Did I (and You) Forget the Boston Celtics?

Last night, I was browsing the Internet looking at...certain things, when I eyed something on MSN.com. In the FoxSports Panel, I saw the fourth story from the top, and my eyebrows were raised in surprise. The Boston Celtics defeated the Washington Wizards and had the best start in franchise history. All I could say to myself was something I should have said a long time ago. "Damn," I thought. "The Celtics are still NBA champs, huh?"

A lot of readers will laugh at this revelation. They'll wonder if I was living under a rock for the first 23 games of the season, or if I'm just really high. All I can say is that I'm not on drugs, or a man who isolates himself from society in the wilderness. I'm a pessimist who plays video games and procrastinates from homework, and I forget about basketball after the WNBA Finals end.

On top of that, I'm running on about five hours of sleep, and that's four hours short of what I need to make it through the day. If anything, I'm one of many who have forgotten that this Celtics team is not a one time team at all.

The Celtics are still the NBA champions. That's the point of my writing. I'm actually ridiculing myself for thinking that the Lakers are a 100% lock for the 2009 NBA title. I'm frowning right now because I've realized that LeBron and his Cavs are going to have to hope that management can hold on to all of them until the Celtics' big three are out of their prime.

The Pistons are a tad bit over-hyped, though Allen Iverson doesn't hurt them in anyway whatsoever. The Hawks...well, they'll be short of players for awhile. Maybe they'll be more legit when they all reach their primes and get Josh Childress out of Greece. In truth, the Celtics' 21-2 best start is thrusting them back as the top favorite to win the championship.

I will always question the apathy that people hold for the Celtics. It's a unique sort of dislike for Boston, and one that I'm fairly annoyed by. We suddenly doubt that the Celtics can pull things off. In an era of parity, we expect the unexpected, or else we'll just end up losing more money at some point like we did in 2007 (But really, the Mavs getting beaten by the WARRIORS? Who would thought?).

We refute the 66-16 record the Celtics had last year when they were the best team in the NBA. Hell, we were almost right to refute it. The young soaring Hawks and the defending East champ Cavs took them to seven games. The Celtics even had to struggle to prevent a game seven in the Eastern Conference Finals. If it weren't for the practical whipping they gave the Lakers in the Finals in June, we wouldn't be kicking ourselves in the rear ends.

Well, I-along with others-are doing it again. We're sometimes forgetting that the best thing out there is...well, the best thing out there. Basketball's faithful casually sits down, wanting to see who will get the NBA championship trophy in the end. Some root for the era of Kobe to officially begin with the first Shaq-less title.

The residents of Motown are begging for AI to work up some magic and at least get the Pistons to the evasive NBA Finals. Hell, someone out there is fervently rooting for the Hawks to pull off another big one, but in the end, Josh Childress is still a man out for money in Greece.

Look at the top of the article. While you're at it, gaze at the picture, and keep your eyes on the prize. The Celtics should have started their season out with targets on their backs, but instead, they were just given a label: "Hey, remember us? We won the NBA championship." 

I don't know if they were labeled. I don't know if they were insulted. I don't know if they were too captivated by Paul Pierce's late tears of joy at his first NBA championship ring (Hey, why didn't you cry with Garnett, buddy?), but they sure as Hell are making me kick myself in the rear end.

The Boston Celtics are the NBA champions. And if you forget them, they'll make you remember. They'll do it in the same fashion they did last year too. Expect the Boston Celtics to win back to back titles this year. And expect them to make us kick ourselves in the butt cheeks once again.