I think that fans do have some ownership over titles, especially local fans. The players change, the staff and ownership may change as well. The fans, however, are the constant over the years.
Yes, a lot of players are in and out in a few years and only the stars usually stay for long periods. However, everyone on the team still has to live in Boston. The team's employees all live in Boston. Especially since it's a winter sport, their families are in schools here. Yes, there are some players who keep their families in a different city (even Doc as a coach kept his family in Orlando), but that's more the exception than the rule.
When Robert Parish injured his back shoveling snow, that was the same snow Celtics fans were shoveling in their own driveways. When I saw Paul Pierce at the Burlington Mall, he was buying video games at the same store I usually shopped at. My dad did a job for John Havlicek once, who stayed in the area after his playing days (before he spent his last years in Florida, apparently).
That's why Tatum talking about becoming an adult in Boston is so important. Marcus Smart similarly grew to love the city as well. Maybe they won't stay forever, but they still spent a portion of their formative years here and that still has meaning. If you've moved around in your life, think about where you spent your 20s and how those experiences shaped you as a person.
The Lakers organization can say whatever they want, but the fans cannot. They didn't root for the team when it was in Minneapolis and vice versa, the team didn't represent Los Angeles at the time. It's really not a complicated debate at all.
Topic: Biggest Celtics disappointment? (Read 6502 times)