Where does your loyalty lie?

[Thruthelookingglass]

Cornbread wrote in another thread:  "i trust danny. i love that he's exploring everything. danny will absolutely trade paul pierce if it helps the franchise. he would have traded bird,mchale,parrish. i believe that. no player. not even larry bird is more important than the team."

This brings into focus a question I've had regarding the torrent of trade threads:  who or what are Celtics fans loyal to?  Is it the franchise (Wyc), the team, the town, the players?  Is it just anyone wearing the right jersey?

In my own mind, I'm stuck in the middle.  I respect the tradition and the history of the team and believe that is where my loyalty lies.  But I also feel some loyalty to some players, especially players like PP and Perk and to a slightly lesser extent Rondo.  And I don't like to think about trading these guys, guys I think of as our Boston Celtics.

So I'm curious how other people look at it, especially those who really enjoy all the trade talk.  What do you think, where does your loyalty lie?

[Tnerb02]

Here is how I would rank it for me:

1. City - I find it hard to root for teams not in the Boston Area
2. Team- Loyal to the C's unless they ever move
3. Players- I'm loyal to the players but I wouldn't mind to trade a longtime player for the right price.
4. GM/Coaches- As long as they are good, I don't really care who they are.
5. Owners- As long as they are not cheap and committed to winning in Boston, I really don't care who owns the team.

[CoachBo]

Easy question.

My loyalty is to the franchise. I want it to win. Beyond that, I care about very little.

I suspect, though, that's an old-style viewpoint since many younger fans have fallen victim to Stern's insistence that the league be marketed by the individual. You certainly see that in some of the, uh, passionate discussions about individual players. Gerald Green, for example, drew intense loyalty on this board despite the fact he was and remains incapable of contributing to a winner.

[jambr380]

Definitely to the city and the franchises in that city- Celtics coming in first.

Which brings in an interesting point. In a week and a half, I am moving to St. Petersburg, FL after spending my whole life (29+ years) in the Boston area. Everybody who knows me knows how important sports are to me- watching and playing...some people ask, 'are you going to become a Magic (or Rays or Bucs, etc) fan?' and I look at them like they are crazy. Boston sports are embedded within me. Ever since I can remember, I have been rooting for the Celtics- which means I knew them as an amazing team when I was very young and then went through a long difficult stretch. Antoine (along with Larry) is still pretty much my favorite all time Celtic.

Having players like Pierce give the franchise a long time identity, but it is far more important for me to not go through long spells where the team is horrible than to hang on to a player past his prime...btw, I hope this doesn't come off as me wanting to trade Pierce- he has at least 3 more years of all-star level play...

[slamtheking]

Loyalty goes with Team first then the players on that team.

I wish all the best to any player that was drafted by the C's whether they're still with the team or not but not when they're playing against the C's. 

When it comes to player loyalty over the good of the team, that's when I expect the franchise to show some character.  For example, trading Pierce next year as an expiring deal may be in the best interest of the team but he's given his all to the team so I would expect the C's to part with him only if presented with a deal that just couldn't be turned down that would make the franchise better suited to winning titles for years to come. 

[Donoghus]

Starts with city & franchise and then trickles down to players & management.

[Drucci]

Since I'm living in France and since I've discovered the team after the Big Three was formed, the players come first for me. That's why I'm almost always against trade idea including one of the starters or one key bencher. I love all the guys on the team (including the staff of course), except one or two (T.A anyone? ).

But I must admit I'm beginning to be more and more bounded to the franchise itself, and I'm sure that I'll be following it even in the tough times which will come one day, even though I'm not from Boston. I've learnt many things about the Celtics history, tradition and values since I've signed up here, and hopefully my learning will continue for many years.

[WedmanIsMyHero]

My loyalty lies with winning.  What have we learned from the Patriots (remember Lawyer Milloy, etc.) and the Red Sox (not resigning Pedro, Johnny Damon, etc.)?  In a world of free agency, when most players go where the $$ leads them, just like people in many other professions, I root for the team.

