As the door swung open to the Lakers locker room following a January 2010 victory at Boston, a single baritone voice from the shower cut through the postgame din.
It belonged to Kobe Bryant, who mockingly belted out the chorus to the very same Dropkick Murphy’s anthem that once aggravated him to his core when the Celtics adopted it as their victory song during the 2008 NBA Finals.
Eager to remind himself of the heartbreak of watching Boston celebrate a championship at his expense, Kobe adopted “I’m Shipping Up to Boston” as the soundtrack to his workouts for the next two years.