I know this is a long title for a post, but I just wanna share what I went through this magical season over the entire season. Then you guys can all share your thoughts on this season.
Lottery DayI have to admit that this was the most depressing moment I've had as a Celtics fan. After a long season of failures, I still hanged on to our Cs because I like the young players and because of the chance of getting Mr. Oden. I started watching the Celtics during the 97-98 season, when we were absolutely horrible. I stuck with them during the good times (too few) and the bad times (too many). This was the chance to do good what I felt like I had been wronged for so long. So this day comes, I am excited. Everyone in school (UMass) is excited. I see Celtics shirts around. So I go to my friend's place, drink some beers, and watch the devastation. I went through the stages of depression- anger, denial, then acceptance. At least we could have Yi...
Draft DayOn this day, I had just got started working at my summer job back on the Cape. I am already getting into the summer mode, working long days and nights. The draft was during a wedding function, but luckily the food had been giving away. I kept sneaking into the bar to check out what was going on. When I found out about Ray Ray coming to the Celtics, I was excited, but like many of us, still a little skeptical.
The TradeI found out about the confirmation of the trade via this great website. I was so pumped! The next day I go to work and one of the coworkers places a newspaper picture of Garnett on the board. It stays there for a few days and every time I walked by the board, no matter how stressed or tired I was from work, a sudden burst of excitement and energy bolted through my body.
PreseasonAt this point, I was back at UMass. I am back to living the college life. Concentrating on my school and constantly checking for every little bit of info on the Celtics. I watch the videos of the Celtics in Italy and watch the preseason games at my fraternity house. Things are looking good. I was just glad to see basketball again. The excitement builds higher and higher.
Opening DayI go to Boston to watch the game at my brothers/alumni brothers house in Sommerville. The excitement is through the roof at this point. I bring my Celtics monkey and we gather up with a bunch of friends with this huge HD TV. I start drinking some beers and the game starts! I am so pumped! I watch the entire game and I am so excited. We then head off to the bars and I guess I was so drunk that I was using my Celtics monkey as my wingman to pick up chicks. According to witness, the Celtics monkey was a good tool to start up conversations with girls, but since I wasnt really changing subjects, it quickly turned to disaster. That was the last time I got that wasted.
The SeasonEverything was so good! The Celtics had become part of my every day activity. I watched a good 85% of the games and was so pumped about everything. The Celtics played with great intensity and the media was actually talking about them. I wrote an piece about my Celtics Analogy Towards Life (
http://askciulla.blogspot.com/2008_02_01_archive.html). Then, on January 1st, I declared that this is gonna be a great year. The Celtics were in first place, I was in first place in fantasy basketball, and a fire that secretly burned for my best girl friend had ignited like a wildfire. Things were looking absolutely great in my life and I truly believe the Celtics had something to do with that. Since then, my girl left to Guatemala for the Peace Corps, but I have come to grips that I love her and even though she doesnt care much about bball, she constantly sent me text messages in support of the Celtics. The Celtics remained in first place and fellow Celtics diehard fans would see me and we would congratulate each other on the success of our beloved teams. I ended up coming in third place in fantasy basketball, but I guess I can have everything.
Playoffs (first and second round)For the first and second round, I was still in Amherst. I had a couple of people congratulating me on my fanhood on the bars. I still hadnt gone to a single game due to financial reasons. Everything was about to change when my brother and I made the greatest decision we had ever made during our young lives. We had just finished taken the citizenship exam and we knew that the TD was gonna be selling tix for game 7 against Atlanta. We decided to walk over to see how big the line was and it turned down, it wasnt that big so we stayed. Two hours later I tickets to my first Celtics game of the season. We watched an awesome game and a great bonding moment with my brother and my friends. After the game we stayed in line for tickets of the next round and I got tickets for game 2. Then, back at UMass, I receive a call from my buddy asking me if I wanted to go to game 7 against CLE. So basically I got to watch 3 playoff games with the best fans in the world! It was a true privilege.
Playoffs (3rd round)So my mom had planned a trip to Brazil for my cousin's 15th birthday party. I guess thats a big deal there and we reluctantly went. The problem is that its so difficult to watch a basketball game in the land of soccer. My brothers and I went to Rio (2 hours away from where we were staying) to go to an Irish bar that had the game. There were a few americans, but no Celtics fans and initially they had some soccer game on. After some insisting, we were able to get the game on one of the TVs and enjoy a great Celtics victory. The next challenge came on game 6 when we were back in my hometown with no TV with the right channel (ESPN Brasil) around us. We tried every way, calling people that might have the channel, calling people that might have high speed internet, we even thought about renting a hotel room but that wouldve been too expensive. We ended up "watching" the game through a computer by reloading the box score every 2 minutes. It was a pain, but we got through.
FinalsNow I am back on the Cape and working. My heart is jumping with joy 48 hours prior any game. I watch some of the games with some friends and some with my mom, which became a Celtics fan during this last round. During the comeback, I literally kicked my mom out of her own living room when it looked like the absence of her presence in that particular room produced good luck for our beloved Celtics. My girl, which is far from a sports fan, repeatedly sends me text messages of love and luck for the Celtics. I had a friend of mine staying in line for me since 6am to get tickets but he was unable to. Then, yesterday, I go to a bar by myself. I couldnt get the day off to go to Boston and my friends here are under 21 (I have lost contact with a lot of peeps here) but I wanted to capture this moment in a bar. I go to a local bar where there wasnt that many people, but all Celtics fans. Then the Celtics win! I receive and sent text messages to all my Celtics friends! I hug random people. I received shots from random people! I go home and my mom is still up and we watch the postgame interviews! Everything is so magical! I cant hide the smile in my face.
The AftermathI am still trying to put everything in perspective. As a fan, I have never seen the Celtics in moments of glory. I had heard of the stories, but I wasnt even in this country during the Larry Bird era. I am so happy for Pierce, a true Celtics by any means. I feel KGs emotion. I feel Wyc's happiness as a true Celtics fan and owner. I feel Doc's excitement. Everything is so real and legitimate. None of this ESPN lovey dovey BS. Everything is as real as it can be. As in life, I feel that this is just the beginning. I have had my ups and downs with the Celtics. I think this is a sign that I have a girl that is true of championship status. My life is going the right direction, and just like the Celtics made a huge turnaround, I can make that turnaround.
I go to sleep and on my dream I am at a room with all the Celtics players. I high five Rondo, I play a joke with Ray. Finally, I come up to Pierce and I say "thank you for bringing us the championship".
Topic: Magical Season- a fan's perspective of this season over a year (Read 1975 times)