What the Boston Celtics Mean to Us – Mike Hilperts
Dec 17, 2014; Boston, MA, USA; Boston Celtics guard Rajon Rondo (9) on the court warming up before the start of the game against the Orlando Magic at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports
People often say they were “born” into a fanbase. While I don’t doubt this is possible, I contend that there’s a single, defining moment that catalyzes the transformation of a fan, into a fanatic.
For me, that defining moment came during the 2012 Eastern Conference Finals — a series that would later mark the symbolic end of the “Big-three”-era.
Don’t be mistaken, I’ve been a fan of the Boston Celtics for as long as I can remember. What happened in May of 2012, was what effectively converted me into a basketball fanatic. Since then, my devotion to the Celtics, and basketball as a whole, has been religious.
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But my memory of the Celtics goes all the way back to 1997, to the dark days of the Rick Pitino-era. I remember sitting in the first couple rows of a funereal Fleet Center. I remember my confusion upon seeing fans wear paper bags over their heads. I remember hearing Tommy Heinsohn emphatically dole out “Tommy Points” to the likes of Eric Williams and Walter McCarty. I remember watching Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls beat the Utah Jazz two seasons in a row in the Finals, and thinking “when will the Celtics be here?”
To me, Celtics pride became synonymous with the Lochness Monster. I had never seen it, so why should I believe it was real?
The C’s would eventually improve, thanks to the resignation of Rick Pitino and the ascension of Paul Pierce into a top-10 player. Although they’d fall just short in 2002, it once again gave Boston a taste of Celtics Pride, however fleeting.
Following the Celtics failed Eastern Conference Finals run in 2002, the team would again regress, and end up with a high lottery pick come 2007. Meanwhile, from 2002 until 2007, both the New England Patriots and the Boston Red Sox would win multiple championships (super bowls and world series, respectively).
The distance in popularity between the Celtics and New England’s two flagship teams, the Red Sox and the Patriots, would continue to grow.
Then the summer of 2007 happened. Danny Ainge had assembled the “Big Three” and the Celtics had overnight, reinvigorated Celtics pride. As we all know, they’d win the 2008 NBA Championship and then, for the next two seasons, get robbed of two more championships as a result of injuries.
But just when it was all but a foregone conclusion that the Big Three era was done, the Celtics would square off against the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference Finals for one final run.
The 2011-2012 season had a late beginning, considering it was the year of the NBA’s most recent lockout. The revised season was just 66 games, but for an aging Celtics team, it’s impact was extremely beneficial.
The C’s would have a decent season, finishing 39-27. Securing them the fourth seed after winning the Atlantic division. Despite failing to find a viable replacement for Kendrick Perkins, the Celtics would still finish first in the NBA in defensive efficiency. Doc Rivers had opted to slow the pace of his lumbering team, resulting in the C’s possession of the 27th worst offense.
In the first round, the Celtics faced Josh Smith and Joe Johnson and the Atlanta Hawks. Despite the Hawks having home-court advantage, the Celtics would split the series at 1-1 before returning to Boston, where they’d win both games. The Celtics would split the rest of the series with the Hawks, advancing them to the Eastern Conference Semifinals.
In the second round, the eighth-seeded Philadelphia 76ers, faced-off against the Boston Celtics after defeating a Derrick Rose-less Chicago Bulls previously in the first round. Despite being largely outmatched against a veteran Celtics squad, strong play from Andre Iguodala (who shot 54% from three that series) propelled them to a seven-game series against the Celtics.
The Celtics would beat them handily in game seven, however. They would once again face LeBron James in the Eastern Conference Finals.
Miami was the heavy favorites entering the series, as they breezed through the playoffs to that point – beating the Knicks in five games, and the Pacers in six. While the Celtics would lose the first two games in Miami, in game two, they had put up quite the fight, showing the world that they still had a few tricks up their sleeves.
Playoff Rondo had once again emerged as it was now time for him to lift the Celtics upon his shoulders.
Throughout this entire run, I had begun to grow as a fan. Every Heat’s fans jeers sounded like an insult to myself. Every referee’s call felt evidence of game-fixing. I thought the entire world was against the Boston Celtics.
And worst of all, our nemesis, LeBron James had grown into the mature and clutch player we had all feared he’d become when he was still in Cleveland.
The series had begun to take on a narrative not all too unfamiliar to ones you’d see in cinemas. It was the wily veterans vs. the self-entitled superstars.
Each game was a war of attrition, with dramatic swings in momentum between each quarter.
While Rajon Rondo would become the Celtics most important player during this series, Pierce, gave us one of his finest moments, in game five when he hit a three pointer in the waning seconds to give the Celtics a 3-2 series lead. Best of all, he did this right in LeBron James’ eye.
It had an eery similarity to the one he hit against Al Harrington in 2003.
While the Celtics would lose game six of the ECF, there was a moment in that game, when the Heat had all but already won, when Celtics fans – unprompted – started chanting “Let’s Go Celtics”. It was a poignant moment, as we knew the Celtics were to return to Miami for game seven, where they’d likely lose. Although, KG and Pierce would return the following season, it would become a symbolic farewell to the Big three.
Just outside of Boston, a then-19-year-old me had officially tasted Celtics pride.
After growing up a spoiled sports fan, between getting to see all four of my favorite teams win a championship, I finally understood what being a true sports fan was all about. I had become so jaded by the Red Sox and the Patriots’ success, that I had failed to see what being a sports fan was really about: unconditional loyalty.
Since the 2012 Eastern Conference Finals, I can confidently say I’ve watched every single Celtics game, whether it be live or via DVR. That series had cemented me as a Boston Celtics die-hard.