Post by Deleted on May 31, 2006 16:48:36 GMT -5
HEXED….Again??
You don’t have to tell the loyal members of Celtics Nation that they are fans of one the most successful organizations in all of sports. You also don’t have to tell Celtics Nation that a 20 year layer of dust has collected on their last NBA Championship trophy. Is it possible that we have come to live in an era that has seen Beantown shed the “Curse of the Bambino” and the Dynastic Patriots only to be shackled with some other mystical obstacle? While I don’t necessarily subscribe to such notions you can’t ignore history. Considering the tragedy and misfortune that has plagued the Celtics organization over the last 20 years, one has to wonder if the Celtics have become a cursed organization.
In 1986 the novelty of celebrating their 16th championship had yet to wear off when the Boston Celtics managed to draft one of the greatest college players of his time. On June 18, 1986 Len Bias was celebrating being the 2nd overall pick in the NBA draft and he was going to the defending world champions. Unlike many of his contemporaries drafted in that spot he would not have to endure the hardships of a team that had done so poorly, their record merited the 2nd overall pick.
No doubt he was relishing the thought of playing next to 3 future hall of famers. He was no doubt looking forward to the first time he heard his name announced over the PA in the historic Boston Garden. The entire Celtics organization, as well as the sporting world, viewed the Len Bias acquisition as the move that would keep Boston at the pinnacle of basketball success for the next 10 years.
Sadly Len Bias would never play a game in the Boston Garden, he would never know the drama of playing against the Lakers in one of the greatest sports rivalries of its time, and he would never know the honor of wearing one of the greatest uniforms in all of sports. A mere 48 hours after selecting Len Bias with the second overall pick in the NBA Draft, the Celtics learned that Len Bias was dead. In the days, weeks and months to follow there would be much speculation about the life and subsequent death of Len Bias with more questions than answers. To this day we know only a few things, Len Bias, an otherwise healthy athlete with no known cardiac history or known history of drug use (he had a physical that included a urinalysis that tested for drugs, including cocaine, on May 27 of that year which came up negative), died due to cardiac arrhythmia that was the product of cocaine use. The Celtics future face of the franchise was dead.
The next year Boston’s first pick didn’t come until 21 other selections were made. Yet the Celtics managed to find gold in their own back yard when they selected Reggie Lewis out of Northeastern University with the 22nd pick of the draft. Reggie Lewis may have missed most of his first season due to injury but his gregarious personality and infectious smile helped heal the wounds left by the wake of the Len Bias tragedy. Reggie Lewis averaged 18.5 ppg in his sophomore season and never looked back. Once again Celtics nation had reason to believe that banner 17 would soon be hanging from the rafters.
On July 27, 1993 Donna Lewis received a phone call from sportscaster and family friend Jimmy Myers. Donna was bursting to share her amazing news and couldn’t wait to tell him that she was 10 weeks pregnant. After hearing news that should have been cause for celebration, Jimmy informed Mrs. Lewis that her husband had collapsed. The news to follow was as saddening as it was shocking, Reggie Lewis was dead at the age of 27.
Often times it’s only after such an agonizing tragedy has taken place do we see the past warning signs. Just four months prior to his fatal collapse Reggie Lewis had complained of dizziness; one month later, Reggie collapsed on the parquet floor during the first quarter of game 1 of the playoffs against the then rival Charlotte Hornets. The Celtics assembled a “Dream Team” of cardiologists to run a battery of tests on the Celtic’s star. Their findings were ominous. They determined that Reggie Lewis suffered from ventricular tachycardia, the most dangerous form of arrhythmia. Reggie sought out a second opinion from the now infamous Dr. Mudge. Dr. Mudge discounted the 12 member Dream Team’s findings in favor of a much less severe diagnosis of neurocardiogenic syncope (or benign fainting spells). Reggie disregarded the Dream Team’s findings in favor of Dr. Mudge’s non-life threatening diagnosis; a decision that proved to be fatal.
No other team in the NBA has lost two such seemingly young, franchise type, players in such a short time. While death may not convince you a dark shroud is hanging over the Celtics organization perhaps the 1997 draft will. Just 4 Years after the tragic death of Celtics Captain Reggie Lewis, the Celtics found themselves in the best statistical position to possess the first overall pick of the draft. The Celtics had 200 ping-pong balls in the hopper, 43 more than the next closest San Antonio Spurs . . . . We all know how that turned out. The Spurs drafted Tim Duncan and went on to win championships while the Celtics have rebuilt… and rebuilt….. and rebuilt.
I am by no means making light of the tragedies suffered by the families, friends, fans and colleagues of Reggie Lewis and Len Bias. Perhaps the idea of a hex allows the aftermath of tragedies and misfortune palatable. Perhaps a curse is just a way of looking for one thing to blame instead of looking at a myriad of odd occurrences and chalking it up to chance; but is it possible that perhaps the Boston sports fandom now has a new curse in town?
