Before I was a fan of any sport, I was a fan of NBA basketball. 99.9% of that fandom was because of my dad. One of my earliest vivid memories was my dad putting me to sleep at 7:30 on a Friday night, then waking me up at 11:30 to watch tape-delayed NBA games, almost always with the Celtics playing (amazing to think the NBA’s popularity was so sketchy that they actually showed games on tape delay once upon a time, isn’t it?). Anyway, being the sports-maniac-to-be that I was, I’d usually make it through the entire game, cheering like mad with my dad for the Celtics and eventually dropping back to sleep after 2 a.m.
Did I mention I was five years old at the time?
My love of basketball, the Celtics, and the NBA as a whole grew over the next few years. Being the first one among my friends to become a basketball fan, I’d egg them on to join me on the Celtics bandwagon. Some did. Many didn’t. In the 80s, the Lakers were the flashier team. They had Magic, they had Nicholson, Showtime, the glamour of L.A., all that. The Celtics were personified by their blue-collar front line of Bird, McHale and Parish, possibly the ugliest trio of stars in NBA history. By the time we hit high school, I got into it pretty heatedly with my Lakers-rooting buddies, especially my friend Eric. It got to the point where I refused to wear purple of any kind, while he steered clear of anything green at all costs. There’s a picture of us that I have buried in some album, where he’s wearing one of my Celtics T-shirts and I’m wearing one of his Lakers shirts. It’s an all-time keeper for me.
As time went on, the Celtics ran into a string of terrible luck, starting with the tragic death of top draft pick (and potential superstar) Len Bias, through injuries to their best players, the death of Reggie Lewis, and other unfortunate events. While all that was happening, the NBA was also falling into decline. The Pistons started ugly-ing up the game with their Bad Boys style of rough play. The Knicks took it to a whole new level under Pat Riley, relying on goons to try and even out the talent deficit they faced when matched against elite teams. Eventually, I just stopped watching pro basketball, as the lousy aesthetics, the decline of the Celtics and new interests lured me away.
I started getting into the NBA again over the past couple years. The Celtics still stunk. But suddenly we had an exciting new generation of young stars on the court. The style of play improved–not to the exciting level it was at when watching the Celtics and Lakers in the 80s, but still fun enough for an old-time basketball fan like me to get back into it. Then this off-season, the Celtics traded for Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen. They later added several key role players. All of a sudden, my favorite team was relevant again, just as the league was cresting in terms of on-court talent and excitement. I’ve watched the NBA playoffs religiously for the past few weeks, even more than I’ve been watching baseball games (not a good thing for my job, since I’m mainly a baseball writer), all the whole rooting for a Lakers vs. Celtics rematch.
And now here we are, on the cusp of another Lakers vs. Celtics finals, more than 20 years after the last one. I’m so excited I’m ready to gnaw my arm off. Here in New Hampshire, everyone’s walking around wearing a Celtics shirt. My buddies in L.A. report Laker Mania, always high in that city, flying off the charts now. I read Bill Simmons’ column today at ESPN.com, and found it to be absolutely outstanding, his best effort in a good while. Why? Because like me, he’s jumping up and down right now, thinking of all the games he watched with his dad as a kid, all the games he obsessed over as he came of age in adolesence, all the bad times he endured as the Celtics and the NBA went to hell for all those years, to the point where now the dream matchup has happened and all those old feelings have come rushing back.
So to everyone, I say enjoy the Finals, and Go Celtics. And to Eric, my good buddy for the past 28 years, I say mazel tov on your upcoming wedding (June 29), can’t wait to party with you this weekend for your bachelor party…and I hope Kobe chokes like a dog.
from your own site.
NBA Finals thread/My life as a Celtics fan
Before I was a fan of any sport, I was a fan of NBA basketball. 99.9% of that fandom was because of my dad. One of my earliest vivid memories was my dad putting me to sleep at 7:30 on a Friday night, then waking me up at 11:30 to watch tape-delayed NBA games, almost always with the Celtics playing (amazing to think the NBA’s popularity was so sketchy that they actually showed games on tape delay once upon a time, isn’t it?). Anyway, being the sports-maniac-to-be that I was, I’d usually make it through the entire game, cheering like mad with my dad for the Celtics and eventually dropping back to sleep after 2 a.m.
Did I mention I was five years old at the time?
My love of basketball, the Celtics, and the NBA as a whole grew over the next few years. Being the first one among my friends to become a basketball fan, I’d egg them on to join me on the Celtics bandwagon. Some did. Many didn’t. In the 80s, the Lakers were the flashier team. They had Magic, they had Nicholson, Showtime, the glamour of L.A., all that. The Celtics were personified by their blue-collar front line of Bird, McHale and Parish, possibly the ugliest trio of stars in NBA history. By the time we hit high school, I got into it pretty heatedly with my Lakers-rooting buddies, especially my friend Eric. It got to the point where I refused to wear purple of any kind, while he steered clear of anything green at all costs. There’s a picture of us that I have buried in some album, where he’s wearing one of my Celtics T-shirts and I’m wearing one of his Lakers shirts. It’s an all-time keeper for me.
As time went on, the Celtics ran into a string of terrible luck, starting with the tragic death of top draft pick (and potential superstar) Len Bias, through injuries to their best players, the death of Reggie Lewis, and other unfortunate events. While all that was happening, the NBA was also falling into decline. The Pistons started ugly-ing up the game with their Bad Boys style of rough play. The Knicks took it to a whole new level under Pat Riley, relying on goons to try and even out the talent deficit they faced when matched against elite teams. Eventually, I just stopped watching pro basketball, as the lousy aesthetics, the decline of the Celtics and new interests lured me away.
I started getting into the NBA again over the past couple years. The Celtics still stunk. But suddenly we had an exciting new generation of young stars on the court. The style of play improved–not to the exciting level it was at when watching the Celtics and Lakers in the 80s, but still fun enough for an old-time basketball fan like me to get back into it. Then this off-season, the Celtics traded for Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen. They later added several key role players. All of a sudden, my favorite team was relevant again, just as the league was cresting in terms of on-court talent and excitement. I’ve watched the NBA playoffs religiously for the past few weeks, even more than I’ve been watching baseball games (not a good thing for my job, since I’m mainly a baseball writer), all the whole rooting for a Lakers vs. Celtics rematch.
And now here we are, on the cusp of another Lakers vs. Celtics finals, more than 20 years after the last one. I’m so excited I’m ready to gnaw my arm off. Here in New Hampshire, everyone’s walking around wearing a Celtics shirt. My buddies in L.A. report Laker Mania, always high in that city, flying off the charts now. I read Bill Simmons’ column today at ESPN.com, and found it to be absolutely outstanding, his best effort in a good while. Why? Because like me, he’s jumping up and down right now, thinking of all the games he watched with his dad as a kid, all the games he obsessed over as he came of age in adolesence, all the bad times he endured as the Celtics and the NBA went to hell for all those years, to the point where now the dream matchup has happened and all those old feelings have come rushing back.
So to everyone, I say enjoy the Finals, and Go Celtics. And to Eric, my good buddy for the past 28 years, I say mazel tov on your upcoming wedding (June 29), can’t wait to party with you this weekend for your bachelor party…and I hope Kobe chokes like a dog.
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Tags: Basketball dads, Early-childhood sleep deprivation, Kobe Bryant, Lakers vs. Celtics, NBA, YYYYYYYYYYAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!!
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