North Station Sports

… or at least behind it.

Disclaimer: This is not a game recap. This is the experience of a fan, lucky enough to be allowed to absorb the excitement of being a part of “the team.”

It was an expensive experience but well worth every penny of it.

As we pulled into the Wachovia Center last night at 5 pm sharp, it was yet to hit me that of my three cousin’s and friend Jeff (NSS Webmaster), we owned two seats directly behind the Celtics bench. The other three seats were about ten rows back  and nothing to scoff at– they were excellent seats too.

We had agreed, early on to split our time in the seats behind the bench. I was lucky enough to sit behind Doc for most of the second half.

As we entered the arena and I caught a glimpse of Greg Dickerson on the LCD’s lining the corridors of the Wachovia Center, I finally started to really get excited. It was official, the Celtics were in town. The corridors were buzzing with activity and littered with primarily green jersey’s– I was starting to feel at home.

The curtains were drawn on the inner-arena and ushers were keeping me from sneaking a peak at Ray Allen and company doing their early warm up routine. At 6 pm the curtains were opened and the few early fans were allowed down to the arena. The crowd swarmed to the Celtics side of the court and very few hovered around the home-town Sixers.

Okay, lets pause for a moment now.

I want to give you the back story (it’s worth reading through this to get to the heart of the live experience). As most of you know, I have been a die hard fan of the Celtics since the 80′s. Larry Bird and company have always been at the heart of my NBA love affair.

Living in Scranton Pennsylvania, I only have two chances per year to see the Celtics– when they came to Philadelphia. From 1987 thru 1993, I missed very few chances to see the Celtics when they visited the Spectrum. Since ’93, I have seen the 76ers play on numerous occasions but as time wore on and the “old Celtics guard” retired, it fell less and less on the date that the Celtics came to town.

Some of you might find this surprising but as Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen took the court for warm-ups, it was the first live glimpse I had ever gotten at Allen, Garnett, Wallace, Rondo and most of the ’10 squad. It was definitely the closest I had ever been to a Celtics player since I visited Boston Garden in 1992 and was fortunate enough to walk on the parquet floor and meet Chris Ford, Jon Jennings and Dee Brown (that’s a whole separate story and I will share it some other time).

As the Celtics took the floor last night, I realized that I did not know these guys. I have devoted so much of my free time to covering the Celtics, growing North Station Sports and working with Brandon Paul and Jeff Chiampi on the Celtics Late Night Show that, naturally, I had started to feel like I knew the guys. Watching Paul Pierce mess around with the ball boys, Kevin Garnett’s head swell up with perspiration and Ray Allen focus on nothing but the rim, it really became apparent to me that I didnt know these guys at all. It was almost as if I expected them to stop warming up and come over and greet me or at least acknowledge my existence. I guess that’s kind of laughable but I am only being honest here.

Being so close to the players, I was able to fully appreciate the physical shape these athlete’s are in. They are all much more streamline, lanky and cut up than TV displays. Even my boy Glen Davis looked to be in decent shape– TV does put on 10 lbs.

In the live setting, Rasheed and KG are much taller than expected. Of course I know their height and weight but to see it in the flesh is much different. Ray Allen is the physical specimen I expected. Paul Pierce is much more thin than TV shows, however, his strength is not over exaggerated by the cameras. The Scotsmen entered my mind immediately as the officials took the court, the glare of the lights reflecting off of Joey Crawford’s bald head nearly blinded me.

As the game started I took my seat several rows behind the bench. The game was great to absorb from that area. I scanned the arena for Tommy with no success. The first half was fun to watch but the half dead Philadelphia crowd kind of surprised me. The Celtics drew the same amount (if not more) applause as the hometown Sixers.

As the Celtics entered half time, the score (46-43) was almost an afterthought. Their was no question that Ray Allen’s stroke had returned, Kevin Garnett’s limp had dissipated and the chemistry of an elite squad was slowly returning. I felt satisfied with the Celtics performance (though the 12 turnovers bothered me a bit) and I retreated to the arena bar to have a cigarette and wait to take my turn at the seats behind the bench.

The ticket swap took place and we descended to our court-side seats. Creeping closer to the hardwood, I got more and more excited. As Jeff and I rounded the corner of the court, the Celtics emerged from the tunnel (immediately to my right). I walked briskly to my seat, my eyes were glancing around the arena and barely paying attention to the path in front of me. As I turned to my seat, I bumped right into a well dressed man, several inches taller than me. I looked up and realized it was Tony Allen!

We shook hands and laughed  because I had nearly knocked him over. Without thinking I told TA to “get better.” He thanked me and gave me a hug. I remember loosening my grip on his fragile hand thinking I may have hurt him. He was totally cool. Before I knew it, I was surrounded by the Celtics players and coaches. I yelled for Paul Pierce and Ray Allen. Paul looked at me, smiled and nodded his head, Ray didn’t look at me once. I knew he heard me as I yelled, “thank god you’re still a Celtic Ray” (we were only four feet away) but he ignored me and looked totally focused– do you blame him for ignoring me? I was like a crazed groupie.

