An embarrassment of riches

The Boston Celtics win their 17th NBA Championship, and I couldn’t be happier.

I live in New Hampshire. I grew up a fan on Boston sports because they are the closer teams, and because my father is a fan of Boston sports. I have now experienced as a fan 6 professional sports championships since 2001. This is mind blowing for me.

Things were MUCH different in the 90s. The Celtics were in the post-Bird/McHale/Parrish years and seemed unable to get their act together. The Pats went through one of the worst stretches in their history, followed by the triumph at the arrival of Bill Parcells and the agony of his move to the Jets. The Red Sox just couldn’t get over the hump and beat the Yankees. The Bruins died.

Somehow everything changed for us as New England sports fans. On February 3rd, 2002 the Pats shocked the “Greatest Show on Turf” St. Louis Rams to win Super Bowl XXXVI. Then they won two back to back in 2004 and 2005, and became the team to beat in the NFL. The Red Sox lost a heartbreaking ALCS to the rival New York Yankees in 2003, but then put together a genuinely likable team of “idiots” to win their first world series in 86 years in 2004. Amazingly they did it again last year.

Now this. Somehow in the space of only a few years Boston has gone from the city that couldn’t win anything to Championship City, USA. What was unfathomable 10 years ago is now reality. I hope I never learn to take these sorts of things for granted. I know this can’t continue forever.

It sure feels good right now though.