RedsArmy presents: Fan Friday #36: “CelticNation Colombia”

Donald, 17, is this week’s featured fan. He lives in Colombia and has been a Celtics fan for most of his young life. Some of you may know him from his Twitter account, @boceltics18.

As is the case with most Celtics fans who are not in North America, Donald must depend on the internet to get his daily dose of Celtics. That has not deterred him however from following the team he loves:

Being from outside the USA I rely 100% on the internet for watching the games. I refuse to buy League Pass because of all the complaints about it so I use other sites to watch games. I very rarely miss a game. I’ve played basketball for more than 6 years in my school and coach told us we should watch some NBA to get better ourselves. So I started watching some NBA games that appeared on TV. The Celtics were pretty successful at that time so there were plenty of televised Celtics games. What made me a Celtic fan was the way the guys played. Watching their unselfishness and ‘ubuntu’ on the court was a thing of beauty. I also immediately fell in love with Rondo’s game so that was a major reason I kept following the team. To this day, I’ve developed an inexplicable passion for the team and have been following as closely as I can from my country.

Donald lists starting PG Rajon Rondo as his favorite Boston Celtic:

 Watching Rondo play is amazing because of his unique approach. He controls the tempo, he puts guys in the right spots, he makes some sick passes, and he just really makes people around him better. Watching him play when he’s engaged (and I’m conscious this isn’t every night) is like something out of this world.

 For Donald’s 15th birthday, his grandparents gave him the gift of a lifetime. A trip to the US to watch the Boston Celtics play in the 2011 NBA Playoffs. It was Game 2 of their first-round series vs the New York Knicks, and was a memorable moment for Donald:

My favorite all-time favorite Celtics moment has to be the one and only game I attended. It was game 2 against NYK in the 2011 playoffs. If you cant remember, it was the game of Garnett’s great post move over Jared Jeffries to win the game. I made an entire trip to watch just this one game. I even missed one day of school in which I had two important exams (in which I received a big fat zero). My grand parents gave me the gift of the trip for my 15th birthday. We went first to D.C and then Boston. It was a helluva game, the atmosphere of the Garden is something I’ll never forget. I look forward to my return to the Garden.

http://youtu.be/vIKJFcxYRYc

Young or old, we all love the Celtics for own reasons. Here are Donald’s, in his own words:

Every time the Celtics lose, a small part of me dies. I guess its a way to think about something other than just school and other boring stuff. But its much more than just that. Its also a learning experience, because believe it or not, even from afar, this team has taught me a lot more than many teachers have. And not only basketball stuff, I’m talking about how to approach life. The passion they show on the court teaches me that whatever I do in life, I must love it. The brotherhood in the Celtics locker room has shown me that I can make anyone my brother if he’s willing to go to battle with me. Their struggles leading to success have taught me to never EVER give up and always believe in what I do. And finally I’ll quote KG here, they’ve taught me that “ANYTHING IS POSSIBLEEEE”.

I want to thank Donald again for participating, and thank you all for reading. I hope 2013 is a great year for the Celtics and their fans. UBUNTU.