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Crowder misreading Celtics fans

Jae Crowder is frustrated by frustrated Celtics fans who expressed their frustration Tuesday night by cheering Utah small forward Gordon Hayward.

Since Crowder is the starting small forward for the Celtics, he took Hayward’s cheers as a stinging rebuke of his performance.

"I heard the cheering before the game. I didn’t like that at all," Crowder said, according to ESPN.com. "I think that was a sign of disrespect to me from the fans. That sparked a little fire in me."

Crowder later proceeded to engage in sniping via Twitter, capping it with "I HAVE NO PROBLEM LEAVING (BOSTON)."

For those uninitiated in the Twitter world, send a message in full capital letters indicates you are yelling, screaming or, in this case, sobbing.

Now in his second full season with the Celtics, Crowder hasn’t quite grasped a reality that some pro athletes never understand: Boston fans want to win as much or, and in some cases, more than the players. Having bought a ticket and showing up, fans Tuesdaynight grasped at a thin reed of logic and reminded the Celtics’ brass that they are impatient with the team’s limited progress in restoring itself as a title contender.

At its core, the whole epsiode is trivial in its silliness. Hayward is a free agent after this season and the Celtics may make a run at him. But his impact would be less than that of Al Horford, whose presence may represent a babystep in the team’s long, winding journey.

Hayward is a good player, Crowder is a pretty good player. Neither is a game-changer.

The only folks who should take umbrage with the fans reside in the Celtics’ front office. The masses’ message for them:

"IF YOU ARE GOING TO PROMISE OFFSEASON FIREWORKS YOU BETTER DELIVER!"

BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU WISH FOR: With home-field guaranteed for the Division Round and AFC Championship Game, New Englanders are debating what NFC team they want to see in the Super Bowl.

Memo to Pats fans: No NFL playoff game is a lock. They will face either Houston, Oakland or Miami in the second round, and while they are highly unlikely to win in Foxoborough, it is not completely implausible.

Their most likely foe in the AFC Championship is Kansas City, arguably the hottest team in the NFL leading into the playoffs. Ignore them at your own risk.

As for the NFC, lots of folks seem to welcome a third shot at the New York Football Giants. The odds are strong the Giants won’t get there, but images of revenge are dancing in fans’ heads.

If they do, understand that the Giants still have that special voodoo that the Yankees employed so well against the Red Sox for all those decades.

Cheer for Dallas, Pats fans.

TIME TRAVEL: Jan. 5, 1976 – Under the headline "Nashua Thinclads Place 3rd," the Purple Panthers track team trailed Winnacunnet and Spaulding in a weekend meet at the University of New Hampshrie Dustbowl … ah, Paul Sweet Oval. Anyone who hasn’t been there since its earliest days understand that even fans had to shower after a meet.

Ed Gannon provided Nashua with its only first-place finish in the 1,000-yard run.

Mostly, this entry cried out for attention with that classic headline.

How often are track teams now referred to as "thinclads?"

Alan Greenwood can be reached at 594-1248, agreenwood
@nashuatelegraph.com or
@Telegraph_ AlanG.