How soon we forget
Despite the fact that I've been following sports all my life, last night's NBA championship win by the Celtics was something I've never really experienced before.
I'm from this generation of 20-something Boston sports fans, the ones that were born right around the time in the mid-80s when the Celtics and Bruins were last dominant. As a kid, all of the teams around me were bad. The Red Sox, Patriots, Celtics and Bruins were constantly breaking the hearts of their followers and it was just something everyone grew accustomed to. Winning? That was for the likes of the Bulls and Yankees, never for us.
Then something changed. The Patriots got a new owner and became unbeatable. The Red Sox broke an 86-year-old curse.
And no matter how remarkable those years were, then came 2007-08. The Sox won their second World Series in three years. The Patriots almost made history. And the Celtics shot themselves into relevancy with the signings of Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen. Suddenly, the region that had become accustomed to mediocrity and disappointment has now grown to expect success.
And it's weird. It's weird to watch a championship series or game and think, 'Wow, my team is probably going to win.' Sure, with Spygate and the Super Bowl we still haven't gotten over, the Patriots are in something of a downspell, but they're still thought of as the most recognizable team in the NFL. And when it comes down to crunch time, if the Patriots are down by six points with less than two minutes left, I'm still pretty confident with Tom Brady in the pocket.
The thing is, I'm not the biggest Celtics fan. Really, before this season, I knew two true Celtics fans - both friends of mine from college - and that was about it. I'm more of a college basketball fan and when it comes to pro sports, I'd watch the Bruins over the Celtics most nights. But if any team is going to win the NBA championship, I'm glad its the Celtics. And even though I had never seen the Green Patrol raise a banner to the rafters, as I was a year old the last time that happened, I knew that this was their year. I knew it because, hey, I'm a Red Sox fan and a Patriots fan. Anything is possible....
Now, the Bruins on the other hand. Well, I guess we all need something to keep us grounded.