Neil Diamond on the Sidelines

Disclaimer: Balcony Gal can not be held responsible for any songs that stick in your head after the reading of this post.

No, no, turns out it's not really Neil Diamond. For a long time I thought it was. I remember last year, when my balcony seat was even higher up than it is now, I could look down and see this man who I just knew was Neil Diamond. I figured because the Cs weren't getting a lot of press no one talked about his presence. And last year I didn't bring my camera to zoom in on him at games so I was able to perpetuate my own fantasy that not only was he AT! EVERY! GAME! but he'd be Forever In Blue (black) Jeans. Certainly I could continue to imagine that, while I was in the stands above him, pregnant and ready to burst, he'd turn around and belt out Girl You'll be a Woman Soon. What can I say? I'm a Believer. That and I never saw him turn around.

Clearly, he's a believer too because, as I've since discovered, he really is AT! EVERY! GAME! I don't think, even in the darkest of Celtics times, he ever felt Love On the Rocks.

I also discovered, as I was purposely photographing him for this post, that he's not Neil Diamond. What? Was that a sad sigh I heard? A gasp of surprise? A chuckle from the men in the back who knew better all this time? Are some of you pointing and laughing at me? Just for that I'm going to say Song Sung Blue. There, get THAT out of your head.

I must say that he sure has my admiration. Not because he can afford to sit on the court but because he has chosen to sit there through thick and thin. I've come to call him The Man.

Other things I've noticed about The Man:
- The Man always wears black
- everyone hugs The Man
- you can see The Man's smile from the balcony
- The Man jumps up and down and claps and cheers and I'm sure he yells but I can't hear him

So to The Man, who we all know now is not Neil Diamond, I hope you are having the time of your life. I know I am and I'm WAY UP HERE.

On a semi-related note: last year there were a lot of children who got to sit in those seats down on the court. At the beginning of this season there were children who got to sit in those seats down on the court. Now it seems no one who sits in those seats on the court brings their children.

Just another observation from the Balcony.

Celtics and Cavs Part II

Or Gino's Back and Other Highlights

Yes, it's true. Gino is back. When there was 2:49 left in the 4th the Garden erupted to the American Bandstand sounds and sights of Gino and company. It felt nice. I don't know why Gino dissapeared but it's so nice to see his return.

My seat WAY UP HERE allows for some good photos (if the lighting is right, if I'm taking a shot of something right next to me, or if I let someone else take the shot). Since I like to use photos that I've taken you'll just have to put up with mine.

There are people that think Lucky is a lame mascot. I've even heard rumor that he's egotistic. But you have to give him credit: that boy can fly through the air with precision so you can't dispute his athleticism (that mean you). I'm trying really hard to keep from making comments about his tight little butt flying through the air.

Here are some shots of Paul doing what he does. His face can be so fierce.

I almost forgot a very important photo. For the back story just go here.

There will be more but for now this will have to do. I have to get to work on my next money making scheme to pay for my playoff tickets. I'm open to ideas...

Celtics and Cavs Part 1

There is a lot for me to touch on for this game so this will be coming in installments. And I don't even know where to start.

I guess starting with the first shot of the game would do. What do you notice? Thank goodness this shot didn't influence the game because 1) there was no Green under that net and 2) Paul missed. Oh, wait, Paul didn't pull down a lot of shots anyway.



The crowd going into this game was insane. The energy throughout the Garden was intense. Everywhere I turned I overheard people saying "playoff buzz." I'm not sure what that really means but I bought into it and, yes, it sure is a great buzz. Until it seems like there is no real challenge on the court and no one is doing anything pretty or fun or exciting and you get all caught up in your camera and learning all of its settings. Then not so much buzz. Someone get me some tequila.

Ohhhh, it doesn't help that I finally paid attention to where Greg Dickerson sits and I was so mesmerized by his twitching and grooming and trying to get good pictures of it from WAY UP HERE that I started to feel like I had a twitch of my own. And I kept getting itchy around the collar. There are fuzzy pictures that I will share later. When it's not the middle of the night.

For those of you who didn't start commuting to the game at 4:15 PM and weren't so into your loud music while relishing the fact that you didn't have to answer questions like, "Balcony Mummy, why do they sing I want to lick your hump?" then you missed the news and announcements about the Celtics newest acquisition. The viewers at home probably already knew that there had been a new teammate sitting on the bench in his lovely suit. Most people in the Garden had no idea. So when the announcer said, "Ladies and gentleman and rude people that sit behind Balcony Gal but are starting to behave, let's give a great Boston welcome (or something like that) to the newest Celtics player, Blhhh Blhhh Bldrahhhnnn," the crowd didn't exactly go wild.

Yes, it's true, Blhhh Blhhh Bldrahhhnnn is now a member of the Cs. I was so excited to hear this! Oh, I know most of you were taken by surprise but I had a premonition that Blhhh Blhhh Bldrahhhnnn would be here. I've ordered my Blhhh Blhhh Bldrahhhnnn jersey and it should be here tomorrow afternoon. I just hope the announcer was right. I hope he didn't mumble or slur or speak too close to the microphone. How embarrassed will I be to have the wrong jersey?

So the game itself wasn't very exciting. It was nice to see Delonte. It was nice to see that Wally still moves like his ankles aren't really a part of his body. It was nice to see KG moving like THE MAN again. Oh, and it was nice to see Scal in his warm ups and hitting the stationary bike like he was going to see action. And I've got pictures...

More Editorials

Yesterday's Boston Sunday Globe brought in more opinions about the Celtics Dancers. Again, I let you go see for yourself and make your own observations.

I think that if it's going to cause such a stir, and I'm sure it will *cough, cough*, then I won't become one of the dancers, no matter how much they beg and offer. I'll just have to figure out another way to pay for my playoff tickets.

I can't decide how I'm feeling about tonight's game. I was so glad to see a win last night but I'm mildly jilted. Don't misunderstand, I stand behind the boys in green, I just don't know if I can stay up so late to experience the excitement. These late games are torture the morning after being as 1) I'm not as young as I once was, 2) I have Balcony Children who like to get up at the crack of dawn and act all cheery, 3) they don't yet make coffee, 4) I have work responsibilities and 5) perhaps the most important, Balcony Guy prefers when I'm not a zombie. Not to mention my exercise endeavors suffer. After the third straight late-night loss this is what happened:

Clearly I won't be running any races in order to raise the necessary cash for my playoff tickets. Sigh.

Oh, you caught me. That's not Balcony Gal in that picture. I admit it came from here so go have yourself a good laugh.