Robb: Brad Stevens Won't Pick Sides In Pats Vs. Colts
BOSTON (CBS) – Brad Stevens was born and bred in the state of Indiana, spending many of his first 36 years in the state before accepting the head coach job for the Boston Celtics in July 2013.
Naturally, the change of geography has had an effect on rooting interests for the Stevens family. After growing up as a big Colts and Pacers fan, Brad's been seen at local sporting events with his kids, who have become Red Sox fans in the past couple years.
Ahead of Friday's game with the Chicago Bulls, a local FOX affiliate from Indiana put Stevens' rooting allegiances to test, as they wondering whom the head coach would be rooting for in the AFC Championship this Sunday. Would he stick with his roots in Indiana or go with his new hometown team?
"So I grew up for 33 years in Indianapolis, right?" Stevens responded carefully. "I have a lot of friends there and if I say the wrong team, they'll all be mad. And I work here, so if I say the wrong team, they'll all be mad. I know this: I've gotten a kick out of listening to both sides of the coin talk about the hatred for the other from a fandom standpoint, because I know a lot of people in each organization now that I greatly respect. I'm sad that some of those people have to lose and won't be able to play again after Sunday."
It was an artful straddling of the fence by the head coach, who punctuated the statement with an assertion that both fan bases should take to heart.
"Those organizations are a lot alike. I hate to break that to everybody. They are high-level organizations that are always [around in the postseason] for a reason. Sorry, now I've made everybody mad."
Stevens also spoke about the relationship he has developed with Patriots head coach Bill Belichick since joining the region.
"I've just shared quite a few texts with him. He's been great to me. Again, when you get a chance to know people on each side, you know how much they are putting into it, you know how much they are given to it, so you hate to see either side come up short because you've got friends on both sides," Stevens said.
Whatever the final result today may be, Stevens will undoubtedly rest easy knowing that he'll have at least one team he's happy to root for playing on Super Bowl Sunday in a couple of weeks.
Brian Robb covers the Celtics for CBS Boston and contributes to NBA.com, among other media outlets. You can follow him on Twitter @CelticsHub.