What matters is building a winner.  If a trade makes winning more likely, sounds like a good deal to me.  I could imagine some truly extenuating circumstances, but very few. 

Why would anyone ever *want* their team to pursue a course that would lead to less wins?

[guava_wrench]

My loyalty lies with winning.  What have we learned from the Patriots (remember Lawyer Milloy, etc.) and the Red Sox (not resigning Pedro, Johnny Damon, etc.)?  In a world of free agency, when most players go where the $$ leads them, just like people in many other professions, I root for the team.

What matters is building a winner.  If a trade makes winning more likely, sounds like a good deal to me.  I could imagine some truly extenuating circumstances, but very few. 

Why would anyone ever *want* their team to pursue a course that would lead to less wins?

So you are a front runner?

My loyalty is to the team. I have zero loyalty to the city, since they are the only Boston team I grew up rooting for.

[Scalablob990]

When Ainge keeps bringing up the "I would have traded Bird.Parish/McHale" quote it makes me nervous. Those 3 were the back bone of the 80's Celtics and in return gave all they had for Red and the city. 3 rings, and each had the "win or die" attitude, they each played how many years critically injured, just for the team.


Ainge would have traded that? Boston is a brotherhood and doesn't get rid of their superstars just because they are "not what they used to be". If Red had gotten rid of one of the old big 3 there would have been a meltdown.


Pierce is basically the Larry Bird of this generation of Celtics, and trading him would be a slap in the face to both him AND the fans. Pierce has played over 10 years in green and has given everything he has for this team. Trading our generations Larry Bird away just for younger talent is wrong. KG and RA I would not object to moving around if the time came.

[MattG12]

I am a Boston Celtics fan. Not a Paul Pierce fan, not a Kevin Garnett fan. Although I do like these players I would never root for their new team over the Celtics if they were to be traded. I was still a Celtics fan a few years ago when we were awful. I didn't watch as many games, but I still rooted for them. I wasn't cheering on the Miami Heat because of my love for Antoine Walker.

However I am a fan of one player in particular in the NBA and that is Steve Nash. I was a Mavs fan when he played for them and I am a Suns fan now. When the Celtics play the Suns I hope Nash has a good game and the Celtics win. I did root for the Suns when the Celtics were bad a couple years ago, but even then when the Suns played the Celtics I still rooted for the Celtics.

[mkogav]

Here is how I would rank it for me:

1. City - I find it hard to root for teams not in the Boston Area
2. Team- Loyal to the C's unless they ever move
3. Players- I'm loyal to the players but I wouldn't mind to trade a longtime player for the right price.
4. GM/Coaches- As long as they are good, I don't really care who they are.
5. Owners- As long as they are not cheap and committed to winning in Boston, I really don't care who owns the team.

1. My fantasy teams - Above all I want the player on my team to do well even at the expense of 2-...  
2. City
3. Team
4. Players
50. Coaches
99. Owners

[TheLegendaryClub]

I'm a fan of the team first, of course. I'm a Boston Celtics fan. If we have to trade my favorite player to win a championship, then that's what we have to do. That being said, I also have loyalty to the players. If guys like Rondo or Perk get traded, you bet I'll still be following their careers and cheering them on as players with their new team. Especially guys like that who are Celtics through and through. As much as I love Ray and KG, they haven't been Celtics for the extent of their career like Paul, Perk, etc have, so those guys have a bit more of my loyalty.

[tenn_smoothie]

i definitely have loyalty to long-time players - especially guys who have expressed gratitude and appreciation for being a Boston Celtic. that is something that has seperated the Celtics from every other franchise in the league over the years.

i want being a Boston Celtic to still stand for something ........ though now that we have given way to the Celtic Dancing Edited.  Profanity and masked profanity are against forum rules and may result in discipline.s, i guess all our long-time traditions have a price nowadays - sad to say.

[bballdog384]

Part of being a Celtic fan is being loyal to all of the above. I love the pride that comes along with the city of Boston and the amazing history that comes with not only the sports teams but the city as a whole. All the players that play here truly show what it means to be a Celtic and play with more heart than anyone else in the league.