missingchicklet
Registered User
- Jan 24, 2010
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Bill's final game as a player and coach.
INGLEWOOD, Calif. -- In 1969, the Boston Celtics won the seventh game of the championship series at the Forum, where thousands of celebratory balloons were held in nets high overhead. Red Auerbach said Saturday the Lakers' assumption of victory gave the Celtics extra incentive.
'I noticed them when I walked in,' he said. 'I was doing the color (commentary on television). After we won, I asked, 'What is Jack Kent Cooke going to do with all those damn balloons?' What they did was make the biggest mistake you could make in sports.
'They had a mimeographed sheet and they gave it out to everybody; we all got a copy of it. It said, 'After the Lakers win, this player should go here and that player should go there and the balloons will be released from the four corners of the building.' And it all backfired.'
Thanks for posting the video. Never gets old. Classic Russell -- huge infectious smile, giving all the credit to his teammates. Also great to see Havlicek. You can tell in the post-game interview how much love he and Russell had for each other. Russell retired about the time I was born, but of course I knew all about him since he was still talked about a lot in the 70s in Boston. Hearing about Russell's legendary feats and watching Havlicek are the reasons I became a massive Celtics fan as a kid growing up in Boston. And of course the 1980s Celtics teams were pure magic for me as a kid/teenager. Reflecting on things, it's amazing to think about what Russell helped establish in terms of Boston sports culture and success down the road.