Celtics Know How Patriots Feel

[PatsFans.com Article]

It took six games to reach this point, then it became just like a Super Bowl.

More...

 

[TennesseePatriot]

I'm incredibly proud to be a Celtics fan. No one expected the Celtics to reach the NBA Finals, and no one expected them to take it to 7 versus the Lakers. A great season by a team of great veterans. Last night the Celtics outplayed the Lakers for 3 and 1/2 quarters, but the Lakers managed to edge it out (with significant help from the officiating crew) . Great job containing the "MVP" Kobe Bryant for the entirety of game 7. Thank you to the Boston Three, Doc Rivers, "Shrek and Donkey", Rondo, Perk, Sheed, and last but certainly not least, Scal.

 

[RPMCanes]

I'm incredibly proud to be a Celtics fan. No one expected the Celtics to reach the NBA Finals, and no one expected them to take it to 7 versus the Lakers. A great season by a team of great veterans. Last night the Celtics outplayed the Lakers for 3 and 1/2 quarters, but the Lakers managed to edge it out (with significant help from the officiating crew) . Great job containing the "MVP" Kobe Bryant for the entirety of game 7. Thank you to the Boston Three, Doc Rivers, "Shrek and Donkey", Rondo, Perk, Sheed, and last but certainly not least, Scal.

Co-sign that. This team fought like hell, took out the 2 top teams in the league in the playoffs, and fought until the bitter end.

 

[Sivy]

Yep..great team...just wish them games didnt start so late.

 

[TrueBeliever]

That article is more than a little "gloom-and-doom", isn't it? Yeah, it sucks they lost the series but it's not like they were swept.

 

[RayClay]

Ha ha. Another signature article.

 

[Pewsterbaby]

I'm SO sick of my teams choking away championships at the last moment. Freaking 2006 Pats- 21 to freaking THREE when Samuel pick-sixed Seytom Manning. Super Bowl, here we come. Who're we facing? Tha Bears? Oh, they blow. Don't bother playing that game and just have the league hand over the Lombardi.It will be less humiliating for Chicago that way. Good. Now we can get even for 1985. We'll do to them what they did to us.
WRONG!
The Pats defense is exhausted from the week before in San Diego and can hardly stand up, let alone actually play a down, come the 4th quarter. Enter- Seyton Manning with 11 guys on his side and NOBODY across from them on the other side of the ball. Record set for most points scored in a second half of a playoff game. NO Super Bowl after winning 21- to EFFING THREE!!!!

The next year, the season for the ages. Chris Collinsworth crowns them "Best Team Ever In The History Of The NFL" on Football Night In America. One more game and my team will be put atop Mount Olympus as the greatest ever. The 2007 Patriots SET EVERY RECORD EVER KEPT for the sport of football.
NOBODY HAD EVER SEEN FOOTBALL PLAYED TO THIS LEVEL.
WRONG!
What's this?! LOGAN MANKINS took a bribe and is throwing the Super Bowl? He's just letting Justin Tuck punch him in the mouth and stomp him on his way into the backfield to ruin The Pats offense. As far as I'm concerned, Logan Mankins can go to Hell with that contract garbage. Justin Tuck slapped the beard right off his face and made him his beeatch.
Oh my God, The Patriots actually scored a second touchdown. Kick ass. Man, Tom Brady is the coolest guy ever born to mankind. Gee, that means The Patriots are only TWENTY FIVE points below their regular season average of 39 per game. And it'll probably be enough to complete the greatest accomplishment ever in the history of the world and make my whole life worthwhile, regardless of whatever may happen in the future. None of that will matter now. The Patriots went undefeated. I get terminal cancer next year? Ha. Won't matter. It won't bother me. The Patriots went 19-0. I can die happy. You'll never be able to wipe the permanent smile off my face and the euphoria and joy in my heart that'll last me for the rest of my life.
WRONG!!!!!!!
The Patriots OLD defense is gassed. Yeah, remember that defense from the PREVIOUS season? The one that choked away The Super Bowl? Oh no, it's the same guys out there. Look at that. They're too old and tired to tackle Peyton's little bother, Eli. Throw in some bad karma over Sypgate and God reaches down and makes sure the ball sticks to Tyree's helmet. Add in another play with Asante being so shocked the ball thrown his way was so far from the receiver and right to him that he didn't remember how to make an actual easy catch. All his picks were usually a lot harder to snare than that throw. Lastly, give Hobbs a brain freeze where he's the ONLY person on Earth who'd actually bite on a typical Plaxico juke move where he fakes right. Plaxico NEVER actually runs towards the MIDDLE of the end zone after that juke. Everybody, and I mean everybody here in New York who watches Giant games know that he ALWAYS ALWAYS A-L-W-A-Y-S goes to the corner!!!!!!!! Jackmunch.

