The city of Boston was bathed in green this Friday to celebrate the victory parade of the 18th NBA title for the Celtics with rivers of enthusiastic fans who passionately cheered on their players as they navigated the streets in the now traditional ‘duck boats’ ( ‘duck boats’ in English).
The New England team, with the best record of championships in the NBA, achieved the last one after beating Luka Doncic’s Dallas Mavericks 4-1.
It had been 16 years since the most successful team in the NBA had won a championship.
The city’s unpredictable public transportation, despite having extended the rush hour protocol to the entire day, could not support the influx of fans and many of them preferred to walk several subway stops rather than remain packed like sardines in the crowded carriages.
Hours before the parade began, the security fences along the entire route were occupied by followers who wanted to witness the procession in the front row.
Street vendors were making a killing offering discounts on t-shirts, pennants and posters commemorating the 18th championship.
Groups of teenagers escaping from classes and families of three generations celebrated in the heat shouting “let’s go Celtics.”
“I had been to a Patriots stop, but here there are a lot more people and the atmosphere is more exciting. I arrived here at eight in the morning and the streets were already full of green people,” Phil, a retired Bostonian in Florida who returns home every summer, told EFE Agency.
The beer had begun to flow early in the Irish pubs that dot the central streets of Boston along the Charles River.
Trucks and other vehicles that were part of the parade honking their horns and pumping confetti joined the traditional ‘duck boats’ that the Celtics use to share with their fans when they win a title.
The ‘duck boats’ are amphibious vehicles whose regular function is to take tourists around the city’s places of interest, including a boat trip along the river.
Due to their beloved retro look and their functionality for this type of event, the ‘duck boats’ have also been used by other teams in the city such as the Patriots (American football), the Red Sox (baseball) or the Bruins (hockey). in their celebrations.
At times, the vigorous Celtic melodies that typically animate games at TD Garden were combined with the Red Sox anthem and talisman: “Sweet Caroline” by Neil Diamond.
“It’s not about the Celtics or the Red Sox. “It is about Boston and we are all here to celebrate Boston,” defended Wilfred, a bricklayer from a nearby construction site who took his lunch break watching the parade.
Derrick White, on one of the amphibious boats, was carrying his son in his arms, the one who has been the only reason he has missed a game with the Celtics.
The Dominican veteran Al Horford, wearing a cowboy hat, also held one of his daughters in his arms, whom he later left to celebrate with his father, former basketball player Tito Horford and number one fan who does not miss a game in the TD Garden.
Jaylen Brown harangued the fans, who shouted “MVP, MVP, MVP.”
The Latvian Kristap Porzingis wore his country’s red and white flag as a scarf.
Jayson Tatum displayed and kissed the champions trophy for the people.
Some fans threw small bottles of liquor at the players and Porzingis was not shy about trying some.
Especially proud could be seen, making a fuss, of coach Joe Mazzulla, who accidentally took the reins of the team after the dismissal of the previous leader, Ime Udoka, and who at 35 years old has managed to return glory to Boston.
“This is too exciting. It makes her feel like she’s from here,” said Damaris, an Ecuadorian mother dressed in Tatum’s 0 and accompanied by her three young children dressed in green t-shirts.
Source: Agencies
