Underdogs

So often, we are reminded that basketball players aren’t like us. Charles Barkley told us they’re not role models. Unlike the 1950’s and 60’s, when teams had “territorial” draft picks, they’re not from here. Remember, Paul Pierce grew up in the shadow of the Great Western Forum as a Lakers fan. And many of these guys make more money in a single year than we’ll see in an entire lifetime. We’re reminded of these things, time and time again. Yet, we keep plopping down the cash to support “our” team. Thirty bucks for the cheap seats, a hundo for the loge, and God-knows-what for those seats you’ll never see me in. I often take Jay to task for his emotional attachment to the Bruins: “you’re rooting for laundry; these guys don’t care about you!”

But when the NBA Finals come around with one team standing in Hollywood gold and the other in St. Patty’s Day green, storylines emerge whether they’re relevant or not. The team takes on the personality of the city. It was perfect in the 80’s: a guy named “Magic” leading the showy Lakers against a farm boy (Bird) and the gritty Celtics. No matter that Earvin Johnson Jr. was from Lansing, MI and the least glitzy background you can imagine. It was West Coast vs. East Coast. Hollywood meeting the working class heroes. A Lamborghini against a Ford Tempo.

When the Celtics-Lakers rivalry “renewed” in 2008, the talking heads started making the same old comparisons. The Celtics (and their fans) were tougher, hungrier. After a while, we started to believe it, and we fell in love with those 2008 champs, despite the fact that Kevin Garnett’s “anything is possible” exclamation went straight to a shoe commercial and Paul Pierce spent the summer mouthing off about being the best player alive. We supported them unconditionally: they put another banner in the rafters – those were our guys! Yet, two years later, when a veteran 2010 squad coasted through a regular season where they seemingly couldn’t care less, I wondered if we as fans could force ourselves to identify with this team anymore. Had the Celtics become the Lakers? Too cool to care?

Through three rounds of the playoffs, they showed they did care, and succeeded even though every notable media outlet had written them off. Over the course of six weeks, the Celtics dismantled teams headed by three of the leagues biggest superstars: “The Flash” Dwayne Wade, “The King” LeBron James, and “Superman” Dwight Howard. But as the Finals approached, the majority again sided with the Lakers. Kobe Bryant was an “assassin.” Posing in magazines looking like E.T. The Spaniard, Pau Gasol, a onetime prodigy, finally added toughness to his impressive post-up game. Lamar Odom, now married into a family that is singlehandedly eating away at our society like spilled acid in a high school science lab (the Kardashians) settled into a role as a versatile weapon off the bench. The Lakers were the team. The Lakers had  DiCaprio, Stallone, even “E” from Entourage sitting courtside. The Celtics? Boston? New England? Underdogs.

Who cares if Laker fans are just as likely to be “Boyz N the Hood” as they are Carlton Banks? The Lakers and their fanbase? Soft. This is New England, guy, the cradle of bleepin’ liberty as you know it and home to the toughest sons-of-a-musket you can muster. The celebs? Donnie Wahlberg from The Dot and Maria Menounos from Meffa. The fans? Bunch of “old salt” fishermen, two-boat Irishmen, inner-city scrappers. You’re gonna call us out? You think our Celtics are gonna lose?

Last night, two of the biggest underdogs keyed the Celtic victory, much to the delight of fans across these six states, whether they’re somewhere up in the wilds of Vermont or doing shots at a downtown establishment. Glen Davis, a 6’8”, near-300-pound overgrown infant, barreling past Eurotrash Gasol and drop-stepping all over Lamar Kardashian for the “and-one” time after time, totaled 18 points in 22 minutes with four offensive rebounds and one big drool spot on the parquet floor. Five-foot-nothing and clearly ADHD-riddled Nate Robinson took a hack from Odom and got right in his face like Hulk Hogan staring up at Andre the Giant at Wrestlemania 3. C’mon son! Nate might’ve gotten a technical for that (and the always-composed Ray Allen properly admonished him) but the place was electric. You know why?

The underdog Celtics were at it again. Nobody invited Big Baby and Nate Robinson to the party. But guess who’s coming to dinner?

The series is tied 2-2. Game 5 is Sunday night in Boston.