And last night. Last night it happened again. My team choked away a lead when it mattered the most.... AGAIN!

Yeah, now I can look forward to The Patriots first game on Sept. 12.
Oh, wait a minute. The pass rush was a massive need to upgrade in the offseason. Okay, who'd they get? Peppers? Nope. Okay, get Taylor then. WHAT??? THE JETS signed him?
Oh, that's okay. We still got Tully "With His GARBAGE Time Sack Stats Who Can't Get Near A REAL Quarterback" Banta-Hanna-Barberra, who the 49ers released 'cause he sucked.
And Burgess. Who? Wait, Plaxico Burress is in jail now. How's he gonna rush the quarterback? Oh, you said BurGess, not Burress. Never heard of him. Oh, what's that? He's 100 years old? Oh, that must be why I'd never heard of him. Oh, wazzat? He was on The Raiders? Oh, that's why too.
Well, it can't be all that bad. Who else we got on D? Wheatley, Crable, and Brace hopefully will get more playing time this year? And Woods too? You just didn't say that. Tell me I misheard you.
And The Jets were a half of football away from The Super Bowl and are bringing back the same defense. Problem is.... so are WE.

And Miami got the marquee free agent receiver. And The Pats STILL didn't get that desperately required pass rush for the 2010 version of NFL football, where the pass rush is the major prerequisite for a team to go deep into the playoffs.


Oh well. I don't mind that much. I still love my Patriots and Celtics, with a firey passion. And I'm still gonna spend countless hours over here between now and February, happily reading Kontradiction breaking it all down for me.

Yeah, and this morning on another site I read all about how some woman's asking price for ownership of the domain name "Allthingsbillbelichick" which she created and owns was (ready for it? 'Cause it's outlandish alright) one million dollars. (imaging Austin Powers saying "One meeee-lione doe-lars" in that ridiculous phrasing of his) Somebody professed interest about possibly buying her out and she said she'd part with it for a freaking million. Oh wait, lemme give you her actual terms- she wanted 100 grand spread out over ten years for it. Yeah, like that's supposed to sound more reasonable ("reasonable" rotf.) Yeah, so the powers that be deleted the site down off the internet. lol! That's what you get for pissing off the wrong people after giving them a pompous reply that's the equivalent of telling them to go jump in a lake. They musta been like- "What? A million frickin' bucks? Oh, I think not. Hey George, press that delete button over there." rotf. A lesson in humility... maybe... if she's at all capable of that emotion. Asking a million bucks sounds like she's not.
Lady, your website plus 50 cents will buy you a cup of coffee. Hey, my You Tube page has 45,000 hits on it over the last 2 years. Do you think I could get a sawbuck for it? lol.

Man, and I thought Logan Mankins was the greedy one.

Wacky offseason so far, huh guys?

 

[MoLewisrocks]

Co-sign that. This team fought like hell, took out the 2 top teams in the league in the playoffs, and fought until the bitter end.

Which is why the analogy in this article is about as off base as usual... Just a vehicle constructed to allow for the predictable digs to be lobbed in Belichick's direction.

Oddly the two mediots who nailed it in their postscripts were Borges and Mazz...lol Maybe they should stick to basketball.

Last night was about reading the fine print on a bold deal with the devil Danny Ainge engineered to restore a once legendary franchise to relevance overnight. It proved to be a brilliant deal short term, which was all it was ever intended to be, and now we get to see if he can trump it and assemble a team coached and built to compete for the long haul and not just a three year window during which they got to the NBA finals twice winning it once in 6 and losing it once in 7. As fans we have become so spolied and increasingly entitled and demanding. It doesn't get much better as a sports fan than what we've experienced in the last decade here in NE...unless hockey is your passion... Six championships complete with parades in three sports, 8 finals berths earned by every means from unimaginable guts and guile to utter dominance. Leave it to some who have been fortunate enough to experienced the thrill of victory to such an extent to focus on the agony of defeat...

