When did you become a die hard?

[heatnum119]

Ive had this topic on my mind since the beginning of the play-offs but decided to hold off on it because i thought it would get buried with all of the post season threads that were popping up seemingly every minute.  Now that we are in the beginning of the dog days of summer i ask everyone this question, when did you become a die-hard? Was it one game, one team, a parent or someone you looked up to as a kid, etc.? I think there are a lot of intriguing stories to be told here, and im not talking when did you start liking the C's but when did the obsession start, and every die-hard knows what i mean about the obsession.

I was born in 83 so i obviously do not remember 84 or 86, i became a fan when i was around 9 or so and watched sherm and dino and a little of reggie (R.I.P.) but as i got older and the teams got worse i would watch less and less. Toine revived me with the wiggle but that could only sustain me for 20 games into each season and they i would lose interest. 
But then it happened, a little less than halfway through the 00-01 season Pitino left and our guys started playing for Obie, that is what solidified me as a die-hard.  That is all it took, going 24 and 24 or something like that to end that season and when we barely missed the playoffs i wasnt sad, i was happy because i knew we were going to be able to compete in 01-02 and i was right. 
Since then i have watched 99% of the games and that is not a stretch, and i have learned to loathe all fair weather fans that become my best bud's when the C's are rellevant again. I went to 12 games in 06-07 and the C's went 2-10, but i loved every minute of those games, becuase i am a die hard and these are my guys through the good times and the bad.

-heat

[P2]

Don't laugh, but I became one when Ricky was traded to Boston in December 2003. Suddenly my two favorite players were on the same team, and I decided to stick with it.

[heatnum119]

Don't laugh, but I became one when Ricky was traded to Boston in December 2003. Suddenly my two favorite players were on the same team, and I decided to stick with it.

Just as long as your other favorite wasnt Mark Blount

-heat

[kw10]

I came to the Celtics when KG got traded here, he's been my favourite player since I started following basketball (along with Scottie Pippen, but I have to say KG has taken over Pippen as my #1 in the last few years).
While I'm still a relatively new fan here, I'm starting to learn and love Celtics pride. I probably can't call myself a celtic die hard yet, but this might just be the team(possibly along with the wolves) I stick with when KG retires, so maybe I can call myself a celtics die hard soon.

[celticmaestro]

i was born 2 months after our last championship, and i had my first jersey, a christmas present, when i was 3. i watched my first full game that i remember in 1990. over the course of the last 22 years i've seen everything both celtics and nba related that all *real* fans should see, so i've got a good grasp of the history of this franchise and the nba as a whole.

so i'd say i've been a die-hard all my life.

[DivingCowens]

The day I was born, in 78, my father bought 25 shares of C's stock in my name and put a mini celtics basketball and a celtics blanket in my crib.  My first real memory of bleeding green was winning in 84.  Then, sadly, it was sealed in June of 86, 4 days after my birthday when I got my first taste of death and we all mourned Len.  Never looked back since.  Moved to Florida, been to almost every Magic/C's game since they got the Magic, and now I get to be called a "bandwagon" fan by locals in my area.

25 Shares of Celtics stock in 1978 - $100
34 NBA games of Orlando/Miami vs Boston - $3,000
Being on a "bandwagon" after 30 years of being a fan.....

PRICELESS

[Celtic_E]

I have been with the Celtics since the late '80s, a short time after their last championship appearance and when I was first drawn into the game of basketball. What drew me to the team is Larry Bird and his uncanny ways to win a basketball game. He's a guy who's not gifted with athleticism and is very injury prone yet he was very successful in the game of basketball. He couldn't run, can't jump and has a bad back but that didn't hinder him from winning 3 titles in his career. He always beats the odds and that's what made him the man in my eyes.

I've stuck with the team thru the bad times (post-Bird era, Lewis' untimely death, Gaston ownership days, horrible 15-win season, etc.) and believe it or not, I always held on to hope that one day we'll be back to the top of the mountain with just the right moves. Back in the '90s, it would have been easy to quit being a Celtic fan cause the light at the end of the tunnel never seemed to be there with a bad season after another always present. I somehow got thru those days thinking that the previous poor season was just a step towards our way to basketball redemption, no matter how silly that sounds. The first sign of hope for me was the entry of Paul Pierce who I believed had the makings of a cornerstone player for this team. '02 team had me really excited and made me believe that this team can beat the odds too, just like the Bird teams did before them. We all know what happened the following years and the frustration of the fans mounted on Pierce's inability to take the team anywhere near the promised land (which was pretty unfair, IMO). Last season's failure at the lottery almost threw away my belief that the Celtics could return to prominence during Pierce's run with the team but then things started to turn for the better during draft night. Our championship run this year means a hell of a lot to me cause it was the first championship of the team I've ever witnessed unfolding before my eyes. Also, it was the first Celtics-Lakers finals I've witnessed live and winning it made it so much better. I was already around during the Bird-championship run but was too young too appreciate the game.

