The Legend Himself
“Tweeet.” The whistle blows. Play stops. “AAaank.” The buzzer sounds. Surrounded by thousands of rising fans, I rise to my feet in anticipation. “Brian Scalabrine replaces Kevin Garnett,” the PA announcer says in his hoarse voice. Collectively, as the Celtics fan base, we cheer, scream at the top of our lungs, and clap our hands as loud as possible—we are giving a standing ovation. All in attempt in display our love and affection to the player entering the game.
Celtics fans have been blessed with the opportunity to witness greats like Bob Cousy and Bill Russell in the late 1950’s and 60’s, to the big three of Larry Bird, Robert Parish, and Kevin Mchale of the 1980’s, to current-day stars like Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett. The Celtics have always had their share of stars—all of whom have brought the city of Boston a world championship. Brian Scalabrine, despite being on a championship winning Celtics team, is a star like no other.
The difference between Brian Scalabrine from other cherished players is simple: Relative to the rest of the NBA, Brian Scalabrine is not good at basketball. From a basketball point view, he isn’t special whatsoever. In fact, many basketball analysts, critics, and fans have said that he “is the worst player in NBA history.” It is very understandable for them to think that way. Scalabrine is not very athletic. He is not quick. He looks out of shape. He does not have spectacular skills in shooting, rebounding, passing, defense. Yet year after year he remains in the association, impacting Celtics fans in ways no one ever has before.
Although Scalabrine is certainly not cherished because of his basketball skills, there is no doubt that he is a fan favorite to Celtics fans. When Scalabrine gets in the game, Celtics fans’ eyes lock in on his every step, hoping he’ll do something special. Usually sitting outside the three point arc, we beg for his teammates to pass him the ball. When he gets the ball, numerous fans from the nosebleeds shout “Shoot It! Shoot It!” as everyone leans a few inches forward in their seats, hoping he does. Most of the time, he defers by passing it back to a teammate.
But when he does shoot… the atmosphere of the TD Garden reaches a level that is unmatchable, even in the closing seconds of a tied game. He gets the ball. We lean further forward in our seat and hold our mouths open. He starts his jump. We slowly rise from our seats. He releases the ball. Our eyes open wide, our hands put up in the air, our voices collaboratively fill the arena with the ascending “auhhhhhh” sound, building up the suspense for the shot. Then, one of two things happens.
(a) The shot misses, clanking off the rim. The voice filling the arena simultaneously shifts from the “auhhhhhh” to “awwwwww,” as we snap our fingers and reseat ourselves in disappointment, thinking “if only that had gone in…” and hoping that he gets another chance before the end of the night.
(b) The shot falls, swishing through the net. The voice of the arena shifts from “auhhhhh” to a much louder “YEAHHHHHHH!!!!!” “Brian Scalabrine for threeee” says the PA announcer as we remain standing, cheer, clap our hands, and high five our drunken neighbor spectators in signs of joyous group celebration and approval.
Ok. So Scalabrine can make a shot every once in a while in a meaningless moment where the game has already been decided. Probably about 70-80 percent of the players in the league can make the occasion three pointer in mop-up time. Yet we still go crazy when he makes it. Why do we go crazy? If Brian Scalabrine is not loved because of unique basketball skills, why is he loved? Perhaps his personality? His veteran leadership? His relatablity? A few more facts about Scalabrine. He’s white. He has red hair.
Fans might like him because of his charming attitude on and off the court and as a person in general. Scalabrine is a spectacular teammate, a well-seasoned veteran. Even though he has proven that he has a high basketball IQ by making smart decisions on the court, that he can occasionally hit three pointers, and that he can play above average perimeter defense, he understands that his role on the team is as emotional leader that subs into the game when a teammate needs rest or is injured. Despite playing sparingly in meaningful games, he has never openly complained about his role. Willing to “take one for the team,” he is vocal and opinionated, always trying to make his team better. He is regularly seen teaching his knowledge to younger teammates. He is the first one cheering off of the bench after timeouts, always clapping his hands, giving high fives and fist pounds, or giving chest bumps to teammates who are in the game, bringing the Celtics necessary enthusiasm and support on a daily basis.
Off the court, Scalabrine has an even stronger resume for being well-liked. His appearances following games on press conferences and sports TV and radio shows display his classy, funny, laid-back personality. In press conferences following the Celtics’ NBA championship in 2008, he joked and overemphasized about how he was a main reason the Celtics were world champions despite not playing a single minute in the NBA finals. On a local TV show, he joked about how in fifty years, his 1.8 points per game and 1.6 rebounds per game during that championship season would be remembered as 18 points and 16 rebounds per game, as the periods would smudge, resulting in him telling his grandchildren he was an MVP. His appearances on talk shows and press conferences can easily be found on Youtube, next to clips including his highlight tapes consisting of mediocre dunks and rebounds, parodies of commericials made for legends like Michael Jordan, and even video clips of him in an unofficial dance contest, resulting in a victory by showing of his mastery of the moonwalk.
If only Scalabrine was on the cover of NBA 2K10...
