, and I think thats a reflection of how we all feel about the team. While Our excitement and Wooo's! might trail off over the next months, I know my appreciation for the entire team and organization isn't going anywhere.

-During April I sit on a couch and watch two full days of NFL draft coverage. It used to be I spent an entire year preparing for the NBA draft. When the team was bad, it was my absolute favorite part of the season. It was weird waking up after the parade today, and looking at the calendar and saying, "O man, the draft is in less than a week, and I don't really know the prospects." It's amazing how the draft can lose importance when your team is still playing.

-I also wanted to thank everyone on this board. I go to school in Maryland, and its hard to find Celtics fans to talk to. It has been great to be able to hear other insights of actual fans a for a few years, and it gives me an extra amount of joy knowing that all you guys are sharing this championship, and enjoying it as much as I am. I know just like me, you guys watched all 18 games of the losing streak last year, and all the bad years before that. As one of my friends said, "Fans as devoted as us deserve a ring too."

-Bottom line this was an incredible season. From when we got KG, I knew it would be a lot of fun. For somebody who never got to see the old Celtics dynasties, it was great to finally see a team I invested so much of my time in make it. All of the hardship, the lost lotteries, injuries, and apparent terrible trades took a huge toll, but it was worth it just for this week. I already miss Celtics basketball, and can't wait for next season to start.

[GonzoLays]

Great post, Ricky_is_god.

I assume you were a huge Ricky Davis fan.

[ParticleMan]

maybe he likes ricky martin

anyway nice OP. sums up what a lot of us feel (even us old timers!)