Sorry for the long post. Guess I wanted to talk about this topic for the longest time and found an outlet for it just now. TP for the original poster  .

[SShoreFan 2.0]

Three dates:

March 26, 1979
May 1, 1981
November 28, 1982

First date is the date Bird & Magic squared off in the NCAA final.  The build up for that was amazing and captured my full fledged attention.

The second date was game 6 against the 76'ers in the 1981 playoffs, setting the stage for the comeback that propelled the Celts to their first ring in the 80's.

The last date is my first Celtics game.  Sunday after Thanksgiving at the Garden, I will never forget walking up the ramp with my dad and brother.  The Celts had traded Cowens to the Bucks for Quinn Buckner and Bird scored 33 points that night.  I never looked back.

[EarthBall]

I've been a fan all my life, with the exception of 1995-2002. My dad had season tickets from 1980-1996. I used to sneak into the Garden by hiding under his jacket until I was 6 or 7. I loved the cramped, loud, musty feel of the building. When the FleetCenter opened, I immediately lost interest in the team. Maybe I was so superficial that a building could ruin my love for a team (imagine if the Red Sox moved to a generic ballpark like Turner Field; isn't Fenway Park part of the team?). Going to the games felt like a waste. No energy. I could've just watched them on tv.

Furthermore, The Pitino years just sucked. Bad players. Bad coaching. Bad everything. When Jimmy came on, sure the team got better, but the basketball was just boring. It wasn't until Danny came in, got some exciting young players and fired O'Brien that I got back on board completely.

In fact, I really couldn't stand the NBA in the mid and late 90s. I hated the Bulls and the quality of basketball had decreased so much since the early 90s. Look at the East All-Star teams from 1990 and 1998:

1990: Jordan, Isiah, Ewing, Bird, Barkley, Parish, McHale, Dumars, Dominique, Reggie, Pippin, Rodman

1998: Jordan, Grant Hill, Kemp, Rik Smits, Reggie, Mutombo, Jayson Williams, Tim Hardaway, Glen Rice, Steve Smith, Toine, Penny Hardaway

How did Smits, Williams and Smith even make the team in '98? The league was just terrible. One could still argue that the league is still pretty bad compared to the league's peak (isn't 1984-1993 the accepted period?). How can we make the league better? Dissolving teams is not a solution with Stern as boss. He's been trying to increase the talent around the world (arguably well done). What else is there? Fix the NBA playoffs so the Celtics beat the Lakers in the Finals?       

[amenhotep04]

A long time ago.  One of my first words after Mama and Papa was 'Cousy'. 

It's been a long ride.

[ram]

1966. I was 9 years old and (it seemed) almost every Sunday CBS would show the Celtics vs the Sixers, Russ vs Wilt. My Dad and brother were both huge Wilt fans so I had to be contrary and root for the Celtics.  In a huge late season, weekend, home and home, the Sixers beat the "old" Celts twice, including a thrilling, nationally televised, 113-110 win at the Garden to take a 1 game lead for the division (first round bye and homecourt adv) that held up with both teams winning out their remaining 6 games. But I got revenge in the playoffs with the boys in green easily winning 4 games to 1.

The next year I had to endure Philly's finest season and the Celts' first loss in 9 years but thoroughly enjoyed the great comebacks in 1968(down 3-1 to Wilt) and 1969(down 2-0 to Wilt).

[Redz]

When I was born.  My Dad's been a Celts fan since forever. Sox, Pats, Bruins...just stick with the locals

[johnnymitch05]

I became a die-hard during the 1996-1997 season... and I think we all remember that wonderful year. I remember my first game was the 67th loss of that season, game 82. They lost to the Raptors something like 125-94, and I'm pretty sure they only had like 25 wins themselves that year. I got into it because my dad loved the Celtics his whole life. Clearly I haven't seen much winning seeing I was born the year after the Celtics 16th title.

[wdleehi]

When I became a basketball fan in the 80's.   My grandfather and uncle had already gotten me Celtics gear before that.

[bbc3341]

I was a few months old when my parents took me to the airport to greet the C's after they beat the Bucks in '74. I had no choice in the matter!