CELTICS GREEN BLOG by and for boston celtics fans: Eja's 10 Happiest Celtics Moments

by FLCeltsFan 4:51 PM

by Eja117

Eja117 has been at it again. After listing his 10 saddest moments in Celtics history, he now comes back with his 10 happiest moments.

The 10 things that made me happiest in Boston Celts history (starting in 1987)

1 When Montross fell to 9th and they took him. ( I was really young and I had just started paying attention to basketball and I really liked him ok?)

2. When they hired Pitino

3. When the Celts won that first game Pitino coached against the Bulls (Scottie didn’t play. So what?) and Walker, Mercer, and McCarty walked off the court hugging each other and I thought “We’re gonna win sooooo many championships”.

4. When Paul Pierce fell to 10th and we got him. It made up about 10% for losing Duncan the year before and when he was 3rd in Rookie of the Year voting (I think) behind Vince and Jason Williams that briefly went up to 15%.

5. Finding out Pierce had survived about 900 stab wounds to the face, brain, and heart and would be perfectly fine in about a week. (That’s how I remember it). I thought “That must be one tough dude, and this is divine intervention on behalf of the Celts).

6. Realizing Pitino’s first exhibition game was going to be at my college, getting tickets cheap, going to the game and seeing hundreds and hundreds of Celtics jerseys at an exhibition game in the middle of Pennsylvania.

7. When Larry Bird retired and Charles Barkley said something a LOT like “Larry, we’re gonna miss you. You were the best player that ever played”. I was like “Heck yeah he is.” No think about it. Barkley didn’t have to say that. He could have said “One of the best”, or “best shooter”. But no. He said best PLAYER EVER! It’s hard to disagree.

8. When they renamed the Fleet Center the Garden. It was something.

9. When they hired Danny Ainge.

10. When we traded Blount and Ricky Davis for Wally and a 1rst rounder. That was awesome. No no no. Try to remember how much we all hated Blount. No no no. Way more than Scala. More than Doc. More than Raef. Even more than Vin Baker. Remember now? Yeah there you go.

Honorable mention

When I stood in the only line longer than the one to get out of Egypt and finally got Danny Ainge's autograph when I was in 3rd grade. And he even smiled for a picture of us. At a footlocker in a strip mall in Kingston. He did not seem happy and I don't really blame him.

When they drafted Gomes in the 5000th round and he went on to win Rookie of the Year. That’s how I remember it. Close enough. Don’t you get technical with me you little Knicks fan.

Those were Eja's happiest memories. I am going to share just one. It was in 1991. I was living in south Florida and a friend gave me tickets to a Celtics game in Miami. The Miami Arena was in a bad part of town and we had to pay a guy to make sure our car was in one piece when we came out. The game was great and we had good seats. Larry, Kevin and Chief were still playing then and the Celtics won. In spite of being the only Celtics fan in the middle of a lot of Miami fans, they put up with me screaming and yelling and cheering for Celtics and I didn't get mugged or told to shut up. After the game our car was indeed still in one piece, and we followed the team bus back to their hotel and all the players hung around in the lobby and signed autographs and talked. I got pictures taken with Bird, McHale, Parish, DJ, Paxon, Kleine, Pinkney and Jimmy Rodgers. Parish bent over to get his picture taken with me, joking that he always gets his head cut off in pictures. McHale got down on his knees to get a picture with a little boy who was there. They were all very classy and stood around for over an hour after the game talking to fans and signing autographs and getting pictures taken. I had great conversations with McHale, Parish, and DJ. Of all the memories I have of the Celtics, and there are very many, this is my absolute happiest.

There have been a lot of happy memories through the history of the Celtics. Some, like Eja's memory of the Montross pick, may have seemed very happy at the time but in retrospect don't seem so happy. One single memory fits on both the happiest and saddest lists and that is the selection of Len Bias in the 1986 draft. I was the happiest I have ever been as a Celtics fan when the Celtics picked him. I had visions of the next 10 or so championships on the way. Then just 48 hours later, that memory turned to the saddest Celtics memory I have ever had. So, what are your happiest Celtics memories?

[Discuss this topic on the Celtics Green Forums!]

Post a Comment