I recognize that I was born under a ridiculously good sign.
Indeed, whenever the proverbial pile of bricks finally does get dropped on my head, I won’t have much in the way of complaints about how fully I lived my life. Keeping these things in mind, please stand by for a posting that is long, completely self-indulgent and utterly uninteresting if you have zero interest in Boston sports (and if this is the case, I am very sad for you).
One of the oldest cities in the world never fails to bring out the kid in me. I am always in awe of the everyday history that is the embodiment of Boston.
My favorite area in Boston? That’s kind of an easy question; most good things revolve around this very spot.
You’ve got the North End right behind you (and oh yes, I did buy packages of fresh chocolate fettuccine, pumpkin gnocchi and a hunk of Gorgonzola).
If I’m in the North End, I might as well join the crush of cannoli-starved patrons at Mike’s Pastry. I love their dipped almond biscotti- but a lot of ricotta pies were flying out the door yesterday. Really, who actually likes ricotta pie? Especially when there are far more worthy sugar bombs with which to slay your waistline….
Oh yes, they sold lots of these too.
But I haven’t just been eating during my time in Boston, although I’ve done a fair job of achieving this goal as well. We happen to be in the middle of a great year for Boston sports, which means I’ve got to carpe diem and catch some of the action during this short home stand.
First up, a Celtics game- courtesy of my excellent sister and brother-in-law.
Boston Garden, night one. We were just getting warmed up.
I don’t pretend to be a very knowledgeable NBA person, but I find watching these games undeniably entertaining. Rory (the superfan) walked me through KG’s pre-game ritual-gesticulating, using colorful language…..he’s great to watch!
I know that this scores high on the “duh” factor, but in person I must say that Shaq really is a big guy.
I may have left my Rondo jersey in Dakar, but I did manage to buy a new bottle of nail polish while in DC. I think I did a good job of showing off my Celtics spirit (along with a loaner Celtics t-shirt)!
So, I really did have a complete Boston sports experience- Big Papi was at this game, as well as defensive lineman Vince WIlfork (Rory’s sharp eye was good at picking out all of the notable personalities attending the evening’s match-up).
As you might be able to tell from my in-depth review, the Celtics did not play a fantastic game – even though they did squeak by the 76ers with a win. This didn’t bother me too much (hey, I’m a hockey fan), mainly because this was only my first day back in the city and I was just excited to be in the Garden.
Visitation rights are generous during this leave period. I would still get to enjoy more quality Garden time.
And this time I would be surrounded with my kinda peeps.
Night two brought my brother and dad into the city to join me, my sister and brother-in-law to watch the Bruins face off against the Thrashers. I got these tickets off of eBay a couple of months earlier, and pickings were slim since it was the only home game on the schedule while I was in town. It took several attempts to procure any tickets (the first time I tried, the sale was rejected because no one believed someone in Africa was really trying to get tickets). After some perseverance and phone calls, I finally got some decent seats in the loge.
I’d like to think Rene was singing to me….he’s awesome!
The
last Bruins game that I had been to was almost a year ago, and it still remains the highlight of 2010. When I got to my seat in the Garden this time, I told this to the woman sitting next to me. “What took you so long?” she asked half-sarcastically, and I gave her my “I live in Africa” excuse. She agreed that this was a passable excuse, and said that the Winter Classic was also the last game that she and her husband had attended. Nice coincidence- they also must have had a good hookup to have scored tickets to New Year’s Day at Fenway Park.
Me and Dad watching the warm up skate. It’s nice to get there early!
My sister and brother-in-law, the Celtics superfans (note their efforts to be decked out in black and gold).
Behold the goalie in his natural habitat.
As soon as the puck dropped, my brother didn’t hesitate to start in on heckling his favorite player and Bruins captain, Zdeno Chara. I had to apologize to the nice couple next to me, “You’ll have to excuse my brother, he’s a goalie.”
Two seconds later, this happened:
Shawn Thornton got the crowd going early! It’s good to be back watching live hockey!
No big surprises here, even Santa is a Bruins fan!
The game has great momentum, and even though the B’s are not yet losing, my brother continues his tirade against Chara’s defensive skills. The woman to my left leans over asks me, “Your brother is a goalie?”
Me: “Yes, he is kind of opinionated.”
Her: “My son is number 22” she says casually, motioning towards the ice.
I stop and look at her. “Number 22- down there- playing for the Bruins?” I ask, doing a double-take.
She nods her head. I do a quick look at the program and realize that I am sitting next to Shawn Thornton’s parents- the guy who started this game off with a fight! What are the chances? These people are great to talk to- we banter about Harleys, the military and hockey. They have been married for over forty years, and they are without a doubt the coolest hockey parents I have shared seats with. Oh and his son’s playing a good game for his parents who happen to be in town from Canada.
Me and Shawn Thornton’s parents. His mom is from Belfast, so we got along famously. I have a standing invitation to look them up if I am ever in Oshawa.
So I don’t know the guy, but Shawn
made a good showing for his parents (and me!). I asked his folks as they were leaving to tell their son that he helped to make my Christmas special.
Heck, bring on those bricks, because the amount of times that I have been able to spend the holidays with the people I care about most, doing the things that I love the most have been more than my fair share. Everybody should be as lucky as me to have so many days like these.
I hope that you too get a slice of your own individual paradise this holiday season.
