A strange thing happened in Boston this summer. With the Red Sox atop the AL East for most of the season and the Patriots adding Randy Moss and opening their preseason, Bostonians were talking about the dormant Boston Celtics. What on earth is going on?

In actuality the Celtics have only been dormant in terms of playing. Since the night of the 2007 NBA Draft, Boston has been the talk of the NBA. Forget about Kobe Bryant?s early June trade demands or even the Tim Donaghy scandal, neither could trump the fact that basketball greatness is back in Boston for the first time since Larry Bird had a moustache.

When Danny Ainge acquired Ray Allen from the Seattle Supersonics on Draft night it wasn?t just the acquisition of Allen that began to give Celtic fans promise. In sending the fifth pick, Wally Szczerbiak and Delonte West to the Sonics Ainge put himself in the perfect position to swing another deal.

I remember conversing with Eric Weiss of DraftExpress at Madison Square Garden just minutes after the Allen trade was officially announced. As a Celtic fan, he was thrilled that Ainge had added a shooter of Allen?s quality without dealing young pieces like Ryan Gomes and Al Jefferson, and retaining the expiring contract of Theo Ratliff. It was largely believed that the Celtics were primed to make another trade before the season began.

Initially, well before the Draft, it was believed that Kevin Garnett would be headed to Boston. However, talks between Ainge and former-Celtic Kevin McHale broke down when Garnett reportedly shot down a trade to Beantown.

All that changed one morning when Garnett agreed to be dealt to the newly-improved Celtics. With that, the dynamic of Boston sports was changed for the foreseeable future.

Those of you that know me are aware of the supreme injustice that took place when God placed me in New England. That means that as a fan of the New York Yankees, Philadelphia Eagles and Indiana Pacers ? I don?t exactly fit into the Boston sports? scene. However, I don?t have much of a choice.

If I want to have conversations with friends and relatives about the sports, I?m going to have to talk about the Red Sox, Bruins, Patriots or Celtics. Quite frankly, they don?t know or care about much else.

The instant the Garnett deal went down I received a call from my good buddy Paul, who lives a thirty minute ride away from Boston. Suddenly the man who usually calls just to rag on the Yankees or chat about our various fantasy leagues, was interested in Boston Celtics? basketball.

I could count on my left hand the amount of times this guy called me to talk about the Celtics, and even then I might be overestimating. All of a sudden Paul, who is normally more in tune with the psychological dynamics of his fantasy football team than anything basketball-related, is ready to make some trips to the TD Banknorth Center with me this season.

You?re kidding me, right?

My future father-in-law, who doesn?t know a triangle offense from a back-door cut, has also become a Celtic supporter this summer. He?s always been a true Patriot and Red Sox fan, but the Celtics? Before this offseason he would have rather fallen asleep to a Portuguese soap opera than listen to Tommy Heinsohn call a Celtics? game. I?m beginning to think these guys just want to see the Celtics better than my Pacers.

It does burn me a bit. I?ve never, in my fifteen years as a fan of the Indiana Pacers, given up or stopped caring regarding of losing or controversy. Between trips out to Conseco Fieldhouse, tickets to games locally and endless memorabilia, I?ve probably spent more money on the Pacers than I?d like to admit. I have come to realize that this doesn?t make me a better person, although maybe a better fan, but in actuality it just makes the disappointment all that much worse.

Think about where the Boston Celtics were just a little over three months ago. Their fans were pulling for them to lose games in order to land the first overall pick in hopes of grabbing Greg Oden ? everyone?s favorite savior. Then in late May their hopes were dashed as the League?s lottery system landed them the fifth pick in June?s Draft. Forget Oden, forget Durant?the Celtics were doomed for the next decade.

Then, from out of nowhere, often-chastised GM Danny Ainge began to look like a real-life NBA executive. He pulled off the Allen trade, and put the pieces in place to acquire Garnett. With Allen on the roster, the Celtics were not dramatically better and the playoffs probably still weren?t an absolute lock, but at least it showed that Ainge wasn?t giving up without a fight.

After making a splash by adding Garnett, Ainge didn?t just save his job and maybe even that of head coach Doc Rivers, he made the Celtics relevant again.

You?ll be hearing about the number seventeen a lot more than usual in Beantown this season, and you?d better drop every ?r? in casual conversation. After all, Paulie Pieh-ce has Kevin Gah-nett on his side this season.

They could end up being ?wicked? good togetha?

Have you seen a difference in the attention the Celtics are getting in New England? [email protected]