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Ah, the Celtics.

I grew up rooting against them with a passion, though I never really knew why. The team of Bird, Parish and McHale was one that most Black folks hated, and most that I know still hate them to this day - for various reasons. I even rooted for the Pistons over these dudes. We're talking hate.

One reason is surely race. I may have been the only Black child outside of Boston whose favorite player was White (Mark Price), and that's only because I'm an unapologetic homer. Everyone else was all about Jordan, 'Nique, Clyde, Barkley or heaven forbid, The Bad Boys. The jerseys I saw growing up were a variation of those guys and a few others, but never did I see a Black kid - or a Black person - ever wearing Celtics gear. When the Magic and Bird Converses came out in the '80s, no Black kid dared get the green-and-white pair. (Many kids, including me, would rather wear these ugly gold-and-purple high-tops than get clowned for being a Celtics sympathizer.) I didn't even see it on television, where it seemed apparent that none of Boston's brothers and sisters were ever invited the Garden party.

In fact, it became almost "White" to even root for the Celtics. In this famous scene from Knick fan Spike Lee's tour de force, virtually the only White dude in the entire film that you don't see in a police uniform or a pizzeria is in a Larry Bird t-shirt. That's not an accident:



Funny thing is, the team has the proudest tradition with regards to race of any team in the NBA. First team to draft a Black player. First Black coach, Bill Russell. Even when Bird, Ainge and McHale formed possibly the only great team that's been mostly White in the last 30 years, they were coached by a Black man, K.C. Jones. Check this:

They became the first NBA team to send an all-black starting lineup onto the floor. The man responsible was the same guy who put together the Celtics teams of the 1980s: Red Auerbach.

"I wasn't even aware of it," Auerbach once said about his historical lineup breakthrough in 1964. "They brought it to my attention later on. All we were trying to do here, all the time, is play the guys that, in our opinion, whether I'm coaching or someone else is coaching, is going to win the ballgame. That's all."

And the Celtics have come full circle. Of the top teams in the league right now, the Celtics are the only one with an all-black starting five and a black head coach.

Maybe the question shouldn't be whether it's OK for African-Americans to root for the Celtics. If you really think about it, the question is, how could they not?

Well, for me...

Defeat opens all wounds.

But as those that know me well can attest, I am virtually unable to watch any sports contest without choosing a side to root for (making the Western Conference Finals between the Lakers and Spurs unwatchable). I wasn't rooting for Kobe - neither me nor my lady can stand him, for various reasons. Phil Jackson still had the Chicago stink on him, as far as I'm concerned, and was looking to top the late Red Auerbach for most NBA titles ever won by a coach (10).

For once in this vaunted rivalry, the bad guys were clearly in the purple and gold. Which was odd, to say the least.

The most fascinating reversal, however, was that the Lakers happened to be the "White" team now. Their only Black star, Kobe Bryant, had cred for his abilities, but not much beyond that...and he'd never be looked at the same way we looked at someone else. Writers speculated openly whether refs, based on two Penn economists' detailed study, would receive the refs' favor because they had more White players. Heck, they even had the son of one of the Caucasian-est Celtic stars ever on their squad!

So, that left the new "Big Three". The Truth, the Big Ticket and my favorite NBA player today, Jesus Shuttlesworth. All likeable guys.

Even though they beat my boys, even though I carried the hatred of my youth, even though Boston fans are generally abhorrent, arrogant blowhards unworthy of the heavenly grace bestowed upon them...I decided to go green.

With a championship win, Kobe embarrassed, and Phil thwarted, nearly all is right with the world. Nearly. And even if it's not yet fully cool to rock KG's number 5 in the 'hood, the Celtics made some headway last night.

But it was more interesting than appealing to see that the Celtics had a virtually all-Black lineup, along with a Black coach (increasingly a non-event in the NBA). That's still something I haven't really gotten used to. But I might. I might.