Sport or Entertainment; Either Way, It's Fantastic!

Back in the day, as past eras are often affectionately recalled, the National Basketball Association coined a slogan that boldly proclaimed. “The NBA is Fantastic.” Having always been a fan of “The League,” I fully bought in long ago. But occasionally, I am actually reminded why I did.

Last night was one of those occasions. A colleague called late in the afternoon to say he had tickets to the Bobcats' game, and asked if I wanted to go. As a rule, I do not take on extra-curricular activities on Tuesday evenings. After all, I already have a commitment to publish a blog posting for Wednesdays.

I really did consider not accepting this unexpected largess…for all of a nano-second. A chance to watch the star-laden, defending NBA Champions; NBA Royalty, as it were…of course I would be going! The Current day Bird, McHale, and Parrish, personified by Garnett, Allen, and Pierce would be holding court, at center court, and all over Time Warner Arena, for that matter.

As a Lakers fan for life, who always supports the hometown Bobcats when those two teams play, I would be duty-bound to spew partisan venom with the best of them as the interloping visitors handed the good guys their proverbial lunch, but only after having taken their lunch money. How else could it possibly unfold?

Yesterday, Boston sported the best record in the Eastern Conference, while Charlotte was 13th out of 15 teams. The Celtics had the second best record in the entire 30-team League, only recently ceding the best record to my dear Lakers. The Bobcats meanwhile were a mere 22nd, and holding. It’s true the mighty Celtics have been in a mild slide, but a visit to the Queen City seemed like just the tonic for what ailed them.

This is the point where the time-honored phrase, “that’s why they play the games,” was introduced. Evidently, someone forgot to clue the erstwhile hapless Bobcats in on the widely held belief they would earn a benevolence award for their evening’s work, by gift-wrapping an easy victory for the once and future Champs.

The Men in Kelly Green are still the favorite of many to return to the 2009 NBA Finals, and indeed, they still may. But for one balmy January evening in Charlotte, the processional to crown the Celtics was temporarily derailed by the lowly Charlotte Bobcats.

I know not everyone is a fan, so I will not belabor the point by giddily elaborating on the gritty details, but for the record, the Bobcats competed gamely from the start, and led after each of the first three quarters, found themselves tied at the end of regulation, and sprinted to victory in the overtime period. They played better than they are; the Celtics not as well. It was entertaining; it was fantastic; you might even say, “it was fantastic entertainment!” I guess I just did.

For an encore, I will travel north to Chapel Hill this evening to watch my favorite college team, the University of North Carolina Tar Heels. They will attempt to rebound from a similarly unexpected defeat at the hands of what was characterized as an overmatched opponent, coincidentally, also from Boston. GO HEELS!

I’m done; holla back!

Read my blog anytime by clicking the link: http://thesphinxofcharlotte.blogspot.com/. A new post is published each Wednesday.

For more detailed information on a variety of aspects relating to this post, consult the links below:

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/104/story/455960.html

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/basketball/nba/2009-01-06-celtics-bobcats_N.htm

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/recap?gameId=290106030

http://www.sportsline.com/nba/gamecenter/recap/NBA_20090106_BOS@CHA

http://www.nba.com/video/games/bobcats/2009/01/06/nba_bos_cha_0020800506_recap.nba/index.html?player=whatsnew

http://stats.washingtonpost.com/nba/teamstats.asp?teamno=30&type=teamhome

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5i5YQZfSoS5B9ZwGLCYaCwtcLGRAQD95I1UA80

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/recap?gid=2009010630

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/basketball/nba/viewcast/2009/01/06/index.html?contestId=24239&vendorId=2009010630&vendorVisitTeam=2&vendorHomeTeam=30&pageType=recap

http://msn.foxsports.com/nba/gameTrax?gameId=2009010630