Rick Carlisle shares how Bill Walton set up the first date with his wife at a Grateful Dead show

wanted to to mention uh you know with the passing of of bill walon today just how much he meant to uh me and so many people that that I'm close to um I've been on a text message spr with um our 86 team and U you know some some of the memories are you know just I they're beyond Priceless um he has stayed in touch with to me he's been texting me um a lot throughout our playoffs I read I read some of his text messages to our players during our prep session before we went out on the court just so they could realize um the impact that that they're having on on people all around basketball um Bill really lik likes our team liked the way we played um and I have him to thank probably also for um me being married to my wife Donna our first date was to a dead show in Washington DC and I called bill and I I said look this is 1987 I got a DAT with a girl that I think is pretty cool i' love to go to the dead show at Cal Center I don't have any tickets can you help and he said uh just go to the back door ask for Dennis macelli tell them you're Rick Carl out from the Boston Celtics and everything will be just fine I said really he said said oh yeah so you know I drove up to the loading dock and so Donna was with with me we hadn't known each other long I said just you know just wait here a second she's like what she said do you have tickets I said just give me just give me a couple minutes here so I walked down I knocked on the door the whole thing ended up working out I walked back up the loading dock ramp with two all access laminates one said Bill Walton and one said Susie Walton and so so we were set up for the show and we were on we were actually on stage watching the show and during the break we just kind of we we kind of just um kind of wandered into the back and just opened up a door and U ended up sitting down with Jerry Garcia Bob we and Mickey Hart for about 15 minutes just I mean it was it was an unbelievable night and you know obviously it's a it's it's a good first dat you know so anyway I'm I'm thankful to him I know there's been a lot of talk talk today about what he meant to the whole world um you know to me to me he he was a living breathing event in history just walking around he was involved in so many events um pop culture in sports you know he played drums for the Grateful Dead in the pyramids in Egypt you know he did he's the guy that did everything and there's been a lot of talk today about you know how he how he speaks in hyperbole so much and stuff but he he just was he defiantly competed for every moment in life to be the greatest it could possibly be you know that's that's the best way to describe it I mean um I talked to Luke today for for a few minutes you know they're they're doing okay but it's um this is this has been tough obviously and it'll it'll be um it'll it'll continue to be tough but what what an amazing man um there will never be another do you remember the day you met him one of your first interactions uh I do I do I you know we all we all assumed he was a vegetarian when he came to Boston because that's that was kind of what everybody said and the first time first time I saw him he had a huge roast beef sandwich and to B that's a vivid that's a vivid image that's a vivid image but you know when he when he came to Boston um you know our our guys were were merciless you know just just kind of with jokes attacking you know just in a in a fun kind of way but in a very competitive kind of way and and when he arrived in Boston it changed our team that year you know he played 80 games and we won a championship and you know he certainly extended my career and um he was he was a game changer on so many levels and in in in so many people's lives you know for such a long period of time so um you know it's it's been emotional you know um but I'm C I'm certain he's in a in a better place now I know he was not feeling well

Channel: iPacers

Views: 11,921

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Id: TdgqnrMtNGU

Length: 5min 27sec (327 seconds)

Published: Mon May 27 2024