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| Celtics head coach Doc Rivers |
Doc Rivers lives only a few blocks from the finish line of the Boston Marathon. Since taking over as the Celtics' coach in 2004, he has walked over to watch the end of the race every time the team is in town.
On Monday, Rivers was en route when the first explosion went off.
"It was just horrible. Living right there, it was an awful day, a sad day," Rivers said after the team's practice on Tuesday, with the Celtics' scheduled game against the Pacers in the evening having been cancelled due to the tragic event. "I was on my way actually. I had just gotten out of the Prudential tunnel when the bomb exploded. It’s just awful. It takes the joy out of sports, that’s what sports is supposed to bring is joy, and it took all of the joy out of the event and the day. It was a long day for everyone.”
Rivers said his daughter called and texted him 16 times in a row to check that he was safe, and after assuring his family he was fine, the coach found strength from the city.
"I just thought the spirit of Boston was phenomenal," said Rivers. "I saw people who didn't work for the police or anything like that, directing traffic, showing people where to go. Being in the city, the one thing I will say, you're just really proud to be part of Boston.
"We want to return things as soon as possible back to normal because that tells whoever did this that you don't stop the spirit of Boston. You're angry too when you think about what happened and that's because you love the city."
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