McCain hopes Celts plane brings luck

By Sasha Issenberg, Globe Staff

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The superstitious John McCain hopes he inherited a winning aura for his pre-primary Florida fly-around today: a charter plane regularly used by the Boston Celtics.

The Boeing 737 belongs to the Carolina Hurricanes hockey franchise but is leased to other teams, including the Boston team that boats the NBA's best record and whose legendary center Bill Russell is often identified by McCain as "my favorite philosopher"
when quoting one of his aphorisms.

"We love the Celts," said McCain aide Mark Salter, before recognizing urgent electoral realities in a state where approximately half the Republican votes will come from the I-4 corridor connecting Tampa and Orlando. "We like the Magic a lot more."

Before takeoff, a flight attendant shared her own opinion. "The Celtics are nice, but they'll trash a plane," she said.