Sports Nation

When we first got here, I have been wondering about the immense (almost fanatical) fascination about sports in this country.  Their fascination on sports is so great, it is almost comparable to my country's fascination of musical variety shows and telenovelas. :-)  It's a subject in watercooler stations, meeting ice-breakers and lunch break off-work discussion, whether to discuss the game or to have a friendly (and non-so-friendly) bantering.  It was part of the American culture that was so alien to me.

The only sport I have eagerly anticipated on my entire life is basketball.  In my country, despite the lack of appropriate height generally basketball is the official national sport.  It is the only sport I played and understood enough to watch. 

So I decided that if I wanted to contribute to any kind of discussion, I would have to join the sports bandwagon. I'd start off by looking at the NBA.  Because of  regional loyalties, that would mean I'd be cheering for the Boston Celtics.  It was no coincidence also that I'm rooting for a championship contender ever since the Big3 got together.

The Boston Celtics Big 3

Because I was bandwagon-ing,  I would only follow games during the playoffs or the finals.  This year though, was my awakening to this American obsession. What started with a live pre-season game (mostly to see Shaq in person), turned into an anticipation of every Celtic game in the regular season (that means three times a week at the very least).  On the days when there were no games, I found myself still watching games of other teams.  Then I found myself hating some teams more than others, read about the games in the internet, then came the interest in the personalities and active involvement in fan blogs communities.  

We watched the live pre-season game to see this guy

The Big 4

Not only did I come equipped with information during the watercooler discussions ... I came in with a strong opinion of what's going on and willing to go through the mostly unfriendly bantering, even with a mere stranger wearing yellow and purple (or red and black).  I guess the last straw was when I spent $160 ticket per person to bring my whole family to the playoff game against Miami Heat.  That's it...I've become a fanatic myself.  I used to be an observer...but now I've totally immersed and am totally locked-in on this side of the American culture.

The game at TD Garden

Aside from the C's, we like some more than the others

 Unfortunately, the Celtics were eliminated in the second round of playoffs this year.  But as I was watching the NBA finals, I was watching the Bruins win the Stanley cup on alternate days.  Yes, this girl is branching out.  Bring it on!!!!!

Tim T. of The Boston Bruins