July 23, 2010 – 11:58 am
So it’s been a little over a month since the Boston Celtics lost in heartbreaking fashion to the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 7 of the 2010 NBA Finals. The not-as-mature me of a few years ago would have dwelled on this loss for months. The somewhat-more-mature me of today has only dwelled on this loss for a month. Hey, at least I’m improving!
Looking back on my (even by my standards) erratic behavior that night I have decided I am shameless enough to share it with you, my loyal readers. I am at best mildly superstitious, so I definitely surprised myself with the extent to which I jumped off the deep-end as tip-off approached.
This version of the Celtics had had a fairly lackluster year and then proceeded to surprise its fans with a spirited and highly entertaining playoff run all the way to the Finals. The first six games were extremely hard fought and with the Celtics getting blown out in Game 6 in LA, everything came down to a final game. I had a bad feeling from the minute I woke up on the day of the game, though on my walk to work that morning I found a $5 bill. For whatever reason, I took this to be a good omen.
The second good omen of the day was when I found out that the Ferry Building Farmer’s Market was going to be selling sour cherries, my all-time favorite fruit. It’s only around for a few weeks each year, so I am always thrilled when they are back in season.
So how did I get from a couple of good omens, to superstition? I don’t actually know. The idea just kind of materialized organically in my head. All I can say is that I decided all of a sudden that the only way the Celtics were winning this game was if I did my part. Which meant what you may ask? Here goes nothing:
I first decided that I needed to display my first good omen of the day (the $5 bill) on my coffee table in the living room. Then I decided that I would drink exactly 2 Sam Adams Summer Ales during the first half. Thirdly, I decided to eat some of my second good omen (sour cherries) throughout the game. Lastly, I decided to bring back a mini-tradition from college. When the Boston Red Sox came back against the New York Yankees in the American League Championship Series in 2004, I spoke with my friend Derek during every commercial break after every half inning. Thus it would also be for Game 7. I would call him (not the other way around) during every commercial break to discuss how the game was progressing.
So the results were promising, at least for the first half. The Celtics had chances to pull away, but failed to put much distance between themselves and the Lakers. They were leading, though, at half-time of a Game 7 in LA. Not bad at all.
For some reason I wasn’t very comforted by this fact and was even more nervous than when the game had started! I felt like I had plenty of work left in order for the Celtics to come away with banner number 18.
As I was pacing back and forth like a caged, half-crazed, wild animal, I shockingly noticed that I was out of my Sam Adams Summer Ales. And to make matters worse, I couldn’t allow myself to leave the apartment (yes, my level of superstition was increasing by the very minute) because that would disrupt my continuous presence in the apartment, which could potentially have a negative effect on the game.
What to do???
Luckily my girlfriend walked through the door at this very moment of realization and I hurriedly explained to her that I needed to drink 2 more Sam Adams during the second half, but I couldn’t leave the apartment for fear that this may upset the good karma I had developed during the first half. Though she looked at me like I was completely crazy she came through for me and took a trip to the corner store.
As the third quarter progressed, all of my hard work seemed to be paying off. The Celtics built up a lead of as much as 13! With just one more little spurt they would be able to pull away for good. I couldn’t believe it. With the year they had had and the difficult road they had faced in the playoffs just to get to this point, it was almost unthinkable that the championship trophy was almost theirs. I happily worked my way through the 2 beers and kept on eating those sour cherries, all while looking at my proudly displayed $5 bill.
And then, as the third quarter came to a close and the fourth quarter got underway it all collapsed. Damn it all, my efforts had been in vain. The Celtics never quite gave up, but they certainly ran out of gas. Even with Kobe Bryant on his way to a 6-24 shooting night, with a 13-point lead, and perhaps one or two defensive stops away from taking the title it was simply not to be.
If this was a post about the game itself, I would now talk about how close Bryant came to an off-season filled with rants about his inability to beat the Celtics. Or how close the Big Three of the Celtics came to a second title in three years.
But this post was more about the power of superstition, so I will end with a final thought. Do I truly believe that superstition can lead to an impact on a sporting event? Probably not. But I certainly felt its power over a one day period and let me tell you, all rationality quickly disappeared.
Maybe I should try again during the baseball playoffs?
Tags: Celtics, Lakers, sour cherries, superstition, superstitious
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