So now Hall of Famer McHale is head coach . . . and Daddy. It's pro sports' circle of life. Ballplayers who reach the unintended plateau of coach experience emotions universal to athletic competition. And parenthood.
Adolescent girls who rebel by wearing outrageous outfits and staying out past curfew invariably grow up and have their own teen daughters who try the same stuff. The same thing happens when coach-baiting ballplayers get their first whistle and clipboard. Think "payback time."
Anyone who was around the Celtics in the 1980s knows the delicious irony of watching McHale working as a head coach in the NBA. Bill Fitch and Chris Ford must be laughing uncontrollably as they sit in front of their televisions. Bet neither one ever misses a Minnesota game.
Rookie McHale tormented Fitch, a man who ran the Celtic House like "The Great Santini." Old Laughing Boy was all about rules and rookie hazing and McHale gave it right back to the drumtight coach. It was often hilarious.
"He would go to any lengths to [tick] Bill off," former teammate Cedric Maxwell remembered. "One of Kev's best ones was at the airport. Bill had a thing about everybody being on time and Kev loved to test that. He always would show up at the last possible moment. Even if he was early, he made sure to cut it close. He'd actually stand outside the airport -- this is before 9/11 remember -- and wait until the last moment so he could stroll on the plane."
McHale made fun of Fitch closing practice to reporters.
"Wouldn't want to have you guys in here seeing these plays that we've been running for the last 30 years," said the 6-foot-10-inch forward. McHale's also rumored to have been one of the guys who loosened the bolts on Fitch's TV tray in the locker room in Atlanta in 1983. The table's collapse brought a welcome end to one of Fitch's interminable film sessions.
Now McHale's in charge of a collection of aging talents, wounded egos, and young bucks and he's trying to get them into the playoffs. He took over a few weeks ago and has no plans to return to the bench next year, but for now he's an NBA head coach, dealing with the hip-hop, BlackBerry-toting, Xbox playing talents whose idea of retro is wearing a Kevin Garnett jersey.
