Herald column

["Berry, Mark S" <berrym@BATTELLE.ORG>]

I thought this was interesting. I had to read it a couple of times to decide
if the guy was being serious or sarcastic. I finally decided I think he's
being serious in saying it's a good thing that the Celtics are "normal." I'd
be interested to find out what others think.

For what it's worth, the idea of the Celtics being "normal" is exactly what
I'm worried about. That's one thing I liked about Pitino. He didn't spend a
day on the job when he wasn't thinking about winning a championship. He went
about it poorly, but at least he had that as a goal. I'm scared to death the
Celtics now will become a member of the NBA pack, just staying the course,
never making any bold moves and being satisfied with what they have. Anyway,
here's the column:



Those in the new Celtics regime were quick to express their gratitude to the
disgraced if wealthy pariah who used to be their boss. 
Rick Pitino was the second person Jim O'Brien thanked yesterday for the
opportunity to be Boston's non-interim head coach, right after owner Paul
Gaston. The former team president and head coach made general manager Chris
Wallace's thanks list as well, and if director of player personnel Leo
Papile had made a formal acceptance speech of his new contract, he doubtless
would've mentioned Pitino. 
The thanks were merited. O'Brien had been Pitino's longtime assistant at
other jobs (``my mentor,'' O'Brien called him). Pitino put Wallace and
Papile in their jobs when he arrived in Boston four years ago. Without
Pitino, none of the three would've seen the inside of a Celtics office. 
But Pitino's been gone since January, while his chosen helpmates will stay
on to run the Celtics for at least the next three seasons. In the normal
course of events, when a coach or manager is dismissed, or leaves town one
step ahead of the lynch mob as Pitino did, those he hired are fired as soon
as possible. Nobody wants any trace of the previous failure on the premises,
the fans least of all. 
Pitino didn't merely fail, he ended up loathed for his mistakes, for his
personality, for everything. Yet retaining O'Brien, Wallace and Papile isn't
merely non-controversial, it's popular. The Celtics community wants
Pitinoism without Pitino. 
That's extraordinary. I can think of no equivalent situation in sports. The
closest analogy is the presidency of Gerald Ford, who enjoyed considerable
support just because he wasn't Richard Nixon. 
There's some of that in the acclaim for O'Brien. The Celtics did improve on
his interim watch for the final 48 games this year, but not as much as
people want to believe. They went 24-24 and had the playoffs in their grasp,
but they couldn't close the deal. That record doesn't usually make rehiring
a coach a no-brainer. 
Psychologically, it's easy to see why the new management troika is being
embraced. After the constant turmoil of the Pitino era, the C's most aching
need was for stability and a modicum of peace and quiet. Our long, regional
``if this is Tuesday, it must be Chris Mills'' nightmare is over. 
And while Wallace, O'Brien and Papile may share Pitino's ideas on the game,
their personas couldn't be more different than their former employer's. Put
it this way: None of the three has any immediate plans to write a
motivational self-help book. 
``This is a good group that doesn't think in terms of egos,'' Papile said.
``These aren't guys who yearn to see their name on Broadway in bright
lights.'' 
O'Brien, Wallace and Papile are hoop lifers, men who've worked in the game
wherever they could for little fortune and no fame, only the inner
satisfaction of doing what they love. The sport is full of their ilk. It
couldn't exist without them. 
The new Celtics bosses, in short, are normal basketball guys. That's what
makes their bosshood the most significant moment in franchise history since
the signing of Larry Bird. After years of terminal delusion, the Celtics
community, from Gaston down to my old friend Jamie in the $10 seats, is
willing to accept normality. 
He did nothing else, but at least Pitino got people here to wise up. The
Great Man theory of franchise rebuilding is dead, the victim of Pitino's
frantic, doomed tenure. 
There are no more ridiculous championship-driven expectations in Celticland,
no more wailing about Len Bias, or Reggie Lewis' contract eating cap room.
Fans will be happy if the Celts can be just another playoff team. They
accurately see that status as a distinct improvement. 
The loss of illusion marks the beginning of wisdom. O'Brien, Wallace and
Papile are the beneficiaries of the Celtics revolution of fallen
expectations. They're not expected to be saviors. They'll be judged by what
they accomplish, not by what Red Auerbach and Bill Russell did. 
Oddly enough, Pitino now has his wish. People have stopped waiting for the
next Larry Bird to walk through the Celtics' door.