A Celtic on the court, in the booth

By Justin Termine Sports Central Columnist

These men are the voices of my childhood. They have been there with me through the good and the bad, helped me understand sports, and their comments in certain situations have stuck with me for life.

These men are all very special to me, and I shared memories with them as we sat alone, just enjoying the game. I hold a special place in my heart for all of these voices, but there is one that speaks louder than the rest -- Boston Celtics' color commentator Tommy Heinsohn.

It is odd that I feel this way about Heinsohn. He doesn't possess any catch phrases similar to John Sterling ("The Yankees win, the Yankees win!"), he wasn't blessed with vocal cords comparable to Marv Albert ("Yes!"), and he certainly can't compete with the vernacular of Bob Costas.

There is something peculiar that makes Heinsohn appealing. In this day when the people who cover games are beginning to form egos only bettered by those who play them, everyday fans connect with the modest Heinsohn.

He does not try to impress us with his vast lexicon; he's a straight shooter, never lies to the viewer, and a Celtics fan first and foremost -- Celtics first, broadcast second. He's what they call in the business a "homer."

I'm such a homer in regards to Heinsohn that he is the one broadcaster I will watch to hear what he has to say, even if I'm not really interested in the game. I don't care what the score is or how far out of first place the Celtics are; if Heinsohn is behind the microphone, I will listen intently.

It has been the same way for Boston Celtics fans for 21 years. On Nov. 11, a home game against the Utah Jazz, Heinsohn and his broadcast partner, Mike Gorman, were honored for their 1,000th Boston Celtics broadcast. The tandem began its partnership in 1981, has since overseen two championships, and is on its way to becoming the longest active running broadcast team in the nation.

This generation of Celtics fans do not remember Heinsohn for his patented hook or the 13 championships he won as both a player and coach. Instead, he is seen as the crazy guy with a microphone that hates officials and "loves Wahlta (McCarty)."

In saying this, I would like to share with you a couple fond memories I have shared with Heinsohn, Gorman, and many other members of the Boston Celtics fan base.

My first memory of the craziness comes from 1987, which marked the beginning of an era. In the '87 Eastern Conference Finals against the Pistons, the one when Larry Bird stole the ball, something else happened, too. During the series, Robert "Chief" Parish just decided to land a couple of lefts and rights on Bill Lambier.

In what was clearly a round of predetermined uppercuts, Heinsohn, color commentator for CBS Sports at the time, yelled out, "Oh, Lambier clearly just ran into Parish's hand, what a dirty player!" Heinsohn was clearly allowing his allegiance to the Celtics skew his vision. It was something we would get used to, and it's why he wasn't at CBS much longer.

Jump ahead to opening night, 1997. In the first game of head coach Rick Pitino's first year, the Celtics proceeded to defeat Michael Jordan and the Bulls. This was a rarity, and despite the win, Heinsohn was all over the officials for giving Jordan the benefit of every call. Throughout the night, he sarcastically blurted out, "Don't touch Michael, oh is the little boy hurt, must be a foul."

At one point in the game, Heinsohn had seen enough. Late in the fourth quarter, when Jordan drove to the hole, he lost control of the ball and a foul was called. Clearly, no one touched Jordan and this sent Heinsohn into a frenzy. He hollered in to the mike, "That's bull----, that's bull, bull, that's what I said."

Heinsohn had completely lost control and swore on television. But that's what we love about Heinsohn; he's a fan just like us. We didn't care that he swore, because at home we were throwing around expletives, too.

I could go on forever about Heinsohn and his verbal escapades -- his telling of coaches to shut up, or just a normal day of telling a female referee to go back to the women's league.

But I'll stop here and allow you to see for yourself. Watch a game and tell me what you think. If you don't "Love Tommy" just like he "Loves Wahlta," then I think that's bull ... ah, I caught myself.

Article courtesy of Sports Central.