by Thomas Walters

Created on: December 31, 2008

Team sports provide lessons needed to be learned in life. You not only must believe in yourself, you must trust in the others around you. Your motivation to play is not only for personal gain, it's for a bigger thing, a bigger goal. Motivation also comes from the fact that if you fail, you let your teammates down, not just yourself. To play team sports you must display the highest devotion for the team and their goals. The player must also show they have forgiveness for their teammates fallibilities. In short, to be a team, not only do you have to be good, but everyone else has to be good, and you all have to be good together. Now that sounds like a tall order, but in 2008 many teams showed this true greatness.

To start, look at the New York Giants who in February of 2008 went into the Super Bowl against a team that had not been beaten throughout the whole season and on the verge of finishing that way. The Giants were underdogs of a huge proportion, and it looked like the legacy of Bill Belichick and Tom Brady would continue. The Giants came out and in thrilling fashion unseated one of the arguably best teams of all time. For all this though, they are not my pick.

Another team to consider are the Philadelphia Phillies, who played hard throughout the season but still found themselves in a close race with the Mets toward the end. They won the division and weren't to be denied in the playoffs unlike last year. They mowed over the Brewers and the Dodgers as they made their way to the World Series. Finally their season culminated in one of the most surprising World Series ever. The Phillies faced the Tampa Bay Rays and beat them to take the World Series title. But as great as the Phillies were, their was another team that really stood out for me.

Although they were favored through the entire season and it was no surprise to anyone that they won it all, my pick for the all-around best team in 2008 is the Boston Celtics. With the Big Three already cemented as the core of the team, Rajan Rondo and Kendrick Perkins fit right in. And the rings on their fingers are just the beginning. This season started out amazingly for them with a 28 and 4 record. Forget the stats though, forget the wins and losses and you get raw talent and chemistry needed to create a team this good. Anybody who has ever watched them play agrees that they are the best their is. They have the leadership needed to inspire them, they have the talent needed to win games, and the desire needed to continue to the end. You see, this team doesn't need the huge paychecks or the fame and fortune to want to play, and to want to play well. All they need is a court, a ball and an opponent to keep them happy.

To be a team you must all be working toward the same thing. You must have the talent win, and the drive to compete. The Celtics have all of this, and that is why they are my pick for the 2008 team of the year.

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