 

[BradyManny]

As fans we have become so spolied and increasingly entitled and demanding. It doesn't get much better as a sports fan than what we've experienced in the last decade here in NE...unless hockey is your passion... Six championships complete with parades in three sports, 8 finals berths earned by every means from unimaginable guts and guile to utter dominance. Leave it to some who have been fortunate enough to experienced the thrill of victory to such an extent to focus on the agony of defeat...

I'd agree with you...except sometimes its not the loss, its how you lose. The way the Patriots lost Super Bowl 42 or the 06 Colts AFCCG, the way the Sox lost the 03 ALCS, the way the Celts lose game 7 against the Lakers last nite - those were just about the most horrifying ways you can lose a game.

I'll take the way we lost to the Ravens over what happened to the C's every damn time. The Celts players - and we as fans - will have all year to think about every friggin minor could have and should have been play. The team played well enough to win, but just didn't have enough in the tank (and/or was screwed by a shift in the refereeing, if you feel like opening that up) and came up short b/c of it.

There's no worse way to lose than to have the game in your grasp, to have played well enough to win, and to let it slip away. In theory, one could argue its better to play that way than just not show up, like the Pats did versus the Ravens - but in terms of the practical long-term effects of the game on the psyche of the fans and players, there is no question a crushing last-second defeat in which victory seemed within the grasp is much worse.

I don't think it's being spoiled to acknowledge that fact - and acknowledge that the losses I have mentioned are extraordinary, unique, and particularly powerful. It's a fact of sports. Now I think the high volume in which Boston has experienced these defeats in the past decade is a) abnormal b) tied to their success and level of competition. But it doesn't change the fact - those 6 titles we've won right now do not make what happened last night any less heart-wrenching for the fans, and more particularly, for the players who played their asses off for the last two months. And who may have just given it their last go together. I think fans & players alike - obviously, the players moreso, since they are the ones who make the sacrifice - have the right to mourn, begrudge, bemoan, etc. what transpired last night however they see fit.

Particularly with the stakes of last night's game. In terms of legacies, you could argue it was the single biggest game in the history of the NBA. And we had it in our hands, and we lost. It just plain sucks.

 

[eom]

you guys can spin it any way you want --- losing to the lakers in the finals sucks.

 

[RayClay]

I'm SO sick of my teams choking away championships at the last moment.

How many teams do you own?

 

[JMarr]

I'm SO sick of my teams choking away championships at the last moment. Freaking 2006 Pats- 21 to freaking THREE when Samuel pick-sixed Seytom Manning. Super Bowl, here we come. Who're we facing? Tha Bears? Oh, they blow. Don't bother playing that game and just have the league hand over the Lombardi.It will be less humiliating for Chicago that way. Good. Now we can get even for 1985. We'll do to them what they did to us.
WRONG!
The Pats defense is exhausted from the week before in San Diego and can hardly stand up, let alone actually play a down, come the 4th quarter. Enter- Seyton Manning with 11 guys on his side and NOBODY across from them on the other side of the ball. Record set for most points scored in a second half of a playoff game. NO Super Bowl after winning 21- to EFFING THREE!!!!

