Kobe: I love going into Boston..the fans are incredible

[sed522002]

“I love it,” he said. “I love going into Boston. I love playing there. I mean, the fans are incredible, because, you know, they’re nasty, but they appreciate the game. They appreciate good basketball. They appreciate players who go out there and just leave it all on the court. You know, friend or foe, they have an appreciation for it.

“I’m really looking forward to it. I’m going to interact a little bit with the crowd, absolutely. I’ll have a chance to kind of look around and look at the numbers in the rafters and kind of appreciate it a little bit more. Absolutely, because when you play, you know, you’ve got your blinders on. You’ve got tunnel vision. This will be good.”

http://bostonherald.com/sports/celtics_nba/boston_celtics/2014/01/kobe_bryant_longs_for_rivalry

Tonight should be a fun game for the one's going.

Good post. TP!

It is nice to see players respect other teams fans and acknowledge them.

Players have long memories, and I have no doubt that he remembers this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YsXPZVPIjxE

look, ive come to respect kobe as a player as much as the next guy. but that video...that video right there is why I question a lot of C's fans.

kobe could have stopped a nuclear missle from exploding before that game & I would never chant his name or "mvp".

I can't watch the video now but is it actually celtics fans or Lakers fans?

I always thought that the stadium was fairly empty at that point and assumed it was Lakers fans chanting. They always draw a good crowd at home games.

In any case Lakers fans and a handful of possible "celtics" fans chanting it doesn't really bother me.  I mean, there's people on this forum I could see doing that or don't consider real or knowledgeable fans.

You're probably right, but that's also the worst stretch in the history of the franchise.  Not that surprising it'd happen then.

In the article Kobe said that before the 2008 season it was more Laker fans than C's when they came to town, but that turned around once the new "Big 3" formed.

[ManUp]

Shoulda drafted Kobe.

I have a twist of dislike and respect for Kobe. I can have just as much fun watching him fail as I do watching him succeed. As a Celtics fan I can't like him to much. However, as a basketball fan I can't help but appreciate the talent, skill, and competitive drive.

[GreenWarrior]

2008 was more gratifying simply because it was against kobe and the lakers.

[guava_wrench]

Fortunately, the Lakers are bad enough that Lakers fans might be less interested in buying tickets tonight. Otherwise, they would definitely outnumber Celtics fans.

[D.o.s.]

2008 was more gratifying simply because it was against kobe and the lakers.

Of course. It's the best rivalry in American sports, outside of Yankees/RedSox.

That said, I gotta echo everyone else here--nothing but respect for Kobe Bryant the basketball player. Gonna miss him when he retires, and I kind of hope he breaks the scoring record before he does.

[lon3lytoaster]

Shoulda drafted Kobe.

I have a twist of dislike and respect for Kobe. I can have just as much fun watching him fail as I do watching him succeed. As a Celtics fan I can't like him to much. However, as a basketball fan I can't help but appreciate the talent, skill, and competitive drive.

  Those pictures hurt. Seen them before, but still. It's a bunch on nonsense he wouldn't play for anyone except LA. He probably would have left, though. Everything post-Bird; Pre-Wyc/Ainge was awful.

LeBron has made me dislike Kobe a lot less, though. Laker or not.