FanPost

An Open Letter to this Celtics Team

I have been a Celtics fan since I was probably 5 years old. My father was a fan, his father was, and his father was as well. We are a middle class family who works hard for everything that we have and are proud of that fact. This past Saturday, I decided that my dad and I were going to take my son to see a Celtics game. It was a rite of passage in our family. Things were different when I was a kid and we went to several games every year. Now, with ticket prices and player salaries being so high, my son was 10 and still hadn’t been to a game. It was something I was not proud of and my dad would ask me, "when are you going to take that boy to a Celtics game?" With the promise of this years team, I decided to bite the bullet and finally do it. What better time than a Game 4 in the playoffs at home with our backs against the wall. The tickets would end up costing me over $1500, or about a weeks pay but I didn’t care about the money. I was excited and I was going to make this happen so I bought tickets and my dad and I spent the weekend sharing stories with Jacob about the Celtics and their history. We talked about how they were just like our family. That they didn’t always win but they never quit. We talked about how his great grandfather opened a restaurant when he was young man and that it failed leaving him with crippling debt, but he worked two full-time jobs into his 60s to pay it all off and never even considered bankruptcy. We said, "this is who we are and this is who the Celtics are." There were stories about Russell, Bird, The Captain, The Chief, Cornbread, Hondo, KG, DJ, IT and others. They didn’t always have the best team, but they were always going to work harder than everyone else. I said, "heart wins out over talent in Boston, always has, always will, Celtics don’t quit!"

The experience for the three of us walking into the Garden was incredible! It was loud and we could feel the excitement of the fans. The city of Boston was sure this would be our night. The game started out great and I was proud of our team for coming out strong and taking it to the Bucks! We cheered them on and there were high fives all around! My dad told Jacob, "this is what I’ve been telling you, when their backs are against the wall, they are coming for you." The Bucks looked tired just 10 minutes in and it looked like the old-school Celtics were back. Then the second quarter happened and we let them back in. The game started to feel different and we didn’t seem to play with the same intensity. When we lost the lead in the third, I still felt we would come back but I was worried in the fourth as only Mook and JB seemed to have any fight left in them. Even so, I was still hopeful and I told Jacob, "I don’t know how this is going to end but it’s going to be a war because they will fight until the very last second!" But with about three minutes left, I started to realize that we were not coming back. The hole was too deep and the Bucks were too good. My dad and I shared an uneasy glance. The team wasn’t playing hard. I started to think about what a letdown this had been as Jacob’s first Celtics game. There were moments, sure, but this was not the Celtics team that he had heard so much about. The one thing that we said never happens was happening. The Bucks were outworking and overpowering the Celtics and they weren’t fighting back. The last couple minutes of the game were hard to watch but nothing could have prepared me for the ending. With about 10 seconds left in the game, Kyrie Irving, Jacob’s favorite player, just walked off the court. Jacob asked me "where is Kyrie going, dad?" I didn’t want to say how I really felt so I just said, "the game is pretty much over son." After the game, Jacob brought it up again and said, "Dad, why did Kyrie leave before the game was over." I responded with something I’ve never said before about a Celtics player, "He quit, son, Kyrie just quit."

To Kyrie: You are either a Celtic or you're not. There is no in-between! You have to understand the history and want to be a part of that. You bleed green or you don't. You asked in your post game, "who cares?" I care Kyrie, my son cares and my dad cares and his dad cares! Why do you think Boston is unlike any other place in the NBA? It’s because we care. The Celtics are more than just a team to us, they are family! Celtics players can feel that when they’re out in the city, but if you don’t get that…….Bye Felicia!

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