Watching the Celtics made me a huge fan of the team but, more importantly, Larry Bird. I have to be honest, it took me a little bit at first. He just looked like he was loping through the court. But then I started noticing how intelligent he was at getting himself into the right place about 95 percent of the time. It wasn’t that he could outjump or outrun anyone on the court. But somehow, you couldn't keep your eyes off him. I realized that there was something to Larry Bird. I was hooked and watched him whenever I could.

Before the Celtics

As many of you know, Larry Bird grew up in a small town in French Lick, Indiana. He left Indiana University after less than a month, went home, worked for the town, and eventually found his way to Indiana State, a school nobody outside the Midwest paid much attention to. He changed that fast.
Bird led Indiana State to an undefeated regular season. They went on and played Michigan State; this is where his nemesis and later good friend played: a flashy sophomore named Earvin "Magic" Johnson. Indiana State lost, but that game did something bigger than decide a title. It introduced the country to a rivalry that would carry professional basketball through the next decade.

Arriving in Boston

The Celtics drafted Bird a year before he finished college, and they waited for him. The team was on a losing streak the season before he arrived. In his rookie year, Boston won 61, and Bird was named Rookie of the Year. This started a long, successful franchise.
You could see the effect he had on everyone around him. He passed like a point guard as a forward. He was an aggressive rebounder. He was highly competitive, and everyone knew to give him the ball when things got tough. 

The Decade Was His

The numbers are staggering even now. Three NBA championships, in 1981, 1984, and 1986. Three consecutive MVP awards from 1984 through 1986, something only a handful of players have ever done. Two Finals MVPs. The 1986 Celtics, with Bird at the center of a front line alongside Kevin McHale and Robert Parish, are still argued about as one of the greatest teams ever assembled.
Bird portrayed immense confidence in his game; it showed. Bird famously walked into the locker room before the first Three-Point Shootout in 1986 and asked the other contestants which of them was going to finish second. He won, and then quickly won the next two years. Many called him arrogant, but he knew his skills and backed it up.  
I watched the 87 Eastern Conference Finals against Detroit. Game 5, Celtics down one, seconds left, and the Pistons inbounding under their own basket. Bird read the pass, stole it, and in the same motion fed Dennis Johnson for the winning layup. It was amazing, it was those kinds of plays that kept me watching him. 
We cannot forget the big rivalry with Magic. The Celtics and Lakers met in the Finals three times in the 1980s, and each series felt like a Super Bowl and a World Series all in one. Two great players, two very different styles, and a genuine respect underneath the competition. This duo brought back a league that was losing money and viewership.

The Price He Paid

Bird played through years of back pain, which eventually led him to retirement. By the end, he was sometimes lying on the floor beside the bench between stints to keep his back from locking up. He still went out and competed. In 1992, he joined the original Dream Team in Barcelona, winning Olympic gold alongside Magic and Michael Jordan, and then he retired.
He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1998, and he later became the only person to win NBA MVP, Coach of the Year, and Executive of the Year, all with the Indiana Pacers.

Why He Still Matters to Me

Larry Bird showed that intelligence, perseverance, and passion can take you far. You don't have to be the most gifted athlete to be the best player on the floor. 
I watched him from those early Celtics years to the end of the '80s. Do I watch basketball now? Not so much. There have been greater athletes since, and there will be more. But there has only ever been one Larry Bird, and for me, he'll always be the reason I started watching.