North Station Sports

NSS would like to welcome, guest blogger, Salma Mahmoud. Mahmoud is a Cavs fan who frequently tunes into North Station Sports from her home country of Egypt.

Some Team’s Deserve Everyone’s Respect

Tonight I was watching a documentary about the 2007-08 Celtics championship team.  I was very impressed.

DISCLAIMER: I am a Cavs fan.

Please, before making any judgement or booting me from NSS, I want to say that, after watching this documentary, I realized that being a fan of another team can’t prevent me from respecting the Celtics. I believe that anyone who loves the game of basketball must have some respect for this great team.

The ‘08 Celtics were a combination of very unique players and, of course, a great head coach. I would be lying if I said that I wasn’t upset when the Celtics eliminated my Cavs in the Eastern Conference Semi-finals. I was equally dissappointed when, as the narrator put it, the C’s “beat King James”. I remember those sad moments (at least for me) all too well.

I was astonished by the Celtics performance following the Cavs series. I was inspired by their determination to win in the finals against the arch rival Los Angeles Lakers. In order to continue watching, I had to sit down to concentrate on the documentary. Observing these (would-be) champions in game-action and giving intermittent comments, expressing their feelings, providing us with detailed insights into the behind the scenes action of competing in the world series of basketball was intriguing.

Back in 2008,  I didn’t understand why Paul Pierce was selected as the Finals MVP.  I thought his selection was totally based on his comeback performance in the first game of the finals. Today I understand. I also know why he is called the Truth. As LeBron put it, in reference to defending Pierce,

“Once he’s on, no one can stop him.”

As for KG, I’ve never seen any player in his position better than him, not only in his performance, but also his passion and determination to win. He is a killer. Of course I can’t talk about these two guys without mentioning Ray Allen. I just want to say that from the first time I watched him play, I fell in love with him (as a player). He plays smooth, as if every grueling step he takes on a basketball court is an easy one. His 3-point shooting and silky court presence seem to come with ease.

Watching the championship celebration portion of the documentary, to my surprise (again, I’m not a Celtics fan), I actually got emotional and dropped some tears. I realized, this is why we ( fans of NBA ) love this game. It’s because of these players, regardless of team. It’s their passion, their enthusiasm,  and the way they play, with their heart’s on their sleeve, that drives our love for the game. Its not only about basketball, its about life, these player’s teach us how to love whatever we are doing, to believe that there are no limits for our dreams and that however wild they may be, we can fulfil them.

Every player wasn’t born as a star, they dreamt it and worked at it, they have earned their respect and many people consider them idols.

So, in closing, I think that all players should be respected. Fan or not, we can use their achievments as motivation to work hard to achieve our goals. After-all, opponent or not, we can all agree to admire the fact that they were able to do it. Anything is possible…