There is no denying the fact that race contributes to Scalabrine’s unusual likeability. About 75% of the American population today is Caucasian. In the National Basketball Association, only about 7-10 percent of players are American-born Caucasians. The region of New England is one of the least racially diverse regions in the country and has a greater ratio of Caucasian to non-Caucasian population ratio than the general U.S. The Boston Celtics, whose mascot is “Lucky the Leprechaun,” is a stereotypical name for a basketball team that associates itself with Boston’s Irish population and history. Many fans and professional athletes alike, including Major League Baseball’s career home-run leader Barry Bonds, have claimed that Boston is one of the most racist cities in the country. Brian Scalabrine is the only white player on the Boston Celtics. Is this all just one big coincidence?
If race is the main reason we love Brian Scalabrine does that mean that we don’t really love him at all? That we only “love” him because he’s that token white guy on the bench that looks like an oversized leprechaun and not because he is Brian Scalabrine? Does that mean that all of the standing ovations, the “SCAL-uh-BREE-nee” chants, the “SCAL will you marry me?” signs, the Youtube videos, etc. we have created for him are nothing of true value towards the love of Scalabrine and just a mockery of him because he’s white? Is this all just one big joke, one big parody that no one takes seriously? After all, some fans have gone lengths to be quoted saying that “Scalabrine is more of a team mascot than an actual player for the Celtics.” Is this just another example of us Americans being racist pigs showing that we have still not fully overcome slavery and the civil rights movement and that there is still extreme levels of racism in the United States, despite its status as the most diverse country in the world?
Brian Scalabrine is not dumb. He realizes the difference between perception and reality. There is no doubt in his mind that many of his fans like him because he is that token ginger-haired white guy and not because of his basketball skills and all the hard work he has put into his profession. He understands that if he was an African-American it would be very unlikely that he would have any sort of extra attention and fame. One time, when asked to complete the sentence “As long as [The Celtics] have Brian Scalabrine they will…” Scalabrine answered confidently “always have a white dude on their team.” He knows the truth. And he accepts it. Just like he knows his role as a player on the Celtics, he knows his role as a public figure in Boston. The truth is that Brian Scalabrine is the only white dude on the Celtics.
Although race certainly is a part of Scalabrine’s praise, it isn’t the sole reason. It is in Scalabrine’s power to determine whether or not he wants the special attention. In fact, he draws his own attention and praise. After all, the Celtics have had many other token American white guys on their team in the past decade. They’ve even had white guys that started games and made significant contributions on the stat sheet. But none of them have received even a fraction of the praise that Scalabrine gets. So there has to be something else.
The thing that truly makes Scalabrine a special player is his relatability. Yes, he is white. But it is much more than that. Unlike other white guys in the NBA, who clearly look like athletic freaks of nature, Scalabrine looks more like our middle aged neighbor sitting on the couch than an NBA player.” He cheers at Celtics games just as much as we do. He doesn’t act like an star athlete. He’s not arrogant, not cocky. If you met him (other than the fact he is 6’9”), you’d think was more of a Celtics fan than an actual Celtics player.
Just picked this guy up in the mail!
And that might just be the reason why Celtics fans love him so much. Scalabrine is the classic underdog story. He’s the guy that doesn’t belong in the NBA. But year after year, he sticks around. The average Celtics fan is not a player in the NBA. The average Celtics fan played basketball when he was younger, only to learn that he was unable to continue his basketball career because he was too slow, too unathletic, not skilled, not very coordinated. The average Celtics fan is that middle aged average guy that loves sports but just isn’t good enough to play them professionally, so he sits in the stands. Brian Scalabrine is the closest thing to the average Celtics fan actually in the game.
Celtics fans see themselves in Brian Scalabrine. He’s just that average dude that made it to the pros, the freakishly athletic black man’s game, making $3.4 million a year. From our point of view, Brian Scalabrine is an outlier. He’s one of us and he plays for our beloved team, for our beloved city. He brings us closer together as one big community. Maybe we do like him because he’s that token white ginger who looks more like the average Irish white guy than a professional basketball player. Whatever. It doesn’t matter.
The last Celtics game I went to, which was a few weeks ago, one fan’s shirt caught my attention as he was shown on the jumbotron at the TD Garden. It was the Barrack Obama “HOPE” shirt, but instead of Obama’s face submerged in red, white and blue, it displayed Scalabrine’s face submerged in the Celtics’ green,white and yellow. If Brian Scalabrine can make it to the NBA, we can do anything, right?
"SCAL-uh-BREE-nee!!! Clap. Clap. Clap Clap Clap. SCAL-uh-BREE-nee!!! Clap. Clap. Clap Clap Clap.” We lean further forward in our seats. He has the ball. Our mouths start to open. He starts his jump. We slowly rise from our seats. The ball is released from his hand. “Auhhhhhh…” Our eyes open wide, our hands put up in the air.
“YEAHHHHH!!!!! We all scream and high-five each other as the ball swishes through the net. Maybe it’s because he’s funny, maybe because it’s because he gives us hope, maybe it’s because he’s white and looks like a big leprechaun. It doesn’t matter. We cheer for Brian Scalabrine. His success makes us happy. He gives us another reason to come out to the game. Brian Scalabrine will only be around a few more years. Might as well enjoy the ride.
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