by Rick Winterson
Late Sunday evening, January 20, the moon underwent a total lunar eclipse. Because the moon was at its closest point to the Earth when the eclipse went total, because it occurred in January when wolves bay in hunger, and because the eclipsed moon became a deep orange-red, this eclipse was called a “Super Wolf Blood Moon”.
Now, we are not superstitious – certainly not! But on Sunday, January 20, (the day of the eclipse) the Patriots won the AFC title, and then two weeks later, went on to win the NFL Super Bowl on Sunday, February 3. Did the mojo, the karma, or the blushing vibes from that eclipse influence this outcome? It was an outcome that firmly established the Patriots as an athletic dynasty. And it’s quite possible the Pats will repeat next year, garnering their seventh Super Bowl trophy.
There may be other possibilities for Boston’s teams. Perhaps it’s significant that the lunar eclipse at its totality resembled a sky-borne basketball more than anything else (see photos). Now, it’s the All-Star Break the in basketball’s NBA. In fact, the All-Star Break ends as you are reading this, and the Celts (37W-21L, .638) will play the real iron in the NBA tonight (Thursday, the 21st, 8 p.m.) – a road game at the NBA leading Milwaukee Bucks, who boast a 43W-14L (.771) record. Let’s see who wins!
In terms of dynasties, no Boston athletic team has ever matched the Celtics. Under Coach Arnold “Red” Auerbach, they copped nine (9) NBA titles. Led by players like Cousy, Russell, and John Havlicek, they ruled the NBA. As an aside, John Havlicek might have been the greatest Celtic of them all – he played in 1,270 games over 16 years, at both guard and forward. He was strong on defense (“Havlicek stole the ball!”). Most important, he holds the Celtics’ franchise scoring record at 26,395 points – and that was before (!) the current three-point era.
Well, that’s long ago, of course, but the Celts have been looking good for the last few years. They have competent management, superstars, various starting lineups, and a strong bench. Everybody contributes. Anyone who doesn’t may end up getting sent to the Pelicans to make room here for Anthony Davis.
And yes, there was a morale problem with the Celts a few games before the All-Star Break. As we mentioned, we aren’t superstitious. But if we were, perhaps we could blame that mini-slump on the General Electric downturn. As you know, GE became a Celtics sponsor when they first moved to Boston a couple of years ago. GE is now backing out. Anyhow, one of these days, the Celts will rule again! So, keep an eye on them.
This write-up in no way detracts from the huge 21st Century achievements of the Red Sox and the Patriots. Boston is (very) fortunate to have them as home teams. And by all means, follow the Bruins also. They have been playing well lately. They own 70+ points at this time, as do seven other top NHL teams. Only the Tampa Bay Lightning is soaring at 92 points (League-leading ice hockey? In balmy Tampa, Florida? How ‘bout them apples?). Here’s to dynasties. Maybe to four of them in Boston one of these days?
