BOSTON, Mass. — Sitting on rooftops, hanging from street poles or lining the parade route. It didn’t matter where you were in Boston Friday, because Celtics fans took over the city.
“I feel excited,” said one fan. “I’m super happy that Boston, we did it!”
What You Need To Know
- The Boston Celtics held their rolling rally parade celebration Friday.
- Officials in the city of Boston say they prepared for more than a million people in the crowd Friday.
- The Celtics defeated the Dallas Mavericks to claim their NBA-record 18th championship.
- Fans from all over the country and world were in Boston for the parade. Some from as far as Nicaragua.
“I was here in 2008,” said Luis Ramos, a Celtics fan from Lowell. “I was waiting for many years to do it again.”
Traveling all the way from Nicaragua may have been expensive for Maria Jose Morales. But, the experience of celebrating with the Celtics is a priceless experience for the longtime C’s fan.
“Ever since I have been little in my country, there wasn’t basketball when I was growing up,” Morales said. “But for some reason, basketball has been my game, and to me, this is like, ‘wow!’ after God, this is number two.”
Morales wasn’t alone in traveling from outside the state to see the newly crowned NBA champs. Zhiere Patmon came up from Pittsburgh just for the parade.
“It was definitely important, because you don’t know when the next one is going to be,” Patmon said. “We always say we’re going to run it back, but you never know. It has been 16 years, so, I’m just trying to get the most out of my life right now, just enjoy this time.”
Officials in the city of Boston were preparing for more than a million people to come out for the Celtics parade. People were lining up at their spots around 5-6 a.m. because they wanted to come here and celebrate.
“I was there with them through the whole journey,” said Celtics fan Jevon Foster. “Ever since Jaylen and Jayson have been drafted, I’ve been with the team, watching them grow and now they have this championship. Let’s go!”
“It means everything,” said another fan. “We came from nothing to something, 2015 to now.”
When the players weren’t celebrating their record-breaking title, some of them, like Kristaps Porzingis, were celebrating at ground level with the crowd.
For Celtics fans, it’s a celebration to remember, for a team they love.
“I just worked 12 hours and I’m here,” one fan joked. “No sleep.”
