Tuesday, September 29, 2009

The Blank Banner is Brilliant!



For the past two seasons the Celtics have successfully combined talent, teamwork, basketball I.Q. and toughness into a combined 128 regular season victories and a championship. What sometimes goes unnoticed in sports, specifically basketball is the psychology that goes into playing, coaching and team building.

When the Celtics went to Rome to during the pre-season in 2007 I thought it was a terrific way for that team made up of mostly guys that had never played together to build chemistry and bond as a unit on and off the court, and as we know that is exactly what happened. Ubuntu was the rallying cry all season which was more than just something you say before leaving the huddle, it is a belief, it is a philosophy and it was followed all year long.

This season the team has a new trick, a blank championship banner hanging next to the 2008 banner. It can be interpreted a few different ways:

-A blank canvas for the team to show their new body of work on.

-Coming up short last year means unfinished business lays ahead
which means nothing short of 2010 Champions will be acceptable.

-A daily visual reminder of why they do what they do, to win.

Whichever of these, or combination of these that motivated the Celtics to hang the blank banner doesn't really matter in comparison to the fact that this team is loaded, healthy and all business as we enter the 2009-2010 season.

The Coach couldn't be more excited as we are one month from opening tip.

The empty banner will prove to be brilliant as Ubuntu continues to be...

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