RedsArmy presents FanFriday #23 “Lee from Oregon”

This week's Fan Friday features a name our readers should all be familiar with. Lee G., from Oregon, or as we here at RedsArmy know him, "Lee from Oregon". Lee was actually born and raised in Boston, and has been a Celtics fan all his life.

Lee started watching the C's in the late 1960's when his father would intently follow playoff games on their little black & white tv. Some of us take technology for granted, but I too remember that before the days of LeaguePass and cable tv, you'd have to listen to games on the radio if your family couldn't afford a tv. 

Growing-up in the Boston-area, Lee's mom worked at the old Kennedy's dept.store. Red Auerbach was a frequent customer and was on a first-name basis with Lee's Mom. One day in particular, Red came-in with a very tall rookie that needed a raincoat. Lee's Mom did not have any in stock that were long enough to fit this unusally long & lanky gentleman. After calling-around to numerous stores, she was finally able to acquire a nice raincoat that was suitable for then 20-something Celtics center Bill Russell.

Bill-russell-60-red

Lee's fondest memory of the Celtics is when he attended a playoff game at the Garden in 1988 between Atlanta & Boston. His wife surprised him with great seats for a game in which Larry Bird dropped 24 in the 1st quarter alone. Bird went-on to score 38 points on 15 of 25 shooting to lead the C's to a 110-101 victory. Definitely the highlight of Lee's Celtics memories.

Lee Gonnella Celtics
Lee lists Bill Russell and Dennis Johnson as his favorite Celtics, and continues to be a die-hard fan, despite living on the other-side of the country. You can always find Lee's thoughts and views in the comments of our posts here at Red's. He's a regular, and one of our most dedicated followers. So Lee, thanks for your continued support and you are definitely welcome at the Casa De Kwapt should you ever make-it back to Boston for a game. Thanks for reading everyone, and GO CELTICS!

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