Ubuntu!!!
My friends, my friends, my friends: ubuntu!
The Celtics defeated the Lakers tonight by just-about 40 points to win the Celtic's 17th NBA championship finals; their first in 22 years.
This is the first Boston team championship game to be won in Boston since the sports reign began in 2001 with the Patriots. All the other championships (Patriots & Red Sox) were won away.
I've been staying away from blogging and email and the internets in general for the last five days. It makes me more productive in certain ways, hence the lack of blogs for a bit. But I couldn't help but hop on tonight to celebrate.
Personally speaking, this is also the first time that I was actually in the city of Boston when a Boston team won the championships, as well. I was sitting at home watching the game solo when I decided, mid-first quarter, that if they should win, I would not be alone. I began to get ready to go out to West, and I am glad that I did, for I was in good, enthusiastic company there.
Truth be told, I sort of started to laugh at the end of the 3rd and all the way through the 4th because...well, it was almost comical how poorly the Lakers played and how definitively they lost. If I didn't hate Kobe so much, I would almost feel bad. But I do hate Kobe, and I do love this team of Celtics, so I don't feel bad, at all. Instead I feelt elated. Buoyant. Effervescent. I feel as though the world is at hand and we can all take from it what we will, provided we do so with a spirit that is generous, thougthful, determined, kind, hard-working and diligent. Whoas. I just got way deep there.
On another note, someone even bought a round of champagne at the bar upon the winning. That was cool, since I love the bubbly. Also, we all agreed that the "pink shirt" of Doc's, after Pierce dumped the red gatorade on him, would, like the bloody sock, become part of the Basketball Hall of Fame.
What a lovely lovely thing to happen. Someone at West said, and I completely agree, "What a great way to start the summer!"
My how the rest of the country will so much more defintively hate Boston, upon the THIRD sports team's championship win in the last 7 years.
I quite like being spoilt when it comes to my favorite teams winning or being enviably the best. I hope this continues and spreads. [Hint, hint Bruin's ownership.]
So, to bgein to wrap up, thank you MVP Paul Pierce, KG Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen, Big Baby, Rondo the 12 year old, Voldemort AKA Sam Cassell, and all the rest, and - even though I don't really like him (for some indefinable reason) - thanks to Danny Ainge, but most especially thank you thank you thank you to Doc Rivers. I know a lot of people have their doubts about him. I know that he gets very short shrift from the masses. But I also know that, were he not the big thinking/ detail orientated (my favorite type description, BTW) coach that he is, this wonderful, wonderful team would not have achieved as much as they had achieved this reason.
Thanks, Doc, for the Big Three, for the Dribble Drive Motion and, most importantly, for bringing ubuntu to a talented group of enthusiastic players and applying it to a team & a town who would so entirely and whole-heartedly embrace such philosophy. (Even if they didn't know they were.)
And finally, a last, personal note. It was my dad's birthday last Monday. And Sunday was the first Father's Day I ever spent without my father. These wins and losses in sports may often seem insignificant, but it is times like these when I miss my dad so much. Because, as oil-and-water or fire-and-ice as we were, we could always come together in our celebration in the triumphs of the sports teams we so loved. Forever, for me, each loss, like this year's Superbowl, and each win, like this year's NBA championships, will bring me closer to the spirit of my dad. For back in February, when the Pats lost, I knew we would have been mutually despairing. And tonight, regardless of any other difference of opinion or disposition we may have had, this win would have made us both celebrate and be happy and tranquil (truly a happening) together.
And that, among a million other reasons, but this being of the top most, is why I love sports.
Ubuntu, Celtics, ubuntu.
Good night! Let us meet again at the same time next year for the same joyous reason!
Showing posts with label unbuntu. Show all posts
Showing posts with label unbuntu. Show all posts
NBA Stuff: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
Oh Lordy Lordy. No wonder I haven't felt the need to keep up with General Hospital these last months. Just following the NBA is drama enough.
I'll start with the low and end with the high, so as to stay positive.
First, the lowest of the low, the ugly: Corrupt NBA Official Tim Donaghy
In an article in the New York Times, former & now disgraced NBA official Tim Donaghy was quoted as stating, "that N.B.A. executives directed referees 'to manipulate games' in order to 'boost ticket sales and television ratings,'" in a letter he wrote to United States District Court in Brooklyn.
Read the full article with all the sordid details here.
Next is the bad: Schill's Shrill Blog about Kobe
Mr Crazy Big Mouth Pain in the Ass AKA The Sultan of Bloody Socks AKA Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling blogged about his observations of how nasty Kobe Bryant was to his fellow teammates during game 2 at the Garden last weekend. Kobe responded by saying "Go Yankees" which lacks its sting considering the Yanks are tied for last place in the AL East, but that's Kobe for you. Socially awkward. It's because he was raised in Italy. If it were anyone else criticizing Kobe, I'd be all for it, but since it Curt Schilling, who I have absolutely no patience for, I'm all set with that.
