BOSTON -- The focus for the Boston Celtics the last couple of days has been on preparing for the Miami Heat.
But like most New Englanders, they too were glued to their TV sets as the Tom Brady-led New England Patriots pulled off yet another how-did-they-do-that? performance in the AFC Championship to advance to the Super Bowl for the third straight year.
Al Horford was among those who watched the game, acknowledging that he was all-in on the emotional roller coaster of a AFC Championship which ended with the Patriots emerging victorious 37-31 in overtime.
“I was very stressed,” he said after Boston’s 107-99 win over the Heat. “You guys didn’t see that. I didn’t want to post any of that stuff. The will of those guys is unbelievable. Being outside in that type of weather, the focus … I was so excited for those guys. Now, one more game.”
☘️CELTICS 107, HEAT 99
And for Horford, the victory and how it came about only strengthened the belief that he shares with so many New Englanders when it comes to Brady who will be playing in his ninth Super Bowl, against the Los Angeles Rams, next month.
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“Unreal; it’s unreal,” Horford said when asked about his thoughts on Brady’s frequent trips to the Super Bowl. “There’s no debate who the best of all time is.
Horford added, “I know he probably doesn't want to talk about that. We'll say it for him. We all know that he's the best and we should celebrate and enjoy it because it's something very special."
Celtics head coach Brad Stevens is in his sixth year on the job and not surprisingly, the Patriots have become quite popular in his home.
He recently had a conversation with his son Brady (and no, he was not named after Tom Brady but considering where he’s at now, the name is pretty cool huh?) about being a fan of the Patriots in this period of time.
“It’s amazing,” Stevens said. “Knowing how hard it is to win a single game, I was telling my son, ‘you’re living in the 60s Celtics, 60’s and 70’s UCLA (men’s basketball) … that’s the kind of thing we’re talking about what the Patriots have accomplished.”
And as far as his son being named Brady, Stevens said, “It seems like a great thing now. But when we were at daycare (in Indianapolis) and there were two Peyton’s next to him on the first day … We didn’t realize we had done that. But it’s worked out great.”
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