Have we fans gotten complacent?

[Dybdal]

Today while eating together with my parents, talk shifted to the Boston Celtics as allways. One topic that came and went a few times was me and my brothers lack of enthusiam for watching the Celtics compared to a few years ago. My dad in his infinite wisdom halted dinner and found his copy of the 2008 Championship DVD and suddonly thoughts of the 18 game loosing streak from 2007, the rejuvinating 2008 regular season and i actualy felt bad.. i actualy felt like "how dare i, feel like this when some fans has never felt the joy of winning it all"

This might be the last season we see this team as currently constituted, so i ask you Celticsblog.

Have you become complacent? i sure was and i think before the game tonight, ill watch my copy of 2008 Championship DVD and see if the game feels different, my new years resolution will be..

I will do everything i can to enjoy the ride, regardless of outcome.

[Celtics4ever]

I have followed the C's since the 70's.  In that time, they have been good and bad, stellar and subpar, the best team and the worst team.   The roster changes seem to be cyclical after Red stepped down.  Red amazingly kept us near the top most years of his tenure in contention at least.  Not all years but most of them.

I have not got complacent.  I live out of market and buy the NBA pass every year because I love the C's.   That is not cheap but it's worth every penny.  There have been a few times that I swore I would not get it again like the 09 finals but I came right back to the Celtics.

[Dybdal]

I have followed the C's since the 70's.  In that time, they have been good and bad, stellar and subpar, the best team and the worst team.   The roster changes seem to be cyclical after Red stepped down.  Red amazingly kept us near the top most years of his tenure in contention at least.  Not all years but most of them.

I have not got complacent.  I live out of market and buy the NBA pass every year because I love the C's.   That is not cheap but it's worth every penny.  There have been a few times that I swore I would not get it again like the 09 finals but I came right back to the Celtics.

I cant say i've been following for as long as you have, i was born during the early Bird era, so what sticks out the most to me is the era after Bird and what we are going though right now.

I think not being as old (and i dont mean that in a negative way) means that your mind kind of clings (is that even a word?) to the most recent memorys and forgets the counterweight that came before it.

I dont think i would have thought about it the way i do now, if it wasnt because my dad reminded me at dinner, that what we have now is special and should be enjoyed if possible. I didnt make this thread because i felt this was a genereal trend among the ones that frequent Celticsblog but because it is something that has meaning to me.

Anyway.. 

[Marcus13]

Im really trying hard to enjoy it.  As long as we make it to the expected second round, I'll probably be happy with it.  Ray Allen is my favorite player of all time so the thought of him leaving or retiring him at the end of the season really scares me, personally.  All three of these guys deserve a final, decent, last ride.

[Lord of Mikawa]

I think every banner makes us as a fanbase hungry for the next. We always want the C's to succeed. One can't help but feel bad for those franchises that have never won it all. But it is not our fault that other GM's just don't make the right moves to win titles.

[Tgro]

I came on board during the late 70s and the early 80s and if you remember the 80s, you remember seeing some of the most bitter rivalries and the prettiest basketball you ever seen. And I have to admit, I was young then and I took it for granted. And then the 90s came and we just pretty much sucked for the next 15 - 20 years with some occasional flashes of decency. We were an afterthought.

And then this rendition of the Celtics came along and I have savored every minute of it. Because I can assure you when its over and some years have passed and you look back....you'll miss these Celtics. These last 4 years have been golden and you need to appreciate what you've seen and who makes up this team. We've had a great collection of guys and when they're gone, I'm gonna miss them. So I personally, watch every game I can and appreciate what we have now.

[PosImpos]

"complacent"?

that makes it sound like as a fan you have an obligation to work to be enthusiastic and attentive.


following a sports team is about fun and entertainment, not work.  if the team isn't grabbing your attention, it's not your fault.  your expectations have changed since '06, and that's reasonable.  no need to feel bad about it.

[Kiorrik]

"complacent"?

that makes it sound like as a fan you have an obligation to work to be enthusiastic and attentive.


following a sports team is about fun and entertainment, not work.  if the team isn't grabbing your attention, it's not your fault.  your expectations have changed since '06, and that's reasonable.  no need to feel bad about it.

