The NBA Finals came to an end last night with the Boston Celtics finishing off the Los Angeles Lakers in six games, 131-92. As lopsided as that score looks, it wasn’t even that close. The team that was formerly nicknamed “Showtime” in the 1980′s, was late for their curtain call, to say the least. LA’s second and third best players shrunk in the spotlight, the bench was horrendous, and the 2008 MVP was taken to the woodshed. It’s asinine to say that Kobe Bryant was a non-factor, because he averaged about 25 a game, but the man shot well under his average, about 40%, which is testament to the Celtics defense.

I loved the outcome of this game and of this series. I was behind the Celtics from beginning to end of these Finals. Although, to an outside observer, it will look as though I am just jumping on the bandwagon of the team that I put my support behind. It would’ve looked like that if I got behind the Lakers. These two teams have a long and storied history that includes a stat of the 62 NBA championships awarded, 31 have gone to either the Celtics (17) and the Lakers (14). It’s easy to get behind these teams, especially in a state void of a professional team.

I’d like to make my case that I’m not a bandwagon jumper. A bandwagon jumper will talk about the Celtics as “their” team, using a lot of possessive words to describe it. This is stupid from an actual fan, but it’s extraordinarily wrong coming from a fan that watches six games all season. I don’t do this, nor would I ever. Boston is not my favorite team. The Orlando Magic is my favorite team, getting behind them when Shaq was still roaming the paint in the magic kingdom. A bandwagon jumper will also keep their support in this team, for years to come, possibly staying a fan, but most likely leaving when the winning stops. I won’t do this because again, they aren’t my team.

A bandwagon jumper will also buy “team du jour’s” merchandise: jerseys, shirts, caps, foam fingers, beer hats, condoms, etc. I don’t buy NBA merchandise, period. I am a casual fan, most likely one of many around this area, considering how the closest NBA team has a collection of players that have more tattoos then the Sturgis Motorcycle rally.

Why show support in these teams, when they aren’t my favorites? I like basketball, especially in June, when the play is at it’s best. This last month or so, the level of intensity and play has been extraordinary to watch and was definitely edge-of-your-seat worthy.

Why show support for Boston and not LA? The answer’s pretty effin’ obvious, but here’s why, in an ordered list:

1. Boston’s history
2. Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, and Ray Allen
3. Kobe Bryant

I love Boston’s history. Boston won 11 titles in 12 years in the 60′s and 70′s then started another dynasty in the 80′s with Bird, Parish, and McHale. The biggest thing though is Larry Bird. Larry Bird is a white guy from the Midwest who became one of the 50 greatest players, a member of the original Dream Team, and earned the monikers “Larry Legend” and “The Basketball Jesus”. It’s hard not to get behind someone who played that hard, that well, and could shoot lights out from anywhere on the floor.

Boston lost 58 games last season. The last half of the season they purposely lost to get a better chance at winning the draft lottery to get Kevin Durant, the rookie of the year this year, but ended up with the fifth pick in the draft. They were wasting Paul Pierce’s talent and ability. Danny Ainge, president of basketball operations for the Celtics and former player during the 80′s championship teams, finally started to do things for his franchise and started acquiring players. On draft day, he traded the fifth pick (Jeff Green), Wally Sczerbiack, and Delonte West to Seattle for Ray Allen, a premier jump-shooter in the decline of his prime. Definitely a big time pickup because Allen had taken the Sonics to the playoffs, basically on his own. Later on in the summer came the steal of the century, until the Lakers got Pau Gasol for 10 cents on the dollar. They traded a couple picks, Al Jefferson, Ryan Gomes, Gerald Green, Sebastian Telfair, and Theo Ratliff for Kevin Garnett. Garnett, a top-10 player in the league his entire career but a severe underachiever, finally had a chance to win. Garnett and Allen turned the Celtics from cellar-dwellers to title-contenders. It’s easy to get throw your support behind these guys because they are so talented but they’ve never won anything. They’d be winning for everyone else who never won anything: Charles Barkley, Karl Malone, John Stockton, Patrick Ewing, Chris Webber, etc.

Then there’s Kobe Bryant. Why would I root for Boston because of a player who plays for the other team? I’ll tell you why. Kobe Bryant is a whiny, prima-donna who looks for his own shot, is a horrible teammate, and to top it all off, he raped that girl.

I am not a bandwagon jumper. I am a casual fan of basketball that loves great sports storylines. Boston has a great storyline. I’m ecstatic that they won.

Tags: abc, boson celtics, espn, finals, kevin garnett, kobe bryant, los angeles lakers, nba, paul pierce

This entry was posted on Wednesday, June 18th, 2008 at 2:06 am and is filed under Basketball, Rants, Reviews, Sports. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.