I Suck At Watching The Celtics

i had a very enjoyable day today... and not just because the snow has stopped coming down (for now).

today, i went to watch the celtics game with my friends (cass and marc). now, i suck at watching the celtics. i have not been to a celtics game in quite some time. in fact, i have never gone to a celtics game when the celtics were actually a good nba basketball team. the last time i went to a celtics game was when i worked at state street bank... which was my first job out of college.

the only thing i remember about going to the celtics game when i was working at state street was that my coworker (debbie) got herself on the jumbotron. unfortunately, i was not lucky enough to get my mug on the screen during that time... even though i sat right next to her at the game. i did, however, get my picture taken with her once for my state street identification badge.

it's a long story... when i worked at state street bank, all employees were required to have a photo identification badge taken by security which allowed you access to the various buildings. well, one day i happened to go to security with debbie for my picture... and as we were both being silly, we asked if we could get our picture taken together for our badge. apparently, security was not too tight... because they agreed... and much like those photo booth picture scenes that you see on television, debbie and i had our picture taken together.

needless to say, that was a long time ago. i went to the celtics game with her and a couple of other coworkers because we were the lucky raffle winners for that game way back when.

anyway, today's celtics game came as quite a surprise to me. apparently, cass got the tickets through his work and thought it would be a great idea to take me to the celtics game for my birthday. he was able to get three tickets... so him, marc, and i went to the game today for my birthday.

after marc picked me up, we met up with cass and took the mbta subway train in to boston. it was the first time i have been on the subway train since i worked in town... so it was rather nostalgic. ah... the commuting memories. by the way, i must say... i am quite surprised by the state of the streets in quincy. the streets in quincy were absolutely horrendous... it seems like the city of quincy did not even bother to plow its streets. my itty bitty street that my house is on was better plowed than the main streets in quincy. (for anyone curious, if i were a resident of quincy, i would think twice before voting for the current mayor. that's just my opinion.)

regardless, the three of us went to the fours located on canal street for a little pregame celebration. it was nice. we had some nachos and wings... and watched the new england patriots manhandle the arizona cardinals in football. from there, we went to hurrican o'reilly's to meet up with cass's brother (bj)... who incidentally had a flirtatious moment with my bff (kerry). i don't know the complete details, but i heard there were back rubs involved. what can i say?... men can't resist kerry.

interestingly enough, it was at hurricane o'reilly's where i learned a new term... "butterface". i have never heard the term used... until today... and it cracks me up. and for the record, no... the term was not used in regards to my bff. i believe the term was used in regards to our waitperson... who when we first met her... told us that she was a little hoarse and that she did not know why because she did do any yelling or screaming or anything like that. her hoarseness, as the place got busier, seemed to have mysteriously disappeared... interesting.

anyway, the basketball game itself was amazing. (following hurricane o'reilly's, we went to the "gahden".

(the video below is of paul pierce sinking a three pointer for the celtics.)


the celtics easily beat their opponents (the new york knicks). the game was never even close. nonetheless, it was great to watch the celtics... especially with cass and marc. the three of us sat in the promenade... which was quite nice. i've never been in the promenade before in the "gahden".

(the video below is of godzilla... getting the crowd into the game.)


truth be told, to show you how much of a nutcase i have become since my son (braden) passed away... i actually almost started to tear up before the start of the game. as we were finding our seats, cass wished me happy birthday and told me that the game was for me and braden. his words did not seem like much... but it was very touching and i almost started to tear up. in fact, i'll probably remember the sentiments from cass and marc tonight... for my son and i... more than the game itself. it is times like that which make me thankful to be blessed with such great friends.

all in all, i had a fantastic time today. i really am lucky to have such great friends and i hope they will always realize how much i appreciate them.