Not from us, but sometime-TBL contributer Dan Lamothe of Red Sox Monster. He makes a solid point: Why, historically, have fans wanted to ‘win one for [insert title-less veteran here]‘ but nobody feels that way this year for KG, Pierce and Ray Allen? Is it because sports fans simply hate all-things Boston?

I’m sorry.

At some point, we Boston sports fans are obligated to say that, aren’t we? At least, that’s the general consensus around the Internet, as angry sports fans from Philadelphia to Northern California tell us we haven’t earned the right to have three teams competing for a world championship within the same year.

The thing is, they’re all right. Massachusetts has had an embarrassment of sporting riches for years now, and you sure as hell don’t need me to tell you that.

The sad part? The 2004 Red Sox were historic and the 2001 Patriots were underdog specials, but the 2007-2008 Celtics have largely been reduced to a punchline in the blogosphere. Thanks to our fanbase’s always-blossoming reputation for idiocy, insufferability and all-around lack of situational awareness (“Dooood! Did you see what they did with Welkah!?!?”), one of the greatest NBA stories of the last decade — three frustrated future Hall of Famers potentially busting through to finally win a title — is overshadowed.

What a shame.

It didn’t have to be this way. Once upon a time — oh, say 2003 — sports fans tended to rally behind longtime stars like Kevin Garnett, rooting for them to win The Big One for the first time. In the NBA, fans have done it for everyone from David Robinson and Charles Barkley to Reggie Miller and Clyde Drexler in my lifetime alone, and the reasoning has always been somewhat the same: “Yeah, man, but I’m kinda pulling for _____ to get one this year. He deserves it.”

Think Garnett/Pierce/Allen get that same kind of support? Hell nah, man — the more likely scenario is that as the NBA Finals begin tonight, there will be a massive anti-Boston contingent out there who would chew their own arm off while hanging out at a New Kids on the Block reunion concert than watch any Boston team win anything, ever again.

Celtics fans, meanwhile, are faced with a choice: Mute their excitement to an unreasonably low level for a team that hasn’t sniffed a championship in two decades, or risk being labeled as That Guy: the insufferable Masshole sports fan who believes it is his God-given right to watch his teams dominate in the playoffs every year.

Taking all that into account, here’s one thing I desperately ask for, on behalf of a difficult-to-love fan base: Consider giving the Celtics a shot.

Root for them just through this series, as they take on another Lincoln Town Car franchise that has tasted success far more frequently over the last 20 years than the Celts probably ever would have, even without Reggie Lewis’ untimely death. Root for them because they are most assuredly not a dynasty, but primarily a group of hard-working veterans with a small window of time to pull the whole thing off.

Most importantly, root for them because if you block your ears just long enough, it’ll make you feel good about yourself if they can pull it off.

I think so, anyway — after all, the Red Sox did just pull back into first place.