The next year, the season for the ages. Chris Collinsworth crowns them "Best Team Ever In The History Of The NFL" on Football Night In America. One more game and my team will be put atop Mount Olympus as the greatest ever. The 2007 Patriots SET EVERY RECORD EVER KEPT for the sport of football.
NOBODY HAD EVER SEEN FOOTBALL PLAYED TO THIS LEVEL.
WRONG!
What's this?! LOGAN MANKINS took a bribe and is throwing the Super Bowl? He's just letting Justin Tuck punch him in the mouth and stomp him on his way into the backfield to ruin The Pats offense. As far as I'm concerned, Logan Mankins can go to Hell with that contract garbage. Justin Tuck slapped the beard right off his face and made him his beeatch.
Oh my God, The Patriots actually scored a second touchdown. Kick ass. Man, Tom Brady is the coolest guy ever born to mankind. Gee, that means The Patriots are only TWENTY FIVE points below their regular season average of 39 per game. And it'll probably be enough to complete the greatest accomplishment ever in the history of the world and make my whole life worthwhile, regardless of whatever may happen in the future. None of that will matter now. The Patriots went undefeated. I get terminal cancer next year? Ha. Won't matter. It won't bother me. The Patriots went 19-0. I can die happy. You'll never be able to wipe the permanent smile off my face and the euphoria and joy in my heart that'll last me for the rest of my life.
WRONG!!!!!!!
The Patriots OLD defense is gassed. Yeah, remember that defense from the PREVIOUS season? The one that choked away The Super Bowl? Oh no, it's the same guys out there. Look at that. They're too old and tired to tackle Peyton's little bother, Eli. Throw in some bad karma over Sypgate and God reaches down and makes sure the ball sticks to Tyree's helmet. Add in another play with Asante being so shocked the ball thrown his way was so far from the receiver and right to him that he didn't remember how to make an actual easy catch. All his picks were usually a lot harder to snare than that throw. Lastly, give Hobbs a brain freeze where he's the ONLY person on Earth who'd actually bite on a typical Plaxico juke move where he fakes right. Plaxico NEVER actually runs towards the MIDDLE of the end zone after that juke. Everybody, and I mean everybody here in New York who watches Giant games know that he ALWAYS ALWAYS A-L-W-A-Y-S goes to the corner!!!!!!!! Jackmunch.

And last night. Last night it happened again. My team choked away a lead when it mattered the most.... AGAIN!

Yeah, now I can look forward to The Patriots first game on Sept. 12.
Oh, wait a minute. The pass rush was a massive need to upgrade in the offseason. Okay, who'd they get? Peppers? Nope. Okay, get Taylor then. WHAT??? THE JETS signed him?
Oh, that's okay. We still got Tully "With His GARBAGE Time Sack Stats Who Can't Get Near A REAL Quarterback" Banta-Hanna-Barberra, who the 49ers released 'cause he sucked.
And Burgess. Who? Wait, Plaxico Burress is in jail now. How's he gonna rush the quarterback? Oh, you said BurGess, not Burress. Never heard of him. Oh, what's that? He's 100 years old? Oh, that must be why I'd never heard of him. Oh, wazzat? He was on The Raiders? Oh, that's why too.
Well, it can't be all that bad. Who else we got on D? Wheatley, Crable, and Brace hopefully will get more playing time this year? And Woods too? You just didn't say that. Tell me I misheard you.
And The Jets were a half of football away from The Super Bowl and are bringing back the same defense. Problem is.... so are WE.

And Miami got the marquee free agent receiver. And The Pats STILL didn't get that desperately required pass rush for the 2010 version of NFL football, where the pass rush is the major prerequisite for a team to go deep into the playoffs.


Oh well. I don't mind that much. I still love my Patriots and Celtics, with a firey passion. And I'm still gonna spend countless hours over here between now and February, happily reading Kontradiction breaking it all down for me.

Yeah, and this morning on another site I read all about how some woman's asking price for ownership of the domain name "Allthingsbillbelichick" which she created and owns was (ready for it? 'Cause it's outlandish alright) one million dollars. (imaging Austin Powers saying "One meeee-lione doe-lars" in that ridiculous phrasing of his) Somebody professed interest about possibly buying her out and she said she'd part with it for a freaking million. Oh wait, lemme give you her actual terms- she wanted 100 grand spread out over ten years for it. Yeah, like that's supposed to sound more reasonable ("reasonable" rotf.) Yeah, so the powers that be deleted the site down off the internet. lol! That's what you get for pissing off the wrong people after giving them a pompous reply that's the equivalent of telling them to go jump in a lake. They musta been like- "What? A million frickin' bucks? Oh, I think not. Hey George, press that delete button over there." rotf. A lesson in humility... maybe... if she's at all capable of that emotion. Asking a million bucks sounds like she's not.
Lady, your website plus 50 cents will buy you a cup of coffee. Hey, my You Tube page has 45,000 hits on it over the last 2 years. Do you think I could get a sawbuck for it? lol.

Man, and I thought Logan Mankins was the greedy one.

