I remember seeing one for the first time.
I was seated on a roller coaster with my friend to my left and a stranger to my right. The man was wearing an authentic looking Celtics jersey and he seemed completely amused at the towering hill of wood and nails before us. I hate the Celtics and basketball in general with a burning passion so I did not take much interest in the jersey he wore. I grasped onto my restraint looking down at the floor of the ride. Yet suddenly, as the train slowly began to ratchet itself up the main hill a splash of glimmer caught my eye. I forgot my fear, ignored the hill and discretely looked towards what was basically a massive hunk of silver sitting upon his ring finger.
It was huge, probably the width of my thumb and forefinger combined and it seemed to sport a near constant presence of diamonds and green emerald. Yet almost in sync with the point in which I realized what this ring was, the coaster crested atop the hill and long story short, my attention shifted.
I never found out who the guy was but as we sat in the station waiting for the restraints to release I brought the attention of my friend (who shared my interest in sports) to the ring which we soon were convinced was in fact, a Celtics Championship ring.
****
In the wee hours of June 18th 2008, the Boston Celtics pulled out an epic 131-92 win over the LA Lakers. The victory gave Boston a decisive 4th victory of that years NBA finals and made it so that for the first time in over 2 decades, the Boston Celtics were World Champions. Following that victory the Celtics were crowned: King of the Hill and the very rings that I saw that day on the coaster were distributed like candy-bars to any and all who were associated with the team.
It could be easily assumed that over 100 rings were handed out that year.
The 2008 Celtics World Championship was their 18th all time but whats better is the fact that by 2008, Boston sports teams had already won 6 titles in the new millennium. Just think about that. Amidst all these mega organisations close to 600 championship rings were delivered to Bostonian athletes in the span of just 8 years.
These rings are a part of sports tradition but as a sports fan when you really think about it, handing out mountains of rings each one weighing over 1 pound and sporting nearly 30,000 dollars in metallic worth really is a slightly....moronic, idea. So who's to blame?
With the first documentation of a "big four" (NBA, MLB, NHL, NFL) championship dating back to 1884, 47 MLB champions were crowned before the first championship rings were handed out. But regardless of that, the idea of teams distributing keepsakes to its champion roster-members had already been firmly implicated. From 1884 to 1922, the front office of a World Series winning team would be often known to reward it's players with engraved pocket watches, or small gold pins. These keepsakes were often discarded, lost and or cast no major recognition.
As they wished to further respect these players individual achievements, the New York Yankees became the first team to commission rings when they purchased 50 rings solely given to the players following their 1927 World Championship season. By 1932, rings had quikely become an everyday thing in Baseball. The first NFL rings were given to the Packers in 1967 while the NBA and NHL firsts were handed out in 1947 and 1963 respectively.
"In this game, you have players say they're playing for the ring, and here you are, a part of fulfilling the goal of every player." NBA commissioner: David Stern said when he presented the Celtics with their 2008 rings "Once they have it, they have a sense of fulfillment they've never had before."
Stanley Cups, World Series trophies surrounded by flags, and Lombardi Trophies all represent the phenomenal achievement of a team as a whole. They represent the stunning contribution of hundreds of athletes, coaches and coordinators across an origination.
But a ring. A ring stays with you forever, it sines from your finger and serves as the ultimate keepsake. These glowing gold or silver hunks of priceless metal remain a recognition of every individual that utilizes their personal greatness to bring their team to the top of the heap.
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