Boston Celtics Thank-You Letter: An ode to the season that was

Although it wasn’t the ending fans wanted to see, the Boston Celtics had themselves a fun and successful run in 2019-20. Here is a look back on the crazy season that was.

When the clock struck 0:00 last night on Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals, and the Miami Heat began to celebrate, I got a text from site co-editor Andrew Hughes asking if I would want to write a eulogy for the 2019-20 Boston Celtics season.

At first, as all fans were, the emotions were high. Whether you are a devout follower of the team, professionally cover the team, or were actually on the team, there was no denying last night was disappointing.

But I’m not here to criticize — there are plenty of radio people and writers who will do that.

I could have broken down the film, and explained in more detail why the Boston Celtics lost, but it seems apparent why they lost… the Heat simply out-played them.

Sometimes that happens in sports.

Let me start with this: 2019-20 shouldn’t have played out the way it did.

On March 15th there were people that laughed at the idea of an NBA season happening in a “bubble”. To think of how normalized this has actually become, when looking back six months ago no one even knew what a bubble would look like, and yet here we are.

Even I admit I thought there would be very little chance of the season resumption working. I thought there was no way you could control so many people in one environment, but they did it!

Take a step back with me and think of how improbable this bubble actually was.

Back to the Beginning of the Bubble

To start, they needed a host venue.

Imagine telling someone in January that Disney World would basically go on lock-down to host an exclusive NBA Playoffs. The idea of it is beyond insane, and it was even wilder six months ago.

I want to first credit the NBA board of executives for making this happen. For the work, creativity, and drive of the NBA workers to make this bubble happen and to find somewhere that would keep the players safe while still playing the sport they love.

In hindsight, getting the bubble was the easy part. Getting 250+ players, coaches, referees, and team workers to cooperate, to leave their families behind for a couple of months, and play basketball in the middle of a pandemic was the hard part.

Sacrifices Made

People forget that players weren’t the only ones who had to sacrifice here.

I personally know people who were in the bubble. People just like you and me, who aren’t getting paid $25M a year, and yet still flew out to Orlando to be trapped inside the confines of a hotel complex for months, just to help the league stay running.

I want to credit the journalists, the team ops people, the broadcasters, and trainers that had to also be away from their families, despite not getting any of the limelight.  The cleaning people, the chefs, the hotel front desk employees, and security.

These are the people who we should also thank.

I know this is supposed to be a Boston Celtics piece, but if it wasn’t for these people taking the necessary actions and precautions, I wouldn’t even be able to write about a C’s season.

The Players Stayed Strong, Smart

99 percent of NBA players followed the bubble rules and regulations. 100 percent of Boston Celtics players followed it.

Jayson Tatum gave up months of watching his two-year-old son grow, Jaylen Brown had to pause his impact on a movement he feels incredibly strongly about (as did many NBA players), and Gordon Hayward had to miss the birth of his firstborn son; a birth that, should he have attended, he would’ve been strongly criticized for.

This wasn’t easy on anyone, but they made it happen.

My Personal Relationship with the Bubble

My birthday is on July 31st, and every year since I was six I had the same ritual.

It all starts with going out to lunch and watching the end of the MLB Trade Deadline. This year, the deadline wasn’t on my birthday, but for the first time ever, Boston Celtics basketball was. Because of the efforts of everyone involved in the bubble, I got to sit and enjoy a meaningful Celtics basketball game on my 22nd birthday.

For that alone, I’m okay with this season, because it should have never happened in the first place.

A Celtics Fan’s Solemn Farewell

I don’t think any of the C’s players lie when they say that Boston has some of the best fans in the world.

Being in the TD Garden changes things. It changes how the Celtics play, how the opponents play, and how a series could be shifted.

It’s over now and the Miami Heat are advancing to the NBA Finals, but there is no convincing me other-wise if this series was played in front of fans that the Boston Celtics would have won in the Garden.

Over the last four years, I’ve attended NBA and NCAA games all over the country. I’ve also attended 150+ Celtics games and, I promise you, there is nothing like it!

Credit to the Heat for creating their own momentum, they deserve it, but man I wish I could’ve seen this team in the playoffs with a home crowd.

With everything that the bubble brought us, let’s not forget what this shamrocks squad brought us before the pandemic: an absolute ass-kicking of the Lakers on their home court, Jaylen Brown’s game-tying three against the Houston Rockets, Jayson Tatum’s coming-out party in an OT win against the Clippers, and countless other memories that will live on in our minds and hearts.

The 2019-20 season is one for the books and one that would have been set up spectacularly for the playoffs.

It’s a shame we couldn’t fully see the potential of this team.

Here’s how I’ll end this: what the Boston Celtics and the NBA did is unprecedented.

There was not supposed to be an ending to the season. The players, staff, and front office made sacrifices to make this year happen.

Today, we officially say goodbye to the C’s 2019-20 season with a thank you to everyone involved for making this possible.

See you in 2021! Hopefully, by then, Boston and 18,000 screaming fans will be back at TD Garden.