Wacky offseason so far, huh guys?

Rant of the year. Well done.

 

[Patjew]

Glad I came here to get my mind off the C's.

 

[patsinthesnow]

No sports team in the world will ever experience what we and the fanbase experienced two years ago. Nothing will ever come close, ever.

Sure,this sucks now, but I'll get over it soon. I still have dreams of that game having different, magical outcomes,and then I wake up.

So yeah,the celtics are 1/10th what the pats felt.

 

[condon84]

It's different than the 07 Pats. I fully expected the 07 Pats to win the SB and to come so close and lose because Asante couldn't hold on to an INT, Merriweather couldn't hold on the an INT, Adalius and Jarvis couldn't hold on to Eli, and then Tyree catching a duck in between multiple Patriots and catching the ball with one hand against his helmet, I will never experience another game that will scar me the way that game did. There was something greater than a championship at stake in 07 that made that game more meaningful.

Meanwhile, as much as I wanted the Celtics to win last night, going into the game, I expected the Lakers to win. There was NO WAY we were going to win a deciding game 7 against the Lakers in LA. Not just because of the players abilities on the court, but because of other factors that usually happen in NBA games. And the fact that the Lakers shot 21 FTs in the fourth quarter last night only strengthens my theory.

 

[MassPats38]

That analogy isn't even close, except for both stories ending with a loss at the end of the season. The 2007 Patriots, who lost at the very end of season represented by pretty much unquestioned dominance and the team expected to win it all, and the Celtics, a .500 team in the second half of the season who most figured wouldn't survive the first round, couldn't beat the Magic, couldn't beat the Cavs and shouldn't be in the finals but lost in a hard fought, 7 game series.

The Pats had a lousy ending to a phenomenal season. The Celtics had a great ending but for the final quarter as the team nobody saw coming. In both games fans want that last win and are disappointed in the loss, but championships are not guaranteed. Very different scenarios

 

[TennesseePatriot]

It's different than the 07 Pats. I fully expected the 07 Pats to win the SB and to come so close and lose because Asante couldn't hold on to an INT, Merriweather couldn't hold on the an INT, Adalius and Jarvis couldn't hold on to Eli, and then Tyree catching a duck in between multiple Patriots and catching the ball with one hand against his helmet, I will never experience another game that will scar me the way that game did. There was something greater than a championship at stake in 07 that made that game more meaningful.

Agreed. I will spitefully remember the Giants, that fluke of a catch, and that Super Bowl for the rest of my life.

 

[TennesseePatriot]

you guys can spin it any way you want --- losing to the lakers in the finals sucks.

No one said it didn't. My point is that the Celts did what no one predicted they could. Even Lakers fans will admit that the team left it all on the floor last night. Great effort. A bitter end to an incredible season. I can deal with this, considering where they were five years ago.

 

[DisgruntledTunaFan]

Why all the negativity here??

A 13 pt 3rd qtr lead is NOT that big - I've seen Phil Jackson teams overcome bigger deficits than that in the 4th qtr. Remember game 7 of the 2000 WCA? And they did it again against Indiana in the NBA Finals subsequently. Jackson's Bulls have done this numerous times too.

Again - nursing a 10 pt 3rd qtr lead is no different from a 1 pt lead with 2 minutes to go. the Lakers were making some incredible plays down the stretch, including Ron Artest who finally broke out of his shooting slump.

On the contrary - look at the Dallas Mavericks, Orlando Magic, Denver Nuggets, Cleveland Cavs, and Atlanta Hawks - all of whom continue to underachieve. The Mavs are no different from their crosstown team NFL Cowboys, who continue to make early exits out of playoffs as well. As long as the Magic have Stan Van Gundy, they will continue to be jump-shot happy deep in postseason games. Lebron is the NBA's Tony Romo - an enigma - when hot, very hot, but when cold, goes for long stretches at crucial times. The Nuggets are talented but can't play D, and the Hawks get their tails kicked in the playoffs despite all that talent.

Again - you have alot to be proud of with this team.

 

[captain insano]

im very proud of the celtics. but the celtics hold themselves to a higher standard. im not going to suger coat anything to try and make myself feel better. losing to the f--king lakers in a game 7 sucks so much it makes me puke.