For Boston sports fans, nothing will ever equal the joy that we experienced when the Red Sox Reversed the Curse in 2004. But this Celtics win is probably the second most satisfying Boston sports victory in my lifetime. It’s great to see the franchise return to glory after all the anguish that it and the fans went through since the death of Len Bias. The Celtics set several records in the process, including largest margin of victory in a clinching game (second-largest in any Finals game), biggest comeback in a finals game (Game 4), most steals in a finals game (18 in Game 6); and most 3 pointers in an NBA finals series (Ray Allen, with 22 – shattering the previous record of 17). And of course it was great to do it against the Celtics historic rival – the Lakers. We don’t hate the Lakers like we do the Yankees, and in fact I have great respect for the Lakers players, tradition, and organization. But – in part for that very reason – it still means more to win against them than any other NBA team.
It isn’t a great time in politics, law, and public policy – my main areas of interest. But I take some small comfort in the recent successes of my favorite Boston sports teams, the Red Sox and Celtics. I’m only sad that Red Auerbach and Dennis Johnson didn’t live to see this victory.
UPDATE: In the initial post, I accidentally stated that the Celtics’ record comeback was in Game 2 rather than Game 4. The mistake has now been corrected.