Maybe I'm out of touch being in Boston, but I don't remember Pistons fans caring about the Celtics when I was in the Midwest. It definitely seems like Celtics fans still HATE the Pistons still. Ben and I went to see the Pistons play the Celtics last Wednesday and they were really pushing the old rivalry during the pre-game. We had awesome seats about 20 rows off the court right by the tunnel the visiting team used to enter the court (about 1/3 the way up Sec 4).
After getting stuck in a snow storm in Seattle Tuesday night and making it to Boston at 4AM Wednesday, the Pistons weren't really with it the first quarter. It wasn't a factor of the defense, they just couldn't make a basket to save their life. In the end they made it a great second half, and most of the fourth quarter the Celtics fans were noticeably less rude to Tayshaun and crew. In the end the fouls made the final score lopsided but it was an exciting second half.
I expected the one sided cheering where a good call against the home team is a "bad" call; I even expected a little ribbing since Ben and I wore Detroit gear, but the fans were extremely rude to the players. The fans eagerly booed the Pistons before the game even started, taunted Wallace and Billups throughout the second half, jeered the Pistons for playing "D League" players, and even made fun of Flip Saunder's mullet. I won't argue his hair seems a little date but I'm pretty sure that isn't a mullet.
The "D League" player was Dixon who hit a shot immediately after the fans made fun of his "D League" status (that was pretty cool).
Tayshaun didn't have a stellar game, but he had a few huge plays during the comeback to tie the game. He did manage to score
28 points the following game though so I guess he needs sleep to perform at his normal level of awesomeness. The Pistons were playing their bench and playing around with match-ups most of the game so I don't think they're too concerned about beating the Celtics at this point since they slot for the playoff is guaranteed.
Ben and I took
the T to the arena from Wellington to North Station since parking was limited at the arena, and it was actually cheaper to park at the station and pay for 2 roundtrips than it was to park at the arena. Ben was paranoid about using the T so he talked to some people in his office and took notes. When we parked I glanced at his post-it note and headed for the station. After we bought our tickets I noticed Ben kept taking off his cap and putting it back on. When I asked him what was wrong he said he was checking his notes. Yeah, he took that note I had memorized in 5 seconds, put it inside his hat, and kept taking off his hat to compare it to the signs we were following. What a dork! :)
After we found our seats and watched some of the Pistons shoot around we went to wander around and find some food. As we walked by one booth Ben said, "They have a place that sells deli sandwiches. That's kind of cool." I glanced over and immediately recognized the deli meat as something else. In his defense the freshly mixed Italian ice cream did kind of have an appearance of slices of meat laid out on a tray, but it didn't take more than a glance to figure out that the roast beef was actually chocolate. At least Ben found my quick response of, "That's gelato, idiot," amusing.
It was a great game and Ben provided enough side entertainment to make up for the loss.
