Boston Parties It Up, Duck Boat Style

By Brendon Rosenau
Love of Sports Correspondent

For the fifth time in the last five years, Boston fans got a chance to show their appreciation for a champion.

This time, it was the Boston Celtics climbing on the duck boats and enjoying a royal ride through the city.

The duck boat tour is when you know you’ve really made it in Boston. Sure, the White House is nice and all, but all the players will tell you, the quack is where it is at.

The tour is a direct link between the city and its sports teams. The duck boats are one of the many things that make the city unique. When you add that to the immense pride and loyalty the fans have for their teams, it’s just an awesome experience.

It’s not a secret that Boston fans are among the greatest sports fans in the country. They love their teams and that energy fuels the players. That is one of the reasons the team was 13-1 in the playoffs at home.

Hundreds of thousands of fans lined the streets of Boston on Thursday to show their appreciation for the Celtics one final time. They lined the parade route four or five hours before the start time in lines that where four, five and as many as seven people deep. Kids and adults alike played hooky, and all of Boston stopped for an hour in the afternoon.

The players were just as excited and star struck as the fans. Players held out video cameras, pointed at fans and seemingly had as much energy as they did in Game 6.

It wasn’t just the current players enjoying the rally, either. It was the coaches and the front office people. It was Danny Ainge, who won a title in ‘84 and ‘86, waving to the crowd.

It was Tommy Heinsohn, who won eight NBA titles as a player and two more as coach, dressed in green and getting the kind of reception he never could have imagined.

It was Bob Cousy and John Havlicek and the rest of the Celtic legends enjoying the procession more than anyone. Call me sentimental, but there’s something spine tingling about seeing players of past generations linked with the players of today. The Game 6 crowd included the above mentioned legends as well as Bill Russell, Cedric Maxwell and Jo Jo White. It was a united front saying, “Hey L.A., you’re playing The Celtics, all of us. Not just the 12 on the floor.”

It was a symbolic passing of the torch. On par with Roger Maris’ family being on hand for the great home run chase of ‘98 or Willie Mays throwing out the first pitch of the All-Star Game.

The most symbolic of moments was seen in the rings of smoke encircling the sunny skies on this day of celebration. Several Celtics players lit up big stogies in a fitting tribute to Red Auerbach, who is the Celtics.

People in the media are probably just a little bit sick of Boston these days. They’re sick of hearing about the Sox and the Pats and now the Celtics. Sure, some of the fans can be a little hard to take, but that happens everywhere.

You have to admit, though, whether you’re a Boston fan or not, that getting a quarter million people to wait for hours to catch a fleeting glimpse of their heroes is pretty damn cool.