No Subject

["J. Mark Estepp" <esteppjm@conrad.appstate.edu>]

           By PETER VECSEY......           
Hunter's union could start a new league next season and
                    while they'd have more than enough talent to stage some
great competition, they'd lack
                    the essential ingredients that make the NBA a success:

                    History. Tradition. Teams like the Knicks and Celtics
that fans have followed for 52
                    years. Bitter and cherished rivalries that can't be
duplicated overnight or over the next
                    decade or two. Put new players in those old uniforms and
let them play in arenas like
                    Madison Square Garden or the United Center, or the
Palace, and watch how fast they catch
                    on. Watch how quickly fans will forget their old heroes
and start to emulate their new
                    ones.>>  clip, clip.

I don't often agree with the man, but he is right on the money here.   This
gets to the heart of the question about "what would we do if the Celtics
moved to PA, and "new" celtics came in to replace them?  We would simply
watch the Celtics (the Boston Celtics, the ONLY Celtics) players to see if
they became what being a  Celtic means.  I.E. do they hustle?  Are the team
players? Do they respect the tradition?  If they do, they become Celtics.
If they don't we look for them to leave, and new Celtics to come in.  This
is why, for example, Bruce Bowen is a Celtic and Greg Minor is not.  One has
the attributes, one does not.



Mark Estepp				704 262 3111
Appalachian State University			704 265 8696 (fax)
Esteppjm@AppState.edu