High Five with FLCeltsFan - interviewing a Celtics blogging legend

Every Celtics game is preceded by a preview on this blog. Most days there is a post with a list of links to Celtics content all around the internet. Those posts are written by an author with the screen name of FLCeltsFan, but few have had the privilege of getting to know the person behind the posts.

It has been my joy to have an online friendship with FLCeltsFan for many years. She is flat-out one of the most dedicated, loyal, and hard working bloggers that I've ever known. She's probably too humble to admit that she spends hours a day working on this stuff, and she actually feels bad when a little thing like hospitalization prevents her from posting.

I wanted to give everyone a chance to get to know FLCeltsFan and to show her my appreciation for what she's done for the community over the years. Also, it is my hope that her story can inspire some girls and women sports fans to share their passion with the world in their own way.

Here's the interview:

1. Start off by telling us a little about yourself. We know you are the master of links and previews, and we all know you love the Celtics (and based on your screen name, Florida too?). But what else should we know about you outside of the blog world?

I've been a Celtics fan since I was a senior in high school in 1969. They didn't have League Pass or anything like that at the time, so I didn't get to watch many games. I loved basketball but wasn't really into the NBA until I started reading about that Celtics team that was too old and too banged up to win a championship. They showed so much heart and they played team ball and they just won me over. I've been a Celtics fan ever since. I love this team and see the world through green colored glasses.

I now live in Florida and now with League Pass I get to watch every Celtics game. Back in 1998 I discovered the Internet. I'm not sure when exactly I discovered CelticsBlog and other Celtics fans online but I was very excited when I did. I never lived in the Boston area so didn't have a lot of local Celtics fans to talk to about my favorite team. Finding a whole Celtics' community online was very exciting.

I am married to a wonderful man who shares my love of the Celtics. He is retired Air Force and I am a retired high school math teacher. I tutor math online these days. I taught for 20 years in Christian schools and all of my students knew I loved the Celtics. I had Celtics stuff all over the classroom. My favorite was a life-size Larry Bird. It was a great conversation piece. I have 5 kids ages 20-40 and 2 grandchildren. My grandson watches the games with me and is a huge Kelly Olynyk fan. He gets mad when Kelly isn't picked for the Tommy Award. He also named his goldfish Kelly.

2. You also run Celtics Green and you've been known to help out with a number of different blogs and message boards. How long have you been doing this and how much time does it take?

I think it was around 2005 or 2006 when I started writing for LOY's Place, which is now Celtics Green. I'm not a writer by any stretch of the imagination. I'm pretty much left brained but I love more than anything sharing my love for the Celtics with others. I wanted to share my love for the Celtics and I started gathering links as a way of giving back to the Celtics community that I love so much.

I spend quite a bit of my day gathering links and doing game threads and just trying to keep up with the Celtics. Some days more than others. Almost 3 years ago I was hospitalized with congestive heart failure and have to deal with that so I don't have as much energy as I used to have. Because of that, I can't do quite as much as I used to but I still love doing it.

3. You've seen as many articles on the Celtics as anyone alive. Do you actually read all of them or just the ones that strike your fancy? Who are your favorite authors?

I couldn't possibly read all of the articles I include in the daily links or I wouldn't have any life at all. I read the ones that strike my fancy. Kendrick Perkins is still my favorite player and any articles about him are a must read. I probably read about a quarter of the articles I post in the links.

Jackie MacMullan, and Bob Ryan are among my all time favorite writers. Of the regular writers in Celtics daily media my favorites include Jay King, Chris Forsberg and, of course Jeff Clark. I really appreciate sites that keep it clean and where I can read the articles and not worry about having to wade through profanity.

4. One of my favorite authors is Jackie MacMullan and there are several other great women writers out there, but I wish there were more. What's your perspective? Do you have any advice for young women looking to get into the field?

When I first started reading message boards way back when, I mentioned that I was a female and a couple of the posters made some rude comments about how women didn't know anything about sports and something to the effect that they should stay in the kitchen and off the sports boards. For a long time after that, I never mentioned that I was a female. Over the years, things got better and more and more women were writing about sports and joining broadcasts and the sports media. I would just tell any young women who are looking to get into sports writing or broadcasting to follow their heart and not to get discouraged. I'm very happy to see that the sports world is opening up to women.

5. Let's finish with a softball question. Who are your favorite Celtics of all time?!

Well, my love for Kendrick Perkins is well documented, and I still love Perk. I'm very loyal and when I love a player, I always love that player. I still try to watch Perk play every chance I get. I try to keep up with all of the Celtics that have been traded and want them to do well. I never got to watch Loscy play, but from all I have read about him, he's become one of my favorites.

I love Bill Russell, Dave Cowens, Larry Bird, Kevin McHale and Dennis Johnson. I can't explain it, but Ricky Davis was one of my favorites when he played here. Of course I love Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett but of that championship team, Perk and Leon Powe were my favorites. Of the current Celtics, I love them all. But if I had to pick one current favorite, it would have to be Jae Crowder.

I guess if I have to pick my one favorite player of all time, it would be Larry Bird. He was such a special player and so much fun to watch. He's truly one of a kind.

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Bless you and thank you again FLCeltsFan. You are an inspiration and a wonderful person. You are one of the greats, and I know that everyone on the blog appreciates what you do. Cheers.