Celtics

While stashing our Manny Ramirez bobble-head doll away in the attic until spring, I came across a ticket-stub memory of my first Celtics game. I remember it was in January. We were 11 then, the winter of '59. My friends' Dad took us, an Ice Capades/Celtics double-bill, on a Sunday. The basketball game was supposed to be first, but there was a snowstorm that grounded all air traffic in the northeast and the team had to bus it up from New York, where the night prior they had played the Knicks. The Garden folks decided to go ahead with the ice show and had to strip down the parquet basketball floor and then take the plywood and tarp cover off the ice. After the ice show, they then had to recover the rink and reconstruct the basketball court, which was an extra added attraction for kids our age, I remember. While they were in the final stages of setting up the hoops, they announced the Celtics had arrived. The opponents that night were the Syracuse Nationals, the power in the NBA East before the Bill Russell era. I remember being impressed with Hal Greer, later elected to the Hall of Fame, draining jumpshot after jumpshot from the corner during the first half.

If the Celtics Big Three of Ray Allen, Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce plan to raise another banner to the Garden rafters, they'll first have to regrow the missing bottom portion of their bodies.

The Celtics were down 24 points at the break -- disappointing, lethargic. But, as it was in those days, they came back strong in the second half and ended up winning the contest by 24. Basketball became my favorite sport* and I was hooked, even to the point of buying season tickets during the early to mid '70's. They're not kidding when they call the NBA players the greatest athletes in the world. Size, speed, agility... I remember awe at the sight of Dr. J. in full flight.

Today, the new Celtics begin the season amid an outbreak of optimism not seen around here since Bird soared and McHale hogged the ball.

Paul Pierce will lead them. Dat boy be wicked hungry.

* I love the Red Sox, but won't go out of my way to watch any other team play baseball. Basketball is different.