2010 NBA Finals Game 7: The Ultimate Treat for Sports Fans

Bar owners across America are pinching themselves with glee this afternoon.

Anyone who lives, breathes, and dies sports echoes the same sentiment.

After journeying through the two-month long voyage known as the NBA playoffs, we deserve this emotional last act.

Expect office productivity and general business line communications to hit a standstill this afternoon. Any employee who proudly sports an L.A. or Boston mug, banner, napkin, or bobble-head on their desk won’t be of any use.

This is our reward after slogging through a Hawks-Bucks series where both teams played hide-and-seek with the bottom of the hoop. Today marks one of the three biggest dates on our 2010 sports calendar. The moment encapsulates every good reason why we put parts of our lives on hold to watch a group of fit strangers run from point to point.

I hold no vested interest, whether in fan support, gambling debts, or otherwise, in Game Seven.

Kobe Bryant could retire on Friday, and I’d go on with life as usual. If Phil Jackson announces the Montana rivers appeal more than red-eye cross-country flights and grimy 10 a.m. shoot-arounds, so be it. Life will keep ticking after tomorrow night. I won’t shed a tear either way.

But until then, nothing else matters.

There’s a particular beauty heading into this Game Seven, aside from the obvious implications and the win-or-go-home devastated stakes. Can we get any feel for this ultimate showdown?

Not a chance in hell.

Las Vegas is the real winner in all the commotion. How they feel comfortable laying down any line is beyond me. Those confident gamblers who place bets are either unshakably loyal Boston/L.A. believers or just incredibly foolish.

Every potential angle is in play. Bryant might put up 55 or play Mr. Distributor, as he did so well on Tuesday night. Ray Allen’s potential scoring output offers no rhyme or reason. Maybe Kendrick Perkins provides an unexpected Willis Reed moment that sparks Boston’s chemistry heavy bench.

Check the body language of any life-long fan in Boston, L.A., or anywhere else in the world around 8:30 PT on Thursday night. In fact, periodically sneak a peek at how they’re doing from the ABC pre-game show to the trophy presentation.

For my money, there’s a higher entertainment ceiling in watching grown men screaming, panting, and fighting back a waterworks display.

Something sickly twisted and amusing surfaces while watching a grown men dab his eyes with an authentic team jersey. Some fans will beat out Kevin Garnett in a sweat-off, even after Garnett hustles for 40 minutes. If we see another one-sided blowout, as was the case in Game Six, at least the public people watching offers a guaranteed great time.

Of course, Lakers and Celtics fans don’t find any of this funny. They’ll clank glasses and bump chests and slap fives and scream until their lungs collapse, but they won’t experience the euphoria we often associate with fun.

For the dedicated fans, these next 24 hours will be torture. Everyone else, on the other hand, can kick their feet up and enjoy great basketball.

Regardless of how tomorrow night’s game unfolds, we’ve already won. Two historic, bitter rivals, concluding a whirlwind series, with so many legacies on the line. We follow sports for special nights like Thursday.

Don’t take the wonderful evening for granted.