Sports: June 2008 Archives
A Celtics banner hangs on the Massachusetts State House
It's been a long time coming. Twenty two years ago another "Big Three" won over the Houston Rockets. You just assumed they played against the Lakers? Nope. That was 1987 and 1985 when the Lakers won and 1984 when the Celtics won. Many of us who followed the Celtics-Lakers rivalry in the 80s with Magic Johnson and Larry Bird as the league's premiere athletes probably didn't realize the rivalry was born decades earlier. Going back to the 1960s, the Celtics squared off against the Lakers in the finals six times that decade, with the Celtics prevailing each time!
Those were the glory days. It's been a tough couple of past decades, though, to be a Celtics fan. Honestly, they have been very hard to watch, except in 2002 with that miraculous comeback against the Nets. Not only is it a good time to be a Celtics fan, but Boston has become a city of sports dynasties. The Red Sox broke their almost century-long skid, the Patriots emerged from bottom dwellers to perennial champions, and now the Celtics have joined them. If you are a hockey fan, you can hope the Bruins will put it together. Or you could always root for Boston College or Boston University who are always among the best in Division I NCAA hockey or follow the Beanpot. Boston College, after all, won a national championship this year, much to the chagrin of Boston University fans. In Boston, that BC-BU rivalry is as big as those on the professional-level: Yankees-Red Sox, Celtics-Lakers, or Bruins-Canadiens. Yes, we have great sports rivalries in Beantown.
The NBA playoffs were immensely exciting. I am amazed at how much better play is now than it was 20 years ago. Celtics defense has been oppressive. And the Celtics no longer lumber down the court like they did in the 80s. The Celtics are fast now. And exciting to watch. Paul Pierce showed why Shaquille O'Neal nicknamed him "The Truth." This new generation of the "Big Three" has been nothing short of spectacular. But, as Kevin Garnett (aka KG) remarked after the game, it's a team effort. They could not have won without the other players. This is true for any team at any level.
Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Farris did a superb job with the NBA "There Can Only Be One" commercials. Talk about gearing you up for the game. I've been wondering what the piano background music is on the "Compilation" commercial. Some have said it's Elijah Bossenbroek's Song of Simplicity. Close, but that's not it. It's just a simple riff with some interesting chords: Am, Am7, GCE, and G#BE. The difference is the last chord: Bossenbroek's ends in a bright G major. I finally discovered the song is actually Carly Comando's single Everyday which is much richer and complex in its chord structure. Her song has the same chord progression (though different key) as Philip Glass's song Truman Sleeps from the 1998 film The Truman Show which is similar to his Etude no. 1 from 2003. If you listen to her whole song, it's beautiful and haunting at the same time, but certainly not traditional. The main theme repeats an awful long time and then there is a little melodic riff added way into the song. It sounds like it's all improvised, which it probably is. The song could easily be chopped in half or more and maintain more punch. But the song's length was intended to match the length of photographer Noah Kalina's YouTube video he made from stitching together photos of himself every day for six years. I had this song in my head all evening during the finals game and I am not sure whether it was my being overtired or not, but I could have sworn they were playing the piece continuously in the background of the ESPN wrap up show! For more on Carly Comando, see my interview with her on my personal pages. The Magic and Bird commercial is awesome too about the "rivalry". The KG-Kobe commercial about fear is a great mental motivator. In listening to Doc Rivers in the huddle and locker room, it's all about mental toughness. It's a good lesson for sport and a good lesson for life. Paul Pierce displayed this tough mental attitude when he said at halftime they wanted it too bad to let LA back in the game and "the foot's on the pedal".
Congratulations Celtics. Basketball is back in Boston!
External Link: Paul's Carly Comando Interview
