OK, I'm thinking of a team with plenty of tradition that hasn't been on the biggest stage within its sport since the mid '80s. These guys have a loyal fan base and a curse that keeps politely tapping them on the shoulder to remind them that it is still here. And their season begins tonight.
The last line should have given it away. Or maybe it didn't. Your Boston Celtics, ladies and gentlemen, the sole tenants of the FleetCenter now that the Bruins are left to pursue the Stanley Cup on Playstation, take the parquet tonight against the division rival Philadelphia 76ers. Really gets your blood flowing, doesn't it? In a town that has been spoiled in recent months, make that days, we are going to have to bear the unbearable until April;
mediocrity.
Sure, we'll have the Patriots every Sunday, but that's the rub my friends - Sunday comes but once a week. True, while the NFL is a one-day-a-week (two, including MNF) entertainment venture, ESPN is working on creating an eighth day of the week just so they can fit in more Sean Salisbury and John Clayton. But I digress.
As for our beloved C's, you may be asking yourself what curse I could have been referencing in the first paragraph. Now I am not one to believe in curses - hell, I'm sick of the word even as I type it - but the tragic event that occurred after the Celts won their last title in 1986 will hang over the franchise forever, regardless of if it wins anything ever again.
Most of you probably know the story. Boston finished with a 67-15 record and steamrolled everyone including the Houston Rockets on its way to a championship. But through some sort of trading glitch (much like the one that brought the Pistons the number two pick in 2003 after being in the Eastern Conference finals) the Green received the number two pick in that year's draft. They selected Maryland power forward/super prospect Len Bias. He was found dead of a cocaine overdose after a night of celebration with his buddies and nothing has been even remotely the same around Auerbach-ville ever since.
Now, I won't even begin to name the numerous bad breaks and dumb decisions that have plagued the franchise since that fateful day. But from what I have seen in my years rooting for the Celtics, there have only been light flirtations with the title in the era of the Bird-less Celtics. I guess the Chicago Bulls are going through the same thing right now, maybe even to a worse degree. At least the Celtics put a competitive team on the floor most nights, 2004 playoffs excluded.
I hate to say it, but despite their passion, the Celtics brass and its fans remind me of that middle-aged man whose life reached its peak as a high school football hero. Or Rashaan Salaam. Or anybody who had greatness and lived
greatness and felt greatness, only to see their life after that become nothing but ordinary. And let's face it, the Celtics are a very ordinary franchise right now, top to bottom. Boston, and Boston alone, has 16 championships. But the fact that I put not one ounce of my own fan energy into those makes them seem like they might as well belong to the Atlanta Hawks or something.
There is no better proof of this than Gary Payton's initial refusal to come here, or even Tim Duncan saying that if he had been drafted by the Celts in 1997, he wouldn't have come. When a guy who wasn't even in the league yet says something like this, you know your franchise has seen better days.
I know this bitterness is the last of what you want to hear. The puppy dogs and ice cream world that is being a Patriots and Sox fan is much more inviting, isn't it?
But the Celtics at least deserve to be talked about, even if they are not being read about. They've earned it, regardless of the fact that the last Celtics who could call themselves "NBA Champions" are only ten or so years away from adult diapers. But these are not your father's Celtics, and while that is tough to digest, it is much easier for us than it is for one time Celtic great Tommy Heinsohn, who has watched and commentated nearly every game of the "bad but not terrible" era for this once proud franchise.
I was in Ireland during the "blink and you'll miss the Celts" 2004 playoffs, but from what I hear there weren't exactly "What would Chucky Atkins Do?" t-shirts all over Boston. One friend of mine told me that the FleetCenter during Game Four, when they were about to get swept by the Pacers, was half full.
Compare that with a certain Red Sox Game Four when they were about to get - ah, never mind, you know the rest. People care about this team, they just aren't passionate any more. Apathy may not be at an all-time high, but it is pretty close.
But, hey, why start ripping on the Celts before the season has even begun? They could have some quality pieces in the right places. They have a new coach (Doc Rivers), a new point guard (Payton) and apparently quite the cast of rookies after what most analysts consider to be a stellar draft. And Paul Pierce is officially rejuvenated now that he has spit on the Cavaliers bench. That says to me "Come get some, Lebron." Love it. And we have Tom Gugliotta and a healthy Raef LaFrentz playing significant roles. Oh crap, don't love it.
One old injury prone white guy, one younger injury prone white guy. I guess they really are screwed.<$>
