Mitch Albom / Detroit Free Press A Must Read

[Tenacious D]

Mitch Albom, Free Press: "the Pistons got a taste of what it's like to play against themselves when they are crunching down: It's downright annoying. Like having mosquitoes all over your picnic." Good one.

http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080521/COL01/805210443/1051/SPORTS03

[SShoreFan 2.0]

The Herald today is running a piece by Mitch Albom of the Detroit Free Press.  Mitch is one of the best and his piece is great reading.

Here's a snippet...

The old ghosts and leprechauns
If you could have been at the old Boston Garden, back when Dumars, Isiah Thomas and the others were battling a dynasty that included Larry Bird, Kevin McHale and Robert Parish. That building reeked of age and legend. The banners hung low enough to taunt you. The screaming fans were one part enthusiasm and nine parts arrogance.
"The place was so hot," Chuck Daly, the old Pistons coach, reminisced this week. "The locker room was tiny, like two small bedrooms. The windows wouldn’t open. It had no air conditioning. We played afternoon games and the heat was so bad, it was impossible to even breathe."
This was where Larry Bird stole the ball and the Pistons lost a Game 5. Where Adrian Dantley and Vinnie Johnson banged heads and the Pistons lost a Game 7. A haunted arena where leprechauns made Boston rim shots bounce up and fall through the hoop.
It was also the last place I remember that didn’t fill the minutes between time-outs with video clips or dance teams. It was just basketball, and you screamed about basketball until the teams took the floor again. That was one reason it was so loud.
Tuesday night, in the new TD Banknorth Garden, the lights went down during introductions, and it could have been any cookie-cutter NBA arena. Loud rock music, endless video clips, female dancers. The banners hung very high. The building was well ventilated. I suspect it had fewer rats.

A great read, take the time, I am sure you wont be disappointed.  Here's the link to the rest of the article.
http://www.bostonherald.com/sports/basketball/celtics/view/2008_05_22_Even_in_Boston__you_can_t_go_home_again/srvc=sports&position=recent

[Petro]

Great article growing up in NYC I never saw the old garden( I did drive up to Boston to catch a celtic game a couple of years ago at the new garden) but watching it on TV at home the place just looked magical.I also miss the black sneakers with the home jersey's too.

[RonJohn]

That was a good Read. God, I hate that every timeout is filled with "who wants to win a t-shirt" and other stupid NBA gimmicks.  I love to stare at the dancers but do they really belong? When they are out there, I feel more like I am in Revere or Up on Route 1 than at the C's game.

[SShoreFan 2.0]

That was a good Read. God, I hate that every timeout is filled with "who wants to win a t-shirt" and other stupid NBA gimmicks.  I love to stare at the dancers but do they really belong? When they are out there, I feel more like I am in Revere or Up on Route 1 than at the C's game.

What I liked most about the article is that it was done by writer from another city who understood that the different atmosphere in the "old Garden" gave the Celtics an advantage and that the "new Garden" is now JAA (just another arena).

I think the Celtics home court record is much more of a by product of the team's focus at home than the atmosphere created by the fans.  I have been to 3 playoff games and in all 3 games the crowds quiet down during timeouts to focus on other things.  That just wasn't the case in the old barn and that ongoing intensity truly created a home court advantage that was recognized nationwide.