The Boston Massacre

I first became a Celtics fan when I was 7 or 8 years old. I was a small chubby kid growing up in Yellowknife with a love for melted cheese and video games. I was amazed by the success of the Celtics which stoked my interest in the game and sports in general. The Celtics however were on the top of a long, long slide. They had just won the 86 title but within a few years everything would start to give. Larry Bird was at the end of an amazing career and would retire. Their top draft pick would die from a drug over-dose. Their up and coming star would die from a heart attack. They would not see the success that made them one of the proudest franchises in professional sports for another 22 years...and I got to be apart of it.

http://the-after-path.blogspot.com/2007_11_01_archive.html

Living out a boyhood dream last November made the Celtics victory last night that much sweeter. The Celtics took game 6 in a blowout, 131-92 and made history in the process setting league and franchise records. What a year and what a game.

If I hadn't gotten into basketball things could have been very different for me and I can honestly say I would not be who I am today. So from a fat kid watching Bird hit a clutch 3 to a grown man with tears in his eyes as he watches the clock count down for Boston's 17th title, I thank the Celtic's and the tradition they endorse to this day.