To me it's a combination of fun and work, honestly. I love following the Celtics, but I put some extra effort into it because I want people to see how awesome my Celtics are

It's a bit like I'm one of those Jehova's witnesses that go door-knocking :p

[CelticSooner]

It stinks when the C's lose but overall I thoroughly enjoy watching this group. Been a fan since the 90's so I really never got to enjoy a real contender. The Antoine/Pierce lead teams of 10 years ago were nice but had no shot at winning a title.

It will stink going back into rebuilding mode but I think I'm more prepared for it now after the last 5 years.

[Roy H.]

I don't know what the right word is, but it does seem like a lot of us have let the pursuit of a championship stand in the way of enjoying good basketball.  It sometimes seems as if the Celtics aren't clear favorites to win a title, there's a "what's the sense in watching" mentality, or even a "blow it up" one.

We've seen this in other sports, as well.  If the Red Sox or Pats or whoever aren't good enough to win it all, a lot of fans don't want to bother watching.  I understand that viewpoint, but I do think that it makes people forget some of the joys of just watching sport for sport's sake.  We're very lucky to be watching three Hall of Famers and an all-star, and we've been blessed to watch some amazing games and some spectacular defense.  We've been blessed as a fan base in a way that very few fans get a chance to experience, and I do think it's easy to get complacent to that.

[Dybdal]

Im not sure Complacent is the right word in this context, allthough i do hope the meaning is somehow understood.. Being a native Danish speaking person, translating whats in your head from Danish to English, means that the original meaning or purposs gets lost in translation if that makes any sense.

I do not feel that watching the Celtics is work, or hard in any way.

I just didnt get that feeling, those butterflys in my stomach when me and a friend would sit up until 4-5 at night watching the C's battle it out with someone during the 90's, at that point it didnt mean anything where or againt who it was, all that mattered was the momement of watching it, enjoying it and hopefully winning the game in the end.

I just didnt feel that when i watched the first 5 games, it frustrated me, it felt like i had lost something on the way. Hopefully its regained, that said i cant wait until tonight

[mqtcelticsfan]

I hope this is what you're getting at here: I've grown complacent in that winning 3 in a row doesn't excite me anymore. The continued success of this team has raised my standards of what I consider exciting. This is due in large part to the massive jump from pitiful to the pinnacle. After watching Gerald Green wandering around aimlessly for a few years, to switch to the Big 3 was such a shock to my system that I couldn't even contain my joy. It was absolutely magical. Conversely, last year when we came firing out the gates with Rondo playing incredibly, I was kind of expecting it and didn't care as much overall. I still am enjoying the ride, but nothing will compare to that worst to first feeling we got in 2007.

[Eja117]

I don't know if spoiled is the same as complacent.   Sometimes I think we're even more demanding. 

[TripleOT]

I've been following the Cs since the Hondo/Cowens/Jo Jo era, and  through the ups and downs after the Big 3 retired, I never thought the Celtics would be at the very top of the league again.  Good teams, yes, like the Toine/PP team in 2002, but not a championship team.

What Ainge reinforced in me is the idea that NBA teams win championships when they have top of the league players.  Besides the last Pistons champion, every team that has won the title the past 30 years had either a Top 5 player or two or more Top 15 players.

That's why DA was angling for Chris Paul when he became available, and will always try to bring in top of the league talent when those players come on the market.   

[Greenbean]

As fans I think we love when teams overacheive. When rooting for a power house or an underdog are when fans are at their most passionate in my opinion. Fans will never get behind a team as passionately that is performing below expectations.

Before the big 3, we were just happy to win any game.

Post big 3 and especially after winning in year one, it is impossible for the Celtics to overacheive since the goal is championship every year. So high expectations can be misconstrued as complaceny in my opinion.

This is the first year for me personally that I do not consider the Celtics title contenders and to be honest, I feel like I can breathe again and really enjoy being a fan.

However, in the back of my mind I do not doubt that these guys can band together for one more run through the playoffs if everyone is healthy.

To be honest, this is a very exciting year for me personally. The Celtics can play the underdog card again.

Im not speaking for this blog but personally, I have become much less "complacent" this year because I believe there are better teams in the NBA on paper. I will not sour on this team unless they perform well below my expectations. So far they have not (save for that NO game).