A weird phenomenon has transpired over the past couple of years, and it was never more on display than Thursday night... People in New York, when in a bind, are actually rooting for Boston teams. I swear, I witnessed it myself.

Having gone to school in Boston, and experienced what the fans there can be like, I never thought this day would come. Yet here I was at a bar on the Upper West Side of Manhattan watching people cheer for the Boston Celtics against the Los Angeles Lakers, and it got me thinking.

First, could it be that people dislike Kobe Bryant so much that no matter who he is playing they would root for the opposing team? Second, do people sympathize with players like Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen, two guys who have acted professionally throughout their entire careers, that they feel they deserve a championship? And third, have sports changed so much because of stars changing teams, that people are bigger fans of the players than they are of the actual teams?

When going back and looking at all of these options, I think it's actually a combination. Kobe Bryant truly is a polarizing figure. People love to watch him, and look on in amazement as he does some extroardinary things, yet ultimately they like to point out all of his negatives and watch him fail. I am certainly guilty of it, as I wrote about Kobe being the A-Rod of the NBA (with the exception that he is actually clutch and has won championships), and then another perfect example would be Curt Schilling's recent blog. I'm sure there are many other superstar athletes that yell and berate their teammates, but Schilling felt it was necessary to tell on Kobe because he's, well... Kobe.

In regards to Garnett and Allen, I think this is the ultimate reason why people are rooting for the Celtics. Ever since Boston made the trade to acquire Garnett, there has been a certain lure about the team. In a league that has had its image tarnished by the Malice at the Palace, the Donaghy scandal, and players covered in tattoos, these two guys have been first-class citizens. Both are clean cut, respectful, articulate, and have paid their dues by playing for crummy teams. So when they came together to join forces and try to turn around a once-proud franchise, people saw this as a good situation, even the people in New York.

They didn't feel that Garnett and Allen were true Celtics, rather they were just players wearing that uniform, therefore, they felt it was okay to cheer for them. So that brings me to the next point, are people bigger fans of players than they are of actual teams? I don't think that's necessarily the case, but I do believe that when your team is not involved you tend to root for your favorite players. In the case of New Yorkers, the Knicks are certainly not involved, so what's the next best-case scenario? As witnessed Thursday night it's seeing Garnett and Allen get a chance to lift the championship trophy.