All Gave Some
For all of those, like me, who for 22 years have watched and waited for that feeling - that now long forgotten feeling - of glory; last night was for us. For those of us who watched in horror as the fates stole Lenny Bias, Reggie Lewis, Tim Duncan and Greg Oden from us, last nights game was a great big karmic payback. It’s not the ultimate payback, no that tab still needs to be closed out, but nevertheless we got what we’ve all been waiting two decades for last night. A sign that the basketball world might finally right itself and have the Boston Celtics as the center of the hardwood universe. These are heady times my friends.
Last night was quite simply payback. It was payback for having to watch in horror as Magic celebrated on the Garden parquet; payback for having to lose to the Bad Boys of Detroit; payback for having to watch Larry Bird’s body break down in front of our eyes; payback for the do-nothing Paul Gaston years; payback for having to watch Shaquille O’Neil close the Boston Garden by eliminating the Celtics from the playoffs in 1995; payback for watching the franchise bring in a parade of scrubs like Thomas Hamilton, Milt Palacio, Marty Conlon, Andrew Declerq, and Ron Mercer to wear the hallowed green and white; payback for the league shafting us by making us keep Reggie Lewis on the payroll AFTER HE DIED (rot in hell David Stern); payback for the uninspired playoff sweeps in 2003 and 2004; payback for John Carroll, Jimmy Rogers ML Carr, and Rick Pitino; payback for the tank jobs of 1997 and 2007. Damn, and that’s not even the half of it.
I have lived and died with the Celtics for so long (mostly died as it would be) that I find myself unable to wrap my mind around the enormity of the situation. Yes, I was at Game 2, screaming my head off and basking in the glory of the Finals. However, these last two games have felt oddly detached. Maybe it’s because by the time the fourth quarter rolls around, I’m a bottle of wine drunk, laying on my floor sweating and cursing, while the wife and baby sleep peacefully in the other room. Last night’s first half was so foul that I actually gave up on the game for a good thirty five minutes to watch the Roman Polanski documentary (maybe I wanted to see someone else having a worse time than I was having). Thank god for DVR I didn’t miss a second. However, even having witnessed it I still can’t believe it. I mean this wasn’t supposed to happen. Transport yourself back to last May, when the fates seemed to shut the lights off for the Celtics franchise. Could any of us ever imagine the stunning enormity of that comeback? This whole season’s been like a long, waking dream. I mean do we really have James Posey on our team. We never get guys like James Posey, they are always on the other team killing us. However, this time we got him. I love Posey. Thank god for James Posey. Big Game James must retire a Celtic.
I know I’m rambling but who cares. This is too incredible to be believed. Are we really just one win from the title? I can’t even fathom it, mostly because I know that a 3-1 lead looks a lot more comforting than it really is. Luckily, this team has alot more intestinal fortitude than the Lakers and they won’t shrink from the moment. It’s time to close this out and everybody on the Celtics knows it by now. So will we on Father’s day? Wouldn’t that be something, not just for all the guys on the team who had babies this year — at least six by my count — that would be something very special. I don’t even care that I have tickets for Game Six. Win it on Sunday and we can all party at the parade.
One last anecdote before I go. I am so happy for Ray Allen, who until this series has had a miserable playoffs. I remember after Game 7 against Atlanta, when he was benched for the fourth quarter, Ray came out of the locker room and grabbed his son and daughter up in his arms and buried his face into them, as they hugged him for dear life. Being a father myself I could tell that something was bothering this man deep in his soul the way he clung to his children like that. We may never know just how much of a mental struggle these playoffs have been for that man, but he has pulled himself back up and last night delivered a game for the ages. His drive on Vujajic basically broke that kids soul. He may never be the same. Thank you Ray. Thank you.
So, you want my dream scenario? I want to win this on Sunday and I want Paul to look over and see the glowing souls of Red Auerbach, Dennis Johnson, and Reggie Lewis smiling back at him Return of the Jedi style. Then I want to hear Red’s voice, just like he did in 1984 after hoisting the trophy say. “What happened to this Lakers dynasty I’ve been hearing so much about?”
Close these chumps out and let’s party.
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June 13th, 2008 at 6:49 pm
June 13th, 2008 at 6:53 pm
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June 13th, 2008 at 6:55 pm
[…] But I’ll let the Chief Beaster himself deliver the fittingest of ripostes, in his inimitable, grammatically-challenged, totally boolicious style: […]
June 14th, 2008 at 12:14 am
LOVE THE CLIP!! Ray really did welcome Vujacic to the NBA Finals on that Final drive. I think I watched it about 10 times…..including the ABC replays!!!
What was so amazing about that play was how Ray waved off KG on the screen, and basically said “I got this for us”. It wasn’t a Rajon Rondo buckling Steve Nash knees type move either. He looked Sasha in the eyes and effectively ended the Lakers hopes of winning a championship (knock on wood). He left Sasha standing there wondering wth just happened, like the ref’s blew a whistle or something!!
Great blog by the way. You really hit the emotions true Celtics fans have felt for years….decades for that matter.
June 14th, 2008 at 1:17 am
Thanks man. We’ve been some long suffering fans here. Truthfully, I have always enjoyed being a Celtics fan. I vever gave up and was absurdly, absurdly positive in the face of horrible twists and turns. One more game baby. We need to just get one more.
June 14th, 2008 at 3:03 pm
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June 14th, 2008 at 6:03 pm
[…] As an unabashed, pink-hatted Celts fan, I can only imagine how rewarding these ”heady times” are in The Beast Lair. It is a far cry from this. […]