Celtic Pride

In the days of Bill Russel, Larry legend, Bob Cousy, Kevin McHale, John Havlicek, wearing the Celtic Green was the envy of every player in the National basketball Association. They were far and away the greatest franchise in the NBA, with their 16 Championship banners hanging majestically from the rafters of the Gahden, and the plethora of stars calling Boston their home.

Every night fans would pack the Gahden, acquiring tickets by any means necessary, in order to watch Russell or Bird dribble up and down the court with ease, smiles on their faces, as they shot basket after basket, so fluent, yet so controlled. After every game, the fans would leave the court, still smelling the smoke from Red Auerbach's celebratory cigar, knowing there was a good chance they would be repeating this series of events the next day, and the day after that.

Sadly, all good things must come to an end, and all teams must take a tumble from the top. With the retirement of the last Hall of Famer, Larry Bird, in 1992, the Celtics began that tumble. Auerbach's cigar could no longer be smelled, the smiles of the players disappeared, slowly at first, and then faster as they realized that the Championship teams were long gone. The once crowded Garden stood empty, longing for the days of the short-shorts, the glory days.

For 14 years the Celtics suffered through the deaths of promising young players, botched draft picks, and a lottery system that seemed to hate them. After the Celtics failed to get either of the top 2 picks in the draft, after having one of their worst seasons ever, it seemed like the 2007/08 season would be just the same as the previous 14; sucky.

Celtics GM Danny Ainge was determined to change the course of this franchise, and bring it back to it's glory days, as he completed a very controversial trade, acquiring Kevin Garnett from the Minnesota Timberwolves for seemingly the whole 06/07Celtics team except for Paul Pierce.

After trading for one of the best shooters in NBA history, the Celtics became the frontrunners for the first time in what seemed like forever. There were actually people wearing the clover, and being proud of it. The Garden regained it's crowd, and Boston Celtics Basketball regained a piece it's importance to the city of Boston.

As of the first game of the season, there was something present within the team that had been missing for years: Teamwork. Pierce, Ray Allen, and KG have spent most of their careers being the heroes stuck on teams going nowhere. Together they have a chance to be on a team going somewhere, and they are all willing to sacrifice their stats to get this team to that place. They no longer play for the name on the back of their jersey, but the name on the front. Already replacing Bird, McHale and Parrish as the new Big Three in beantown, they are working their way to one special season.

Just a few days ago, they completed the NBA's biggest turnaround from one season to the next with a 101-78 win over the Charlotte Bobcats. Just to prove their depth, the Celts won this game without Pierce, KG, or Ray Allen. They have wrapped up the top seed in the East with 6 games remaining, and are the only team in the NBA with at least 60 wins.

To a person who has never witnessed a Celtics' Championship, this season is like getting on a plane for the first time. You have talked to people who have been on a plane, and seen them from afar, but don't know quite what to expect. Will the plane crash? Will I make it safely to my destination? The one thing you can expect is for there to be some turbulence, and if the plane is built well enough, it will make it through safely.

Let's hope the Celtics are well built enough for a Championship.