Celtics, Lakers: Something in the Air Tonight
After many hours traveling to Boston with my brother to see the Celtics I was finally seated and ready to watch the game. Nothing is really going on with the exception of the jumbotron and its ability to captivate the audience by simply putting their image on the screen. Sometimes it seems people would prefer to just see their image on the screen and skip the actual game. The Celtics have won twelve straight games. They are the defending champions of the National Basketball Association and they are playing their longtime and recently renewed rival the Los Angeles Lakers. They defeated the Lakers in six games last year in the NBA finals. The emotional leader of the Celtics Kevin Garnett has missed the last two games with the flu. I had not heard officially whether he was playing tonight. I suspected that he would, but there was still a sense of anticipation in the air as to whether he would play or not.
I was talking to one of the people sitting next to me about how they always play the Phil Collins song In the Air Tonight and during the song they cut to Kevin Garnett stretching in the hallway outside the locker room getting ready for the game. The crowd erupts with thunderous applause every time they get their first glance of Garnett or KG as he is called. It is difficult to explain KG and the relationship that he has established with the Celtic fans in the short time that he has been a member of the Celtics. Garnett along with assistant coach Tom Thibodeau established a defensive mindset that spread throughout the rest of the team last year. Garnett’s intensity is contagious. He starts by slowly stretching outside the locker room, which as mentioned previously really fires up the crowd. After the team runs out on the floor he goes through a detailed ritual, which includes among other things pounding on his chest and attempting to excite the crowd. He always succeeds. One of the features on the introductions on the jumbotron is Garnett letting out a primal scream, which also serves to whip the crowd into a frenzy. The Celtic dancers are able to elicit emotion out of the fans, but it is nothing like KG can get out of them. Also the dancers are less cheerleaders and more erotic dancers if you ask me, and no I am not complaining about that. Garnett on the other hand maintains an extremely high level of energy for the entire game. If he is on the bench he is cheering as though the game is on the line no matter what the score is at the time.
Tonight as we anticipate the start of the Phil Collin’s song there really is a special feeling in the air. Really nothing comes close the rest of the regular season to a game between the Celtics and the Lakers. The games against Cleveland will be exciting, but there is no tradition or long-standing rivalry between the two so it is not the same. It is difficult to believe that I am eagerly anticipating the start of a Phil Collin’s song. I never thought that day would come. Suddenly you can hear the music start. They are not showing the hallway, Garnett or any of the Celtics yet. They are showing people on the jumbotron, which excites them of course, but everyone is waiting for a glimpse of KG stretching. Finally a shot of the hallway and KG is stretching and getting ready for the game. The crowd is even more excited than usual. KG is back. The famous drum sequence in the song has come and gone and soon the Celtics are running on to the floor for the game. We are playing our biggest rivals. Basketball really does not get much better than this.
We get off to a strong start and lead nine to two, but that does not last long. The Lakers take a small lead and lead for most of the first half before the Celtics make a late surge and go ahead by one at halftime. The score is 52-51. My brother actually bought the ticket for me for my birthday, but we could not get two seats together so he sat about fifteen rows away from me. Despite the initial disappointment of not being able to sit near my brother it was a great time. The fans all had an extra bounce in their step and there was a great feeling of camaraderie amongst the fans. The great thing about going to a sporting event is that all of the people, or most of them anyway, are there because they are interested in the sport, so it was not long before I was talking with all of my neighbors and having a great time. I had a few beers. The game was incredible. The game went into overtime. Unfortunately Kevin Garnett fouled out late in the fourth quarter. There were a few questionable calls down the stretch, including on the final play when it appeared that Celtics guard Ray Allen was nearly tackled. There was no foul called and the Lakers won the game. I was initially disappointed, but I really cannot complain. It was a great game. The Celtics and Lakers are once again a full fledged rivalry. KG is back. All is right with the world.
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