--Fin
You don’t have to tell the loyal members of Celtics Nation that they are fans of one the most successful organizations in all of sports. You also don’t have to tell Celtics Nation that a 20 year layer of dust has collected on their last NBA Championship trophy. Is it possible that we have come to live in an era that has seen Beantown shed the “Curse of the Bambino” and the Dynastic Patriots only to be shackled with some other mystical obstacle? While I don’t necessarily subscribe to such notions you can’t ignore history. Considering the tragedy and misfortune that has plagued the Celtics organization over the last 20 years, one has to wonder if the Celtics have become a cursed organization.
In 1986 the novelty of celebrating their 16th championship had yet to wear off when the Boston Celtics managed to draft one of the greatest college players of his time. On June 18, 1986 Len Bias was celebrating being the 2nd overall pick in the NBA draft and he was going to the defending world champions. Unlike many of his contemporaries drafted in that spot he would not have to endure the hardships of a team that had done so poorly, their record merited the 2nd overall pick.
No doubt he was relishing the thought of playing next to 3 future hall of famers. He was no doubt looking forward to the first time he heard his name announced over the PA in the historic Boston Garden. The entire Celtics organization, as well as the sporting world, viewed the Len Bias acquisition as the move that would keep Boston at the pinnacle of basketball success for the next 10 years.
Sadly Len Bias would never play a game in the Boston Garden, he would never know the drama of playing against the Lakers in one of the greatest sports rivalries of its time, and he would never know the honor of wearing one of the greatest uniforms in all of sports. A mere 48 hours after selecting Len Bias with the second overall pick in the NBA Draft, the Celtics learned that Len Bias was dead. In the days, weeks and months to follow there would be much speculation about the life and subsequent death of Len Bias with more questions than answers. To this day we know only a few things, Len Bias, an otherwise healthy athlete with no known cardiac history or known history of drug use (he had a physical that included a urinalysis that tested for drugs, including cocaine, on May 27 of that year which came up negative), died due to cardiac arrhythmia that was the product of cocaine use. The Celtics future face of the franchise was dead.
The next year Boston’s first pick didn’t come until 21 other selections were made. Yet the Celtics managed to find gold in their own back yard when they selected Reggie Lewis out of Northeastern University with the 22nd pick of the draft. Reggie Lewis may have missed most of his first season due to injury but his gregarious personality and infectious smile helped heal the wounds left by the wake of the Len Bias tragedy. Reggie Lewis averaged 18.5 ppg in his sophomore season and never looked back. Once again Celtics nation had reason to believe that banner 17 would soon be hanging from the rafters.
On July 27, 1993 Donna Lewis received a phone call from sportscaster and family friend Jimmy Myers. Donna was bursting to share her amazing news and couldn’t wait to tell him that she was 10 weeks pregnant. After hearing news that should have been cause for celebration, Jimmy informed Mrs. Lewis that her husband had collapsed. The news to follow was as saddening as it was shocking, Reggie Lewis was dead at the age of 27.
Often times it’s only after such an agonizing tragedy has taken place do we see the past warning signs. Just four months prior to his fatal collapse Reggie Lewis had complained of dizziness; one month later, Reggie collapsed on the parquet floor during the first quarter of game 1 of the playoffs against the then rival Charlotte Hornets. The Celtics assembled a “Dream Team” of cardiologists to run a battery of tests on the Celtic’s star. Their findings were ominous. They determined that Reggie Lewis suffered from ventricular tachycardia, the most dangerous form of arrhythmia. Reggie sought out a second opinion from the now infamous Dr. Mudge. Dr. Mudge discounted the 12 member Dream Team’s findings in favor of a much less severe diagnosis of neurocardiogenic syncope (or benign fainting spells). Reggie disregarded the Dream Team’s findings in favor of Dr. Mudge’s non-life threatening diagnosis; a decision that proved to be fatal.
No other team in the NBA has lost two such seemingly young, franchise type, players in such a short time. While death may not convince you a dark shroud is hanging over the Celtics organization perhaps the 1997 draft will. Just 4 Years after the tragic death of Celtics Captain Reggie Lewis, the Celtics found themselves in the best statistical position to possess the first overall pick of the draft. The Celtics had 200 ping-pong balls in the hopper, 43 more than the next closest San Antonio Spurs . . . . We all know how that turned out. The Spurs drafted Tim Duncan and went on to win championships while the Celtics have rebuilt… and rebuilt….. and rebuilt.
I am by no means making light of the tragedies suffered by the families, friends, fans and colleagues of Reggie Lewis and Len Bias. Perhaps the idea of a hex allows the aftermath of tragedies and misfortune palatable. Perhaps a curse is just a way of looking for one thing to blame instead of looking at a myriad of odd occurrences and chalking it up to chance; but is it possible that perhaps the Boston sports fandom now has a new curse in town?
--Fin