The Three Musketeers Were Truly a Fearsome Foursome!
DATELINE: HUMOR!
So often the city of Boston and its media have tried to find the right nickname for Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, and Ray Allen. They were the second coming, and thus dubbed The Big Three.
What happened after their first championship run was that a young pup of a point guard seemed appended to their threesome.
Some saw him as an afterthought; others thought he deserved to join the special and exclusive club. A few cynics called him out for riding on the coattails of the superstars of the Celtics.
What many fail to recall is that the original Three Musketeers added up to four men.
In the original tale, young D’Artagnon travels to Paris, much like young Rondo traveled to Boston.
Each of the Big Three Musketeers challenged the young man to play at their level. The original Musketeers were Athos, Aramis, and Porthos, while the modern Musketeers are Ray, Paul, and Kevin.
In the recent documentary on the Celtics 2011 season, entitled “The Association,” Rondo reveals that his own challenge from the intimidating Garnett resulted in a fight in the locker-room during the young guard’s first season.
Kevin Garnett’s powerful influence is a point of approval. After their scuffle, Rondo was accepted into the coterie of superstars. He was deemed to be D’Artagnon to the Big Three. They would insure his success and teach him how to be a winner.
From his early season with the new Big Three, Rondo managed to hold his own and then became a force with the Big Three.
Few people want to acknowledge that there were in their most successful incarnation, Four Musketeers, not three. The man outside the Three Musketeers was D’Artagnon, their leader and spiritual force. History repeats with Rondo and his Big Three.
The Three Musketeers could do any feat of derring-do, but it was D’Artagnon who directed their successful actions.
So it is with the Celtics. Rajon Rondo has become so entwined with the legendary status of the Big Three that he shall inevitably be part of them as D’Artagnon was the Fourth Musketeer, no matter what happens hereafter.
By the way, the Miami Heat trio, often pretenders to the throne, has no fourth Musketeer.
As of the end of the Celtics reign in the playoffs, speculation has grown that the fourth Musketeer may be less popular among the other three. Some think all four will return, and some believe that Rondo will move on soon.
That's not the right ending for great literature, or even great sports teams.
RAJON RONDO: SUPERSTAR! by William Russo is now available as an e-book, and soon will be in print as a paperback. If you enjoy mythology and literature applied to your sports, you will want to get a copy. Also readers who like humor in their sports may want to try SEX, DRUGS, SPORTS & WHIMSY, now in two volumes, sold separately.