Booing during the playoffs is NOT ok

[Andy Jick]

We can debate this until rapture, but this is not just a Boston Garden issue - it's UNIVERSAL.  Message boards all throughout sports can have this debate, and the bottom line is that it's like a dog chasing his tail - in the end it's a lot of effort but gets you nowhere.

Just maybe (and I'm spitballing here) the economy isn't as good as our current administration would like everyone to believe it is and people just don't have the spare money for this form of entertainment.  For people who want to whine about empty seats and live within an hour of the Garden, well, buy a ticket!  If you can't afford it, then have some sympathy for those in your proverbial boat...

[CelticHooligan3]

I was at the game. The booing didn't start till the fans felt the team layed down. It was a poor effort. The booing early in the game was for the referees. The true fans are the ones who boo at the right time when the team has earned that response. The worst home playoff loss in team history def deserves boos. If you guys who have a problem with booing in any situation no matter the case then go watch a lakers game or somthing. That was an unacceptable effort all night so they desereved it. Pathetic there are people who would stand and cheer mindlessley no matter what they see on the court. If you guys truly understood this team and franchise you'd boo a poor showing such as last nigh too.

[wiley]

We can debate this until rapture, but this is not just a Boston Garden issue - it's UNIVERSAL.  Message boards all throughout sports can have this debate, and the bottom line is that it's like a dog chasing his tail - in the end it's a lot of effort but gets you nowhere.

Just maybe (and I'm spitballing here) the economy isn't as good as our current administration would like everyone to believe it is and people just don't have the spare money for this form of entertainment.  For people who want to whine about empty seats and live within an hour of the Garden, well, buy a ticket!  If you can't afford it, then have some sympathy for those in your proverbial boat...

I agree it's universal.  In fact, it's much worse in many cities.  Boston has been protected somewhat from the onslaught of all things marketed.  Or, at least, has maintained a nice balance...Not sure if it can last...as you say, effort leads nowhere...

[Hila]

For people who want to whine about empty seats and live within an hour of the Garden, well, buy a ticket!  If you can't afford it, then have some sympathy for those in your proverbial boat...

It was my understanding that those seats WERE sold... the people who had them couldn't be bothered to show up on time. And if the seat has been bought, someone else who would be there-- and who has several hundred dollars-- can't buy it.

If they actually weren't sold, when did the Garden's sellout streak end?

[Andy Jick]

For people who want to whine about empty seats and live within an hour of the Garden, well, buy a ticket!  If you can't afford it, then have some sympathy for those in your proverbial boat...

It was my understanding that those seats WERE sold... the people who had them couldn't be bothered to show up on time. And if the seat has been bought, someone else who would be there-- and who has several hundred dollars-- can't buy it.

If they actually weren't sold, when did the Garden's sellout streak end?

you're probably right...  and so here's the problem: we WANT the best players, but those players come with a price.  we peons don't pay for those players - corporate America does through the purchase of their expensive seats and luxury suites. 

those are typically the same people who wine and dine & entertain clients...and there just happens to be a basketball game going on in the background. 

...it's the two-edged sword of sports.  we who want those seats can't afford those seats.  those who can probably don't care...

[ScoobyDoo]

I think they 100% deserve the Boos and I love it that they got booed. I would have preferred they were booed for the entire second half without a break.

Anyone who has been a life long Celtics fan, should not have a problem with the booing.

It's not that they lost, it's HOW they lost that is so completely unacceptable and worthy of boos. As CoachBo correctly said, one of the worst playoff efforts/performances in Celtics history.

And this from, Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen? Three hall of famers?

If you';ve played ball, you can udnerstand getting steam rolled...for about the first 3-4 minutes of the game. Then, after the other team has punched you in the nose about 6 times, you generally start to not like that. Now it's about half way through the first quarter and it starts getting ugly. Yous start the hard fouls, you start going head long for the basket on offense, you start getting all the floor burns because you are diving all over the court trying to stop the onslaught.

What the Celtics did in game three was just say "can you please keep punching me in the nose for all 48 minutes of thsi game and my part will be to do nothing about it and just let you keep doing it beacuse we like it.

This game should have been a to the floor, to the rim , to the mat game by our Celtics after about 3 minutes of the first.

Instead, we had a team of hall of famers, standing around yawning like it didn't matter.

It would have been nice had the entire Boston crowd stayed and continued booing for about 10-15 minutes after the Celtics had left the floor as well.

