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Tuesday, June 17, 2008 was a night New England fans will never forget.

The Boston Celtics and the Los Angeles Lakers played game 6 of the NBA Finals at the TD Banknorth Garden in Boston.

Rivals since the Larry Bird/Magic Johnson era, Boston fans were definitely ready to "Beat LA," and "Beat LA" is exactly what the Celtics did.

After 22 years of waiting, the Celtics earned their 17th NBA Championship and a parade through Boston, which was what all Celtic fans wanted.

Many fans stayed up all night celebrating the Celtics victory and went out early the next morning to get the new championship merchandise, which made Thursday, June 19 the perfect day for the "Rolling Rally" in Boston. Skipping work, and even school, was what most people did in order to experience the excitement of being at a championship parade.

As my friends and I arrived in Boston around 9 a.m. we all noticed that not a lot of fans were lined up waiting to see the parade. It wasn't until about 10:30 that everyone started to crowd the streets.

As the time became closer to 11, the green-and-white filled crowd near 500 Boylston St. became louder and crazier by the minute.

From fans holding signs saying "We Beat LA" and "Sweet 17" to fans throwing beach balls and toiler paper across the street to other fans, to a guy climbing a light-post, the Celtic fans were definitely ready for the Celtics to pass by in the duck boats.

An hour after the Rolling Rally started at the Garden, the duck boats were finally right in front of us, showering everyone with lots and lots of green and white confetti and playing "We are the Champions" to get the crowd excited as the Celtic players started to pass by.

With the smell of cigar smoke in the air from fans and players honoring the late Red Auerbach, and people chanting "We Beat LA," forward Paul Pierce finally passed by showing everyone his MVP trophy and how happy he was to finally be in one of his own championship parades.

The rest of the "Big Three," forward Kevin Garnett and guard Ray Allen, were also happy.

Although some of the fans didn't get to see Garnett during the parade, many people saw Allen, who was all smiles, and his mother, who was on the boat with him.

A few other players who were all smiles were guard Rajon Rondo (who helped the Celtics in their 131-92 victory in game 6 of the finals with 21 points, eight assists, seven rebounds, and six steals), and old-timers Sam Cassell and P.J. Brown, who also provided a boost to the Celtics.

Center rookie Glen "Big Baby" Davis was so excited that he took off his shirt and went topless during the parade. One of the boats even had the banner that will soon be hung from the Garden's rafters next to the other 16 banners.

This was the sixth Rolling Rally parade that New England fans have seen in less than 6-1/2 years, and hopefully there will be more to come.

There were several coincidences with the Celtics/Lakers game and June 17. It was the sixth month and the Celtics played game 6, and the Celtics won their 17th banner on the 17th day of June.

Also the 17th day plus the 17th banner equals number 34, which is Pierce's number. And subtract the 17th banner from the 22 years of not winning a championship and you get the number 5, which is the number worn by Garnett, who won his first NBA Championship.

After having the worst record in the NBA last year (24-58), the Celtics worked hard this year and had the best record in the NBA (66-16) in the regular season. If any team deserves to win the NBA Championship, it is definitely the Celtics after everything they have been through.