Celtics Win Championship, Culminating Boston Sports Marathon

Last night the Boston Celtics won the NBA championship, culminating this Boston sports fanatic's 9 1/2 month obsession witnessing greatness. I am elated and exhausted after this Boston Sports Marathon. But although this has been the most intense and extended run in the history of my fandom, the ride began when I was just a toddler.

I have been a fan of the Red Sox, Patriots, and Celtics all of my life. It started with my relationship with my father. My dad was a high school (Chelsea High)and college (Northeastern University) basketball star, his three siblings also stars in football, boxing, basketball, and swimming.

Dad worked as the Physical Education Director of the Boston YMHA and later the Providence YMHA, predecessors to the current day JCCs, or Jewish Community Centers. These places were centers of Jewish culture in New England, and education and sports were their glue. Many Jewish immigrants were taught English and helped acculturate to the U.S. at these centers, and sports was a major social activity in these communities. My dad was both an athlete and scholar (high school and college basketball star, doctorate in chemistry, high school math teacher, coach, and later coach, teacher, and director at the YMHA). He was also my first mentor and teacher, taking me to work with him at the Y, and playing basketball and handball with me.

On weekends we played baseball and basketball in our yard. We watched Celtics games on dad's black and white portable Zenith television in our living room, and listened to Red Sox games on various radios that he brought out into the back yard while lounging in those old nylon and aluminum lawn chairs.

Then, when I was 8 years old, he died suddenly of heart failure while playing handball at the Y.

My loss and longing for my father has continued ever since, and I have found some solace in staying connected all of my life to the sports teams that he loved so much.

And Dad would have loved this last 9 1/2 months. It has been perhaps the most amazing simultaneous peak of three major sports teams from the same city in history. The Red Sox, after not winning a Championship in 86 years, came back last fall from being down 3-1 in the AL Championship Series and went on to win their second World Series in four years. The Patriots get Randy Moss in the offseason, and he and MVP Tom Brady combine for the most Touchdowns in the regular season in NFL history, the Patriots also break the record for most points in a season, and oh yes, they go undefeated in the regular season, the first team to do so in 35 years, and the only team to do so under the expanded 16 game schedule. They get to their 4th Superbowl in eight years, and although they lost in the last minute, were part of the greatest superbowl in history. And then the Celtics. The team my father did see many times in their glory, for most of history have been the most dominant team in sports, and yet, they hadn't won a title in 22 years. But this year three great players came together (Pierce, Garnett, and Allen), many great role players were added, and the Celtics make the biggest turnaround in two seasons in NBA history, win 66 regular season games, play in a record 26 playoff games, go to two game sevens and two game sixes, and win on their home court 131-92, a record differential in a finals clinching game. Thus we are at the greatest 9 1/2 months in any city's sports history.

I am elated yet exhausted. I figured out that over these past 290 days I have watched 95 must-see dramatic historic Boston sports team television games:

Every Pats game was a dramatic must-watch as they began the Brady-Moss era by blowing teams out. After 4 or 5 blowouts in a row, we began asking "Can they go undefeated?". And with that on the line, we watched every Pats game. That's 19 dramatic games.

Of course we watched all of the Red Sox playoff games: a 3 game sweep of Angels, 7 game amazing Indians series, 4 games sweep of Rockies = 14 games, plus at least 10 games in September with the Division on the line vs. Yanks, the wild card on the line vs. Yankees, the pitching staff trying to stay healthy and successful, and Manny trying to come back from a month-long injury. 10 must-see September games is probably conservative, but for this exercise let's use it. That's 24 must-see Red Sox games.

Then the Celtics. We had to watch the first few games with the new Big 3. The blew out the Wizards by 20 points. They blew out everybody. Celtics start 8-0. Celtics start 20-2. Celtics start 40-9, and end 66-16. How many of those were must-see games? The first few? Then the first 9 to see how long they would stay undefeated? Then the games against the Pistons and Cavs? Then the first west coast trip? The other west coast trips? The Texas trip? The other Pistons games? KG's return after being injured? Our first games with Cassell and PJ Brown? Let's conservatively say there were 26 must-see national tv Celts regular season games. Add 26 playofff games and you have 52 must-see dramatic Celtics games watched this season.

So since September 1st we have a conservative estimate of 19 Pats games, 24 Red Sox games, and 52 Celtics games. That is a total of 95 amazing dramatic unforgettable Boston Sports team tv games in the past 290 days. That's 1 must-see amazing dramatic unforgettable Boston Sports Team game every 3 days over the last 9 1/2 months!

Talk about the Boston Marathon!!! I don't even want to think about the fact that the Red Sox are once again in first place and favored to repeat as champions, and that the Patriots and Celtics are also favored to reach the finals in their respected sports. I don't need to know that and right now I wish I didn't know that. I need at least a three month vacation from all of this drama. I'll probably get sucked back into all of this craziness again in Sepember. And I suspect my father will somehow be there with me too.