Monday, July 30, 2007
The Guys in Green, Back in the limelight
By SG2.0
" The circle's gonna come back around. The sun always shines...it's just that sometimes there's some clouds." - Kevin Garnett
There was indeed something poetic about what happened on July 31, 2007. Without notice, the Boston Celtics were back on top of the NBA world.
Sure there were those that disagreed with the deal, which could prove to be the most influencial deal this franchise has undertaken since they swindled the Warriors for (ironically) Kevin McHale and Robert Parish in 1980. And when I first saw it, I was less-than-enthused about departing with Al Jefferson.
But then I remembered the pain. It was the pain that I and thousands of Celics fans felt on May 22, 2007, when those dreaded ping-pong balls bounced the wrong way. For the Celtics fan under 30 years old, that was it.
No Len Bias. No Tim Duncan. No Kevin Durant. No Greg Oden.
We were robbed of yet another opportunity to see the once proud franchise, the franchise that once owned the Boston sports scene, long before we can remember, become a player again.
It would take one hell of an off-season to ease the pain.
Now, we're in the midst of August and Colin Friggin' Cowherd is talking about the Celtics (I use friggin' in the sense that he is an ego-maniacal, self-promoting d-bag, that resembles what Jim Brewer would look like if he was still using the "Goat Boy" moniker).
Sadly, it's the only sports radio program I can get in San Diego that doesn't involve people calling up and saying things like, "Hey! Isn't Shawne Merriman the man?!"
Prior to the 2007 NBA Draft, Goat Boy Cowherd was calling Danny Ainge the biggest fool in the NBA. Granted just about everyone else was, but Cowherd was just ripping Ainge, the Celtics and Celtics fans for just whining about not getting the ping-pong balls to bounce their way and still complaining about the deaths of Reggie Lewis and Len Bias.
Fine.
Then comes along the Ray Allen trade. Cowherd rips it and says Ainge is just doing it out of desperation and that he should just quit immediately. He claims they are stuck between a rock and a hard place and they'll be mired in mediocrity for the next 10 years.
Fine.
Then comes the Kevin Garnett trade. People get exited. "Hey, the Celtics might be back!" people are saying. Cowherd rains on the parade. Says Ainge is just doing it to sell tickets and that he just saved his job until the next screw up. Says Celtics fans are dillusional if they think they stand a chance against the likes of big bad LeBron and his cast of Craig Ehlo's.
This is approximately the time that I truly got excited.
All those Celtic-haters, much like Celtic backers, are coming out of the wood-work. The media members that grew up Lakers fans and Sixers fans, who had not had a chance to trash on the franchise that once kicked their team's teeth in for years, had their chance once again.
Goat Boy Cowherd and "Did I mention I grew up in New York?!!!" Steven A. Smith, who praised the moves of buddy Isiah Thomas (Isiah Thomas!) for the past few years while all but branding Danny Ainge the anti-christ, were giddy about the chance to rip the Celtics on a national forum.
The difference this time around, however, is that people are listening when it comes to Celtic praising and ripping alike.
The Celtics are once again a polarizing organization.
And that, my friends, is a great thing.
Questions/Comments??? Email: SportsGuy2.0@hotmail.com
By SG2.0
" The circle's gonna come back around. The sun always shines...it's just that sometimes there's some clouds." - Kevin Garnett
There was indeed something poetic about what happened on July 31, 2007. Without notice, the Boston Celtics were back on top of the NBA world.
Sure there were those that disagreed with the deal, which could prove to be the most influencial deal this franchise has undertaken since they swindled the Warriors for (ironically) Kevin McHale and Robert Parish in 1980. And when I first saw it, I was less-than-enthused about departing with Al Jefferson.
But then I remembered the pain. It was the pain that I and thousands of Celics fans felt on May 22, 2007, when those dreaded ping-pong balls bounced the wrong way. For the Celtics fan under 30 years old, that was it.
No Len Bias. No Tim Duncan. No Kevin Durant. No Greg Oden.
We were robbed of yet another opportunity to see the once proud franchise, the franchise that once owned the Boston sports scene, long before we can remember, become a player again.
It would take one hell of an off-season to ease the pain.
Now, we're in the midst of August and Colin Friggin' Cowherd is talking about the Celtics (I use friggin' in the sense that he is an ego-maniacal, self-promoting d-bag, that resembles what Jim Brewer would look like if he was still using the "Goat Boy" moniker).
Sadly, it's the only sports radio program I can get in San Diego that doesn't involve people calling up and saying things like, "Hey! Isn't Shawne Merriman the man?!"
Prior to the 2007 NBA Draft, Goat Boy Cowherd was calling Danny Ainge the biggest fool in the NBA. Granted just about everyone else was, but Cowherd was just ripping Ainge, the Celtics and Celtics fans for just whining about not getting the ping-pong balls to bounce their way and still complaining about the deaths of Reggie Lewis and Len Bias.
Fine.
Then comes along the Ray Allen trade. Cowherd rips it and says Ainge is just doing it out of desperation and that he should just quit immediately. He claims they are stuck between a rock and a hard place and they'll be mired in mediocrity for the next 10 years.
Fine.
Then comes the Kevin Garnett trade. People get exited. "Hey, the Celtics might be back!" people are saying. Cowherd rains on the parade. Says Ainge is just doing it to sell tickets and that he just saved his job until the next screw up. Says Celtics fans are dillusional if they think they stand a chance against the likes of big bad LeBron and his cast of Craig Ehlo's.
This is approximately the time that I truly got excited.
All those Celtic-haters, much like Celtic backers, are coming out of the wood-work. The media members that grew up Lakers fans and Sixers fans, who had not had a chance to trash on the franchise that once kicked their team's teeth in for years, had their chance once again.
Goat Boy Cowherd and "Did I mention I grew up in New York?!!!" Steven A. Smith, who praised the moves of buddy Isiah Thomas (Isiah Thomas!) for the past few years while all but branding Danny Ainge the anti-christ, were giddy about the chance to rip the Celtics on a national forum.
The difference this time around, however, is that people are listening when it comes to Celtic praising and ripping alike.
The Celtics are once again a polarizing organization.
And that, my friends, is a great thing.
Questions/Comments??? Email: SportsGuy2.0@hotmail.com
