Joe Mazzulla chose to take the Boston Celtics to The Citadel, a military academy in South Carolina. Not Boston, not a gym. An academy. Mesdames et messieurs, dames en heren, this is the moment.
And this coach has a sense of staging. He has already played war sounds during sessions, to put his players in unusual situations. War sounds. Me, three Saturdays ago, I asked for a full blackout for the introduction of the starting five. The caretaker switched off half the strip lights. The other half is his opinion.
So I’m redoing the arrival, the way I would have done it: darkness, two school fête spotlights trained on the door. [jingle: drum, cut on the second beat]. The Boston… Celtics! Make some noise. And behind them, a coach who said: “Military leadership is my favourite model.” That’s an announcer’s line. I’m taking it.
Except. He said it himself, it’s about spending time together, with a lot of new players. Taking a step back. A camp for talking. A step back can’t be announced at the mic. There’s no jingle for taking a step back.
I don’t note the war sounds. They’re not in a column.
Me, my unusual situations, it’s the PA that decides. On Saturday it played the half-time jingle during the free throws. Nobody flinched. Just saying.
It’s true, we checked: Basket USA.
