NBA Fans

This is what I sent to Ea34 about 2 days ago relating to this topic:

My cousin once told me that if you like a sport, you'll appreciate it a lot more and get more "into it" if you like a specific team. I was one who liked a player on every team. Back in 2004, when I was 13 years old, I had a favorite player on every team: Kevin Garnett (who played for the Timberwolves at the time) was my favorite player. Of course, I liked several others, including Tracy McGrady, Baron Davis (I loved his dunks), Ray Allen, Paul Pierce, and many others. However, I took my cousin's advice, and I decided to root for a team... and what better team to root for than [what you call] your home team; in my case, that was the Boston Celtics. This was back when I actually thought that Ricky Davis was good before I realized he was a completely selfish showboater... but hey, when you're 12 or 13 years old, who could blame you? The 2005 season went by, and their record got better, and I actually thought that Paul Pierce would be able to lead the Celts to a possible championship opportunity, or even become Eastern Conference champions. That was until I watched the 2006 season, when they finished under .500 and missed the playoffs. 2007 just got worse, as they finished with only 24 wins, the second worst record in the NBA. However, when the 2008 season came along, I knew that something would come up. During the 2007 offseason, I was ecstatic on two days: once when they signed Ray Allen, and once when they got Kevin Garnett (my ultimate favorite player growing up). As a fan of Pierce, Allen, and KG when I was younger, this was nothing but a dream team in my eyes. The 2008 team was not not just a dream team in my eyes... but it was a true championship team. Everyone did their part: from the Big 3, to Rajon Rondo, to Eddie House, to Kendrick Perkins, to frickin' Brian Scalabrine! Great team all around. Last year was when I knew I was going to be a loyal Boston Celtics fan forever. Watching them win the championship in an absolute blowout (while my best friend, a Lakers fan, was watching it with me), it just put the biggest smile on my face and was one of the happiest moments for me, in terms of sports. Seeing KG, Ray Ray, and Pierce get their first championship rings together on the same team was just a great memory for me to even watch.

Boston's fans are a true definition of what the word "homer" means. Although some of them lack knowledge of the game and almost all the time rub it in other fans' faces when they win or when they're team is doing well, you have to admit that the Celtics mean a whole lot to them. There is so much history that goes along with the franchise: one of the greatest rivalries of all time back in the '80s (the Larry Bird era), Bill Russell and his Celts' winning 11 championships in 13 years, and many other things that get those Celtics fans going...

Sports is a big thing in Boston (I think everyone in the world knows, or will eventually know, that)... and the Celtics are a team that means a lot to Boston's sports fans probably more than any other team to its city (mainly because of the history that the Celtics have).

(Hope that helps, Ea34... good luck)

Let me just add something else about the last question, about identity:

Other than the fact that we like the Celtics organization... no. I believe that every fan is a fan of their team for different purposes, and they have different opinions on things. I'd like to think that every single NBA fan (never mind Celtics fan) thinks differently, and each fan has their own mind and speaks for themselves. So, other than the fact that a Celtics fan and I root for the Celts, no... their is no "identity" per se (other fans may say different, as we are Massholes most of the time, but other than that... no not really).

I'd really like to get other people's stories about their teams as well. Good idea, Ea34.