These are the pictures I took. I actually had to stop because my section became a bit of a mosh pit and I felt the need to defend myself, or at the very least not have my hands raised above my head as I took photos. I was with people who got some great shots and I'll pass them along at some point. Some notes on the day.
- The whole "rolling rally" concept is what it is. I assume it was instituted for safety reasons, which makes sense after disasters following Red Sox and Patriots championships. But it would have been cool for the players to speak, especially if someone had a Steve Kerr moment.
- Gorman, Felger, Tanguay, etc. stressed this but it is worth repeating. It was a young crowd. I'm talking mainly high school and college aged. Granted a lot of older people have real jobs. Still it was a young crowd, completely decked out in green. I've never seen anything quite like it.
- Speaking of the crowd. If you are from the greater Boston area and dating someone, male or female, and it does not work out, for whatever reason, that may be hard. Someone will tell you there are more fish in the sea. I'm here to tell you not only are there more. There are some incredibly similar ones as well.
- There was a massive police presence. Just massive. So much so that I wonder if crime spiked in other parts of the city. Police on horses, bikes, in cars, on top of a menacing vehicle, standing, walking around. I included a few pictures after the jump but could not do it justice. One point that killed me. The crowd took to throwing small inflatable balls (think mini beach balls) back and forth across the street. Often times throws fell short and the ball sat in the street, unreachable. At times the police would throw them into the crowd. Other times they ignored them. I saw one officer actually pop one though. The crowd booed but it was hysterical. They should have brought in Bob Stanley. He would have loved it. At least that's how I remember him.
- Given the massive number of police I was a little surprised to see the guys to the right of me passing around and chugging a handle vodka. That's commitment.
- It was fun but not in a "wow I need to do that again" sort of way. Still great weather, tons of Celtics fans dressed for the occasion, and by my count several people too drunk to walk by noon. I'll close with my favorite jerseys from the day:
Honorable Mention: Curtis Martin's New England jersey, Ty Law's New England jersey, Glen Davis' Celtics jersey, Rajon Rondo's Celtics jersey, and several guys who should definitely have worn shirts but did not see it that way. Always kills me.
Honorable Honorable Mention: Ricky Davis' Celtics jersey with a matching arm band (speechless), Ryan Gomes Celtics jersey (big fan of his but really?), Raef LaFrentz Celtics jersey (and it looked like the most expensive one you could buy), and a KG Timberwolves jersey. Not sure what to say about that last one. It did make me think the following: If Minnesota somehow traded for Pierce and Allen, signed House and Posey, and won a championship, well...I'd hate the Timberwolves. That gave me perspective. And then Tommy Heinsohn rolled by and I started clapping again.
1. Bill Russell's Celtics jersey.
2. Paul Pierce's Inglewood jersey.
3. Pierce's Kansas jersey.
4. Bird's Celtics jersey.
5. McHale's Celtics jersey.
6. Tie: KG and Ray Allen's Celtics jerseys
8. Tie: Eddie House and James Posey's Celtics jerseys. Glad to see them represented.
10. A home made Brian Scalabrine t-shirt. It was just a green shirt with the sleeves cut off and white paint. I was too shocked to reach for my camera and he was moving fast.
