How can you not be romantic about basketball?
Mike Gorman has had no shortage of memorable moments over his 40+ years as the voice of the Boston Celtics. Larry Bird's clutch steal and assist to Dennis Johnson to win Game 5 of the 1987 Eastern Conference Finals vs. the Detroit Pistons stands out as his favorite highlight, but another Bird play proved to be life-changing for the legendary broadcaster.
Gorman shared the story of how he may not have married his wife Teri had it not been for a Bird buzzer-beater.
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"She was flying back from a year in France. We had a relationship on and off and we weren't sure whether she was going to go back to Pittsburgh or stay around Boston and see if we could get a serious relationship going," Gorman recalled to NBC Sports Boston's Amina Smith.
"Larry Bird hit a jump shot at the buzzer and I jumped out and skipped the (postgame) show, ran in my car, and saw her just as she was coming through the gate. If Bird hadn't hit that jumper and we went to overtime, I know she would have gone through the gate, I wouldn't have been there. She would have taken that as the answer and jumped on a plane to Pittsburgh and maybe I never saw her again. Instead, 33 years later, we're still together. So, that was my first big moment I would say."
Add that to the long list of reasons why Bird is one of the most clutch players in NBA history.
Gorman, 77, is entering his final season as the Celtics' play-by-play voice. The Hall-of-Fame broadcaster currently is the longest-tenured play-by-play broadcaster for a Boston professional sports franchise. He and the late great Tommy Heinsohn made up television's longest-running telecast duo (39 years) until Heinsohn's passing in 2020.