Six jerseys hang on the wall in my basement, only one of which is from the 1970s Celtics. It belongs to John Havlicek. This is strange, because when I started playing basketball, I patterned my game after Dave Cowens. The first sports book I bought was a biography of Dave Cowens. If a magazine had Cowens on the cover, I bought it. So it is strange that in my older age, I no longer view Cowens with as much esteem.
After watching the first quarter of game 5 of the 1976 NBA Finals, I remembered what happened. Five months after winning the NBA title against the Phoenix Suns, Cowens took a "Leave of Absence," turning his back on my beloved Boston Celtics.During the 1978-79 season, Cowens coached the Celtics, and then quit that job, too, after posting a 27-41 record. Before the 1980-81 season began, Cowens announced his retirement, turning his back on a team that this time was on the cusp of a championship. Finally, when Cowens decided to come out of retirement, he chose to play for the Milwaukee Bucks instead of the Celtics.
As it turns out, Cowens' had reasons to do what he did, good reasons. But as a kid, I didn't care about those reasons, all I cared about was the fact that he quit. No hero of mine was a quitter or a flake.Reflecting on his reasons for quitting today, I can hardly blame him. When the 1976-77 season began, his partner in the pivot, Paul Silas, had been replaced by yahoos Sidney Wicks and Curtis Rowe. When Cowens retired as a coach, he just couldn't take losing with such a sorry bunch of players on the roster. When he retired as a player the first time, he only had one good leg. And when he came out of retirement, after his injured leg started feeling better, the Celtics needed someone to guard Andrew Toney, and Quinn Buckner was the guy. As a result, Red Auerbach convinced Dave he'd be better off playing for Nellie in Wisconsin.
So, Dave Cowens, I apologize for holding a grudge against you over the last 30 years.
My bad.
What you did makes sense to grown-ups confronted by grown-up problems.
It just didn't make sense to a kid in his early teens.
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