52 Ancestors Week 30: Teams

 From Amy Johnson Crow: Week 30

This week's theme is "Teams." Did any ancestors play on a team (or root for one)? Don't forget about teams at work. There are also teams of horses and oxen. Let your imagine run!

I think you know where this week's going....

  Parish has the ball at the top of the key! The Lakers' defense has left McHale wide open! Parish passes to McHale just as Magic covers Bird! Parish passes to Bird after seeing an opening! Johnson fell for the fake pass to Ainge and Bird goes for THREE AT THE BUZZER! YES!!! The Celtics win the NBA Finals!!

Behold the new hotness! The old net rusted away
Years of snowstorms will do that to ya. Replace
your nets!

    For as long as I can remember I've been a fan of the Boston Celtics from the golden age of Larry Bird, Kevin McHale and Robert Parish to the age of Dee Brown, Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce to the athletes of the present day. It really can't be helped. New England is Celtics Nation! It's also Red Sox, Bruins, Patriots and Revolution Nation. However, it's the Celtics that I stuck with. Out of all those sports, basketball is the only one I am sort of decent at! Soccer is a runner up, though! And you really can't go wrong with running!

    While I was growing up, my brother, father and I would play basketball in our driveway and our father would watch us reenact several great moments in then recent Celtics history. For example, we'd reenact the plays we just saw on NESN (The New England Sports Network.) Hey. It beats reenacting some stupid stunt from a movie, right? Don't try this at home, indeed! 

      Through my father and my brother, I learned how to play the game and even though I was never that great at free-throws, I did okay. Lay-ups is where I fail spectacularly. I...may have hit Jim on the head a few times with the ball. Whoops. Good thing I didn't play dodgeball with him!

     It didn't seem to matter in my family if we were good at the game or not as long as we were outside. Jim was good, though. Still is! Though, we did have several basketball related Sega Genesis games to occupy our time on rainy/snowy days. One of the games was even called  "Lakers vs. Celtics and the NBA Playoffs"! There's a storied rivalry between those two coastal teams and frankly it'd take WAY too long to explain. Look it up. It's all I can say!

We got this at a Boys Club auction!

    My father often took Jim to the mecca of professional sports in Boston whenever he managed to score tickets to a game. Back then the Celts were playing at the famous Boston Garden and Jim got to see the Celtics play live while I stayed home. It was okay. I was still young and probably wouldn't have remembered the games like Jim does now. I did get to hear about it the next day.....and for several weeks after the fact!

    All wasn't completely lost because eventually we DID go to a Celtics game and I remember the event quite well! I forget who was playing the Celtics. But, it was an enjoyable experience for everyone. The first time I ever went to the Garden was in the '90s/early 2000s when the Boston Garden was replaced with the FleetCenter. (The FleetCenter eventually became the TD Banknorth Garden in 2005.)

    While that first time was fun and everything, it paled in comparison to the trip my entire family took with my sister-in-law, Kathleen.

Jim's Celtics memorabilia and yes that's a piece
of the old Boston Garden.

        It all started in the early 2000s and I think Jim was engaged to Kathleen at that point. It had to have been just before the wedding because I remember them talking about various plans here and there. I was also asked to do the "Godfather wedding speech" for the rehearsal dinner. But, that's a story for another time.

    After my father bought tickets to the game, we drove to Medford, Mass and boarded the commuter rail at North Station.  In no time at all we were at the Fleetcenter and we had some time to kill before the game. We were all kind of hungry and we didn't feel like having any of the food at the concession stand. So, what did we do?

    Why we had fine dining at the restaurant known as McDonalds. Tired of salty oversized and overpriced pretzels? Not a fan of those hot dogs made of mystery meat? Have some McDonalds, instead! Yeah. Given the options McDonalds seemed like the best bet. While everything else was gross, it really is the lesser of two evils. Your stomach will thank you later! (This advertisement is paid for by McDonalds.)

    On our way to the seats, we stopped by this small museum in the stadium which housed memorabilia from Celtics greats like Larry Bird. There was even a small section dedicated to Reggie Lewis who left an impact on the NBA and died quite tragically in 1993. We saved articles about Reggie and I think we still have a few. He was a great athlete and was truly one of the Celtics' greatest players. 

    After we were sufficiently fed, we sat down and watched the game along with the thousands of screaming Celtics fans. One guy even had his hair and moustache cut to look exactly like Larry Bird! That, my friends, is Comic Con levels of dedication. He seemed pretty nice, too. He didn't seem to mind being called "Larry" and I wondered if that was really his name. If that were true, it'd be an amazing coincidence.

    I don't really remember who won the game. Does it matter? Well, it was an exhibition game and not a playoff game. So....Make of that what you will. All that really mattered was that we went as a family and hey we all wore matching green fleece sweaters with Celtics logos on them. I'm the only one who still wears his! It still fits and it's so comfortable in the winter!

        Going to the game as a family is something I'll always remember. We had a lot of fun and even though it was a bit noisy we had a great time. That's really what it's all about. If you're with friends or family at a sporting event or any event for that matter it'll be something you will always remember! In fact, just a few months ago, the cycle began anew as Jim took his oldest son to a Celtics playoff game against the Golden State Warriors. Yeah, that kid's gonna be remembering the excitement for years to come.

    The Celtics have always been one of my favorite teams growing up and it was so great seeing them live with my parents and my entire family. Can't really ask for more! Go Celts!

We clearly didn't have as much fun as this guy! See ya next time!