Dear Celtics Dancers,

[zob]

I must admit, you're nice to look at.  Yes, there were naysayers, citing the break from tradition, Red's wishes, and so on, but I certainly didn't mind watching you gyrate to the Red Hot Chili Pepper's "Give it Away" as a nice break from the tedium the 2006-07 season.  (That's my favorite little number of yours, by the way.)

Sure, I had to cringe a little at the beginning of this season when the Celts dedicated the floor and unveiled Red's name, which you proceeded to stomp and roll all over not 10 minutes later, but I could live on in the hope that one of you might let a boob slip and be caught on the jumbotron.

After last night's game, though, I have one simple request.
It's time for summer vacation. Go home.

No one wants to see you traipse out onto the floor just as the Cavaliers have gone up by three late in the game.  No one. You kill fan energy.  Just look around at the expressionless, slack jawed faces of your Celtics' fans that were raving fanatics just moments prior.  There we were, being excruciatingly toyed with by the basketball Gods with every possession, just waiting for Lebron to be Lebron after each turnover, each missed shot. Then we have to all sit down, emotionally wracked, and watch you prance around to Aerosmith.

There's a reason that that was the loudest game I've been to this season, and it wasn't you. 

You perform an instant frontal lobotomy on thousands of screaming fans, and it's not the sex appeal, it's boredom.  Time to pack it in and go work on your tans.

Sincerely,
Me

[Steve Weinman]

I must admit, you're nice to look at.  Yes, there were naysayers, citing the break from tradition, Red's wishes, and so on, but I certainly didn't mind watching you gyrate to the Red Hot Chili Pepper's "Give it Away" as a nice break from the tedium the 2006-07 season.  (That's my favorite little number of yours, by the way.)

Sure, I had to cringe a little at the beginning of this season when the Celts dedicated the floor and unveiled Red's name, which you proceeded to stomp and roll all over not 10 minutes later, but I could live on in the hope that one of you might let a boob slip and be caught on the jumbotron.

After last night's game, though, I have one simple request.
It's time for summer vacation. Go home.

No one wants to see you traipse out onto the floor just as the Cavaliers have gone up by three late in the game.  No one. You kill fan energy.  Just look around at the expressionless, slack jawed faces of your Celtics' fans that were raving fanatics just moments prior.  There we were, being excruciatingly toyed with by the basketball Gods with every possession, just waiting for Lebron to be Lebron after each turnover, each missed shot. Then we have to all sit down, emotionally wracked, and watch you prance around to Aerosmith.

There's a reason that that was the loudest game I've been to this season, and it wasn't you. 

You perform an instant frontal lobotomy on thousands of screaming fans, and it's not the sex appeal, it's boredom.  Time to pack it in and go work on your tans.

Sincerely,
Me

Heartfelt and understandable.  Welcome aboard, zob!

-sw

[Donoghus]

In regards to the atmosphere last night, I thought it was great.  One thing did bug me, though.  The crowd was pumped and getting into it on their own and it was definitely given a buzzkill by some of the sideshow stuff.  There was one point in the 4th quarter where there was a timeout called and the crowd was rocking and a "Let's go Celtics" chant was slowly starting to gain steam and then the stupid Jumbotron puts on that Ron Burgundy clip and it sorta killed the atmosphere.  The crowd went from energized and "in the moment" to a sense of quietness when the clip was playing and then came the contrived "Let's hear some noise".

Sometimes less is more, just let the crowd be spontaneous.  It's Boston, we know how to get involved as sports fans.

[hardlyyardley]

I agree...go home...no value added...I remember when the game was the event, not the dancers, mascots, etc....although the mascot and jumbotron are entertaining, with a product on the court like this year's team, no need to get the crowd aroused....the circumstances do

[KJ33]

In regards to the atmosphere last night, I thought it was great.  One thing did bug me, though.  The crowd was pumped and getting into it on their own and it was definitely given a buzzkill by some of the sideshow stuff.  There was one point in the 4th quarter where there was a timeout called and the crowd was rocking and a "Let's go Celtics" chant was slowly starting to gain steam and then the stupid Jumbotron puts on that Ron Burgundy clip and it sorta killed the atmosphere.  The crowd went from energized and "in the moment" to a sense of quietness when the clip was playing and then came the contrived "Let's hear some noise".

Sometimes less is more, just let the crowd be spontaneous.  It's Boston, we know how to get involved as sports fans.

Agreed.  All of the timeout sideshows are a buzzkill in the playoffs, not just the dancers.  The timeouts are excruciatingly long because of TV, and all the energy is drained out of the building, not just the 4 times a game the dancers perform.  During one time out, they showed some great highlights from the Atlanta series to music, very cool to watch.  My son and I both agreed that was far preferable to all the glory hounds acting like lunatics on the Jumbotron.  Of course, as soon as the highlight clip was done, they went right back to the carnival, really out of place in a playoff game.

[Roy Hobbs]

I agree...go home...

... and don't let the door hit you on the way out.

I concur.  I don't like dance teams in general, and I especially don't like our dance team.

[Celtic]

Have to agree with everyone here, as a real Celtics fan, and more importantly a real basketball fan, I am there to watch the game, and will be interested from beginning to end. I don't need any assistance from dancers to keep my energy up. I stayed to the end when the Pistons beat by the C's by 50 a few years back, my loyalty is intact.

As for some of the other people in the stadium who knows, there are a lot of "new" Celtics fans this year.

[Tnerb02]

I was at the game last night and the atmosphere was crazy. It was the loudest sports atmosphere I have ever been to. I also noticed how some of the jumbotron/ dancers killed fan chants sometimes. PS: anyone catch the nippleslip on the jumbotron when some girl was jumping up and down in the crowd and her boob fell out?

[Tommy Gun]

Tommy point for you

[clover]

Yep, another TP on a great 1st post: we hear you.

[Andy Jick]

at least they didn't have to be put out by a fire extinguisher and the ensuing half-hour delay to follow...

[blake]

I for one say keep dancing.  You look great.  If you detract from the game then we are easily distracted. 

[Mean Gerald Green]

Love it.

[Potapenko Boxout]

keep smiling keep dancing keep shining

i'd rather see the celtics girls dancing then some six year olds called Lil Phunk

[maxw318]

great post, its upsetting seeing the dancers on the floor that is dedicated to Red when this is the one thing he would NEVER want, especially in the playoffs.  I like it that Boston doesn't have to rely on dancers or the announcers always getting the crowd pumped up during the game, like what it looked like in Atlanta during that series.  The crowd is always right in the game without all of the extra crazyness.