Even though I am a huge sports fanatic, I was really never into the NBA growing up. About two years ago, in a fit of post college basketball season boredom, I tuned into the NBA playoffs and started watching. I did not really have a favorite team or player, until the Celtics vs. Heat series when I saw Rajon Rondo playing with a broken arm. I started following the Celtics casually and became a huge fan of Rondo.
This is how it was decided that we would head to Boston for our annual “before my busy season starts” spring getaway. When Rondo went down early in the season with a torn ACL, I was totally bummed. But, alas, we had already spent a small fortune on basketball tickets – so, off to the cold Northeast we headed anyhow.
Although Danny and I have attended some MLB games, this was the first time that either of us had been to pro basketball game. Our seats were insane.
The first game we hit up was against the Detroit Pistons. It was a tight game and probably a little bit more compelling than it should have been – but, the Celtics pulled out the win.
(I took an informal poll at the stadium and determined that Rondo was the most popular player on the Celtics squad. The number of Rondo shirts/jerseys outnumbered everyone else. Obviously, I was no different in my #9 shirt.)
On Friday night, we had tickets to see the Celtics vs. Cleveland (I figured we were flying all the way to Boston to see a team play, we might as well catch more than one game).
(No big deal, just Kyrie Irving, the best point guard to only play 11 games for Duke, running right past us into the tunnel at halftime).
Unfortunately, the Celtics played sloppy and lost this game. We wound up leaving a few minutes early to try and beat the rush to catch the train back to our hotel.
Hitting up these games turned me into a bigger Celtics fan than before. The TD Garden is a pretty cool stadium to watch a game and the level of athleticism on display is off the charts crazy. My heart will still always belong to the college game and my beloved Blue Devils (and UNC-Asheville Bulldogs), but, the NBA will do in a pinch.
Hopefully the next time we make it to a game, Rondo will be back on the court. Maybe a trip to Charlotte next season to see a game versus the Bobcats should be scheduled? Go Celtics!