I screamed to Thibodeau, he made eye contact and acknowledged my excitement with a head nod. Armond Hill pointed at me– that was cool. I didn’t dare mutter a word to Kevin Garnett. Talk about intensity. The Big Ticket was mute during the halftime shoot around and didn’t look at anything but the hoop. Doc Rivers was down the other end of the floor laughing with Andre Iguodala. As Rivers re-emerged on the Celtics side lines, he talked to Rasheed Wallace and, looking at both of them standing side by side, I realized Doc may be in better shape than ‘Sheed. Speaking of ‘Sheed, he is certainly still a Celtics fan favorite, at least in PA. Every time he moved, the fans surrounding me screamed “‘Shhheeeeeed.” I didn’t partake in that chant.

The horn sounded and the players filed towards the bench. I turned to my right and Clifford Ray stood along side of me. I almost passed out. We made eye contact and I shook his hand and told him it was an honor to meet him. He smiled, thanked me and focused right back in on the bench. Garnett and Pierce’s backs were facing me and Doc was in his normal position in front of the players. He drew up a play on the clip board and discussed second half strategy. Garnett kept screaming at Rondo in, what seemed like, a different language. It sounded like he was saying “it’s your game” but I can’t be sure. He was in another zone and I dared not  look at the beast for too long.

I’m always watching the “wired” segments on ESPN and TNT and I often wonder if they are really that accurate. They seemed a bit too conservative for my liking. Taking the role of the camera, I was really “wired,” I could see and hear it all. I would have to say, with the exception of the occasional f-bomb coming from Doc, it sounded very similar to what we hear on TV.

As the half was about to start, I could not juggle whether to watch Scal and Tony Allen goofing around on the bench, Doc and Armond Hill muttering game strategy to eachother or the players on the court.

It was not drawn up in a huddle from what I observed but, Garnett and Rondo seemed to really find an advantage with the pick and roll in the third quarter. Doc, seated nearly the entire time, kept turning to Hill and saying, “that’s what I am talking about” and “you see?” (with a satisfied smile). I couldn’t tell if he was referring to the pick and roll play that was (at this point) starting to embarrass the 76ers or the over-all increased intensity displayed by the Celtics.

The 76ers called time-out and the Celtics filed back to the bench. Doc and the coaches spend quite a bit of time away from the huddle before entering and drawing up plays. Paul Pierce was completely animated and seemed so excited as he kept encouraging Rondo and Garnett to continue their two man game. A man had appeared on my right again and was not being chased away by the security. It was Greg Dickerson! I said “Hey Dickerson! You do a great job!” He gave me a fist bump and thanked me. I asked him where Tommy was and he said, “they stuck him and Mike up there” and pointed to the upper level. The time out broke up and Dickerson shook my hand and scurried off. So cool.

The clock had ticked down to the four minute mark and Doc started his normal substitutions. ‘Sheed was first off the bench (I think) and the fans again yelled “Shhhheeeeeed” (I didn’t participate) as he asked Doc who he was replacing. Wallace definitely has a chip on his shoulder. Perkins took a seat on the far end of the bench and interacted with no one. He struck me as aggrevated and I had to again remind myself that I did not know Kendrick personally.

As the second unit continued to file in, Nate replaced Rondo and Quis and Davis replaced Ray and Paul. As Ray took a seat on the bench, he remarked to Pierce that he should have made that shot– referring to a corner three missed by Ray. Garnett remained on the court for a while longer. It is clear KG is nearly healthy. His movement and defense was terrific. His 22 points was a team high and seemed to come with ease. As Garnett continued to move well on defense, Clifford Ray screamed at the Celtics on the court NON STOP.

As Garnett was eventually replaced, he took a seat between Shelden Williams and Hill. He turned to Doc Rivers and, trying to catch his breath, said something to the effect of he is still trying to get used to Nate when he replaces Rondo at the point. Doc didn’t hear him and asked Garnett to repeat it. Garnett, still unable to fill his lungs with air, told him “nevermind.” It was so human. These guy’s really are human.

The buzzer sounded and the third quarter was over. The Celtics had taken a 74-67 advantage behind Rondo’s 14 points and KG’s strong picks and defensive intensity.

The differences between the player’s is incredible. Perkins and Garnett seemed intense and focused. Though Garnett is more vocal, it seemed most of his teammates did not pay much attention to him barking at them. Perk was silent the whole time though really honed in on the activity on the court. Rondo never stopped talking to Doc the entire time on the floor. Ray Allen smiled a lot and frequently mumbled to himself. I think I found Paul Pierce to be the most intriguing of the starters. He was having a sub-par game but didn’t stop encouraging his teammates for a moment. When he took the bench in the third quarter, he laughed with Tyrone Lue, sitting directly behind him. Paul smiled a lot. That’s something you don’t see that often on TV.

As the fourth quarter reached the mid-way point, it was time for a seat swap again. I walked by the Celtics bench realizing it may be the last time I am ever that close to the Celtics players again. I had to pass press row to get back to our other seats and I passed Dickerson. He totally recognized me from our first meeting and shook my hand again.

Truly, one of the greatest experiences of my life. Feeling 16 years old again, I will NEVER forget what it was like to be a “part of the team” for nearly 24 minutes.

(We were fortunate enough to snap several more amazing close-ups. Jeff is going to upload them tomorrow– stay tuned)

HackingEthics

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