I was acting particularly obnoxious the other day, making fun of a friend and saying annoying things — which is generally how I act when I’m in a good mood — when my friend managed to silence me by asking, “Hey, did the Celtics win last night?”
Because this person knows next to nothing about sports, the fact that she was not only aware that the Celtics had lost, but also aware that I would view this innocent-seeming question as an insult, blew my mind. “They lost,” I said. “But how would you know?” She shrugged, and offered some lame explanation, but it just goes to show that when you’re a defending champion, people are eager to take you down. I returned to my desk, and another friend, who was only dimly aware that a professional basketball league exists in this country until she was forced to listen to me talk about it all day long, said, “I hear the Celtics are faltering.”
“Are you trying to make me mad?” I asked. Then I added, “I don’t think it’s a big deal.”
But that was before the Celtics lost to the Knicks and the Bobcats, and then last night they lost again, to the Rockets. Well, at least the Rockets are a good team. Still, it’s all been a little disconcerting, and I can’t help but think that it’s some kind of cosmic retribution for my obnoxious behavior during the Celtics’ lengthy winning streak, when I would arrive at work every day and say, “Guess which NBA team just won its 13th game in a row?” or “Guess which NBA team just won its 15th game in a row?” or “Guess which NBA team just won its 17th game in a row?”
In any case, it isn’t nearly as fun to come to work and say, “Guess which NBA team just lost its third game in a row?” or “Guess which NBA team has lost six of eight?”
Meanwhile, the lowly Minnesota Timberwolves, the team I recently mocked right here in this blog, have won four in a row. I don’t know what it all means, except that I wish the NBA All-Star game was this weekend, so everybody could get some much-needed rest.
It’s January, and if I remember correctly, the Celtics struggled a bit last January, too. And then there’s the theory that they’re starting to feel tired, having played into June, celebrated the championship all summer and gotten off to a hot start this year. The Celtics’ record (29-8) is still very good, and ordinarily a little slump wouldn’t be much of a problem.
But the Cleveland Cavaliers have also been playing terrific basketball (their record is 28-6), which means the Celtics need to get their act together, or else risk losing the No. 1 seed in the East. And since the Celtics play the Cavaliers on Friday, it would be nice if they got their act together sooner, rather than later.
Meanwhile, it is playoff time in the NFL, and for the first time since 2002 the New England Patriots did not make it into the post-season. I’m disappointed, sure, but there are some benefits. For one thing, I don’t really care who wins the Superbowl, which means that life is a little less stressful. I don’t feel like I have to watch the playoff games, and I’m not concerned about seeding or injury reports and other arcane bits of football strategy.
Maybe that’s why I’m actually starting to enjoy the football playoffs. I was at Valentine’s in Albany on Saturday, and I actually found the Colts-Chargers game, which was playing on the TV over the bar, more captivating than the music. I was actually rooting for the Colts to win, which gives you a sense of the depth of my dislike for the Chargers. Which means I hope the Steelers beat the Chargers on Sunday, but I’m certainly not going to lose any sleep over it if they don’t.
After some thought, I’ve decided to throw my support behind the Baltimore Ravens, because I like quarterback Joe Flacco. I saw him interviewed on ESPN, and then watched a bunch of his teammates get interviewed, and they made fun of him for having a unibrow and said that unless he got rid of it he would never get on the cover of GQ. (“Tom Brady has been on the cover of GQ, like, three times and he doesn’t have a unibrow,” was the sort of thing they said.) As interviews go, it was stupid and goofy, but oddly endearing, too, and although I’m far too cynical to believe that NFL quarterbacks are nice guys, Joe Flacco seemed like ... a nice guy.
The question, then, is: can the Ravens beat the Titans? Well, who knows. I’ll certainly be paying some attention, but not a whole lot.
You can add your own comments below, or email me at sfoss@dailygazette.net.