More details on the fiasco at Yahoo Sports.
And finally, to the good: Unbuntu- to the Team, to the Fans and to the City
Remember last week when I got all preachy and sentimental about the Celtics this year being a special team, because they thought and acted a team, not as individuals? For instance, at the end of game 2, after Paul Pierce was interviewed for the post-game show, he turned around at waved to the fans. He slapped hands with the leaners-into-the-tunnel. He took his headband off and threw it into the crowd. As the camera followed him walking into the tunnel, he stopped, turned around, and remembered to take his wrist band off and throw that into the crowd of adoring fans. I was like, "Wha??!"
And Monday, in LA, after Kobe was interviewed he--walked straight into the tunnel without acknowledging a soul, much less turning around to remember that there's a devoted fan out there who would cherish a sweaty piece of rubber band and terry cloth.
That difference in leadership shows the difference in teams: LA is the same old same old showboatin' selfish but good players. The Celtics are very very different. Well, it was by sheer observation that I thought of this. And it turns out, I was right on because that has been their philosophy all season long.
This philosophy is centered around one saying: unbuntu. It is a southern African philosophy that is hard to put into words but loosely can mean, "I am because of you." (We've come a long way from "How you like me now boy?", haven't we?) Juxtapose (SAT word!) that with Kobe getting down on his team and you can see why the Celts are up 2-1 in the series despite predictions to the contrary.
Unbuntu is the word they chant in the huddle before playing, too. If you google "unbuntu" and "celtics" you'll get quite a few articles explaining it. I heard about it -- where else but? -- on NPR, specifically WBUR's Here and Now. If you want to hear the full story, click on this link and scroll down to the word "Unbunto" then click on the "Listen" icon.
See what I mean about leaving on a positive note? And to everyone reading my blogs: thanks. Unbuntu. (ha ha , der )
I'll start with the low and end with the high, so as to stay positive.
First, the lowest of the low, the ugly: Corrupt NBA Official Tim Donaghy
In an article in the New York Times, former & now disgraced NBA official Tim Donaghy was quoted as stating, "that N.B.A. executives directed referees 'to manipulate games' in order to 'boost ticket sales and television ratings,'" in a letter he wrote to United States District Court in Brooklyn.
Read the full article with all the sordid details here.
Next is the bad: Schill's Shrill Blog about Kobe
Mr Crazy Big Mouth Pain in the Ass AKA The Sultan of Bloody Socks AKA Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling blogged about his observations of how nasty Kobe Bryant was to his fellow teammates during game 2 at the Garden last weekend. Kobe responded by saying "Go Yankees" which lacks its sting considering the Yanks are tied for last place in the AL East, but that's Kobe for you. Socially awkward. It's because he was raised in Italy. If it were anyone else criticizing Kobe, I'd be all for it, but since it Curt Schilling, who I have absolutely no patience for, I'm all set with that.
More details on the fiasco at Yahoo Sports.
And finally, to the good: Unbuntu- to the Team, to the Fans and to the City
Remember last week when I got all preachy and sentimental about the Celtics this year being a special team, because they thought and acted a team, not as individuals? For instance, at the end of game 2, after Paul Pierce was interviewed for the post-game show, he turned around at waved to the fans. He slapped hands with the leaners-into-the-tunnel. He took his headband off and threw it into the crowd. As the camera followed him walking into the tunnel, he stopped, turned around, and remembered to take his wrist band off and throw that into the crowd of adoring fans. I was like, "Wha??!"
And Monday, in LA, after Kobe was interviewed he--walked straight into the tunnel without acknowledging a soul, much less turning around to remember that there's a devoted fan out there who would cherish a sweaty piece of rubber band and terry cloth.
That difference in leadership shows the difference in teams: LA is the same old same old showboatin' selfish but good players. The Celtics are very very different. Well, it was by sheer observation that I thought of this. And it turns out, I was right on because that has been their philosophy all season long.
This philosophy is centered around one saying: unbuntu. It is a southern African philosophy that is hard to put into words but loosely can mean, "I am because of you." (We've come a long way from "How you like me now boy?", haven't we?) Juxtapose (SAT word!) that with Kobe getting down on his team and you can see why the Celts are up 2-1 in the series despite predictions to the contrary.
Unbuntu is the word they chant in the huddle before playing, too. If you google "unbuntu" and "celtics" you'll get quite a few articles explaining it. I heard about it -- where else but? -- on NPR, specifically WBUR's Here and Now. If you want to hear the full story, click on this link and scroll down to the word "Unbunto" then click on the "Listen" icon.
See what I mean about leaving on a positive note? And to everyone reading my blogs: thanks. Unbuntu. (ha ha , der )
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