Or put another way, do you think Cowens, Bird, these guys would have gone down like a bunch of chics like our team did yesterday.

It's about heart, sack, effort and a profound lack thereof on given nights that is completely unacceptable and absolutely, 100% worthy of as much booing as our fans can muster.

And if Garnett doesn't like it, he can go try on another dress. Or sgange the colr of his lipstick, get his hair done different.
  

[Prof. Clutch]

I consider myself a true fan of both the game of basketball and to an even larger extent the Celtics.  There is hardly a situation where I support booing your own team (although I don't apply that virtue as dependent upon whether someone is a "true fan" or not.)

That being said, the C's laid an absolute stink bomb last night. They played lackadaisical basketball, and minus a few key plays, we're completely without energy.  I mean I watched that game and the C's didn't bend their knees on defense, didn't extend any urgency on covering for each other with the team defense, didn't attack on offense, didn't hustle for loose balls, and minus a few key plays, mailed that game in as soon as they saw that Lebron and the Cavs were coming out strong.

By half time I was ready to boo this team.  It was painful to watch and it seemed to come down to effort, hustle and determination on so many plays.  I expected more out of them, I'm sure the fans who were there did too.  I have to believe that is mostly why they booed, although I don't blame them for being upset they spent tons of money to go to a game where our team played like that.  (I haven't been able to afford to go to a celtics playoff game in years, I can't imagine if I had dropped lots of money on finally going to a game and that turned out to be the one.)  People we're p---ed about it so they booed.  There's a very small number of ways that fans can truly effect the flow of the game.  The team didn't give the fans any reason to carry the the enthusiasm they felt going into it over into the game.  It was simply put a pathetic show.

I was actually trying to think about the reverse of this and realized how truly strange it would have been if everyone in our own stadium was cheering as loudly as they could have while the Celtics were down 30 points.  It would have been a very different way of getting into the players heads.

Bottom line for me, I expect more out of our team.  We were 7 games into the playoffs, and the Celtics, despite just a few stretches in a few games, hadn't played like it didn't matter.  Last night the celtics played like it didn't matter.

Boo celtics.

Come out like a storm in game 3.

[ScoobyDoo]

The Celtics tradition is about heart & effort. That's why Celtics fans continued to CHEER the Celts team that lost 18 games in a row a few years back...because that team came out and tried really, really hard to win EVERY night. it's not the result that's most important, it's the effort.

That's all the fans want, just that the team tries hard, they stand and fight rather than laying down like a bunch of wusses.

[dark_lord]

for those that werent in or around boston yesterday complaining of empty seats at the game......TRAFFIC SUCKED!!!!!  i made it in time for warm ups but that was bc i was able to get out of work a little early.  my brother in law was to meet me at there.  he left 2 hours b4 tipoff and got there as they threw the ball up.  it is normally a 25-30 min drive for him.  

it was an early game, it was a friday, and traffic sucked....even for boston's standards!  

people who werent in or around the city at the time have no idea and it is unfair to label people based on it.  the garden filled up as the game progressed.

all this complaining of fans is so juvenile.  the issue is the team, not the fans.  cheer the way you want and dont chastise others who cheer the way they want.

[FatjohnReturns]

dont boo please

[Frezz]

The team shows up and plays hard gives a great effort, and what happens? They not only don't boo... they cheer! And cheer loudly! Amazing how that works.

[BudweiserCeltic]

Very disappointed. I hate booing during the season, but I understand it. Booing during the playoffs when the best team in the league is having an unreal game and making us look like high school players is not acceptable. It's rubbing salt in the wound and this team doesn't deserve it. They've been playing a very good series against the best team in the league. They have a tough game, and this is the fan's response? Please. Serious disappointment.

[ScoobyDoo]

Well, maybe I over reacted in my earlier post. But I'll say this, you get what you put into it. It's not that they loist is the way they lost, like apathetic wusses. That doens't play in Boston or for the Boston Celtics, not with Cowens, Bird, Russell, Havlicek and Jo Jo hanging in the rafters.

You go down, you go down swinging/ That's all the fans expect.

Game three, they played like chics. My grandmother would have shown more fight then them ( I am not kidding when I say that).

The team that lost 18 straight...never got booed.

They got booed for a reason. They deserved it. And I perosnally feel that rather than getting upset with the fans, the players maybe should focus their energy on finding a way to make us cheer.