{"id":105454,"date":"2026-04-12T19:54:36","date_gmt":"2026-04-12T22:54:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ubirataonline.com.br\/to-us-they-are-heroes-celtics-trio-draws-massive-crowd-in-boston\/"},"modified":"2026-04-12T19:54:42","modified_gmt":"2026-04-12T22:54:42","slug":"to-us-they-are-heroes-celtics-trio-draws-massive-crowd-in-boston","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ubirataonline.com.br\/en\/to-us-they-are-heroes-celtics-trio-draws-massive-crowd-in-boston\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018To us, they are heroes\u2019: Celtics trio draws massive crowd in Boston"},"content":{"rendered":"

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BOSTON<\/strong> \u2014 The line of green stretched down the street. Fans \u2014 young and old \u2014 stood in the April sun for hours, awaiting the arrival of the guests of honor.<\/p>\n

Some Celtics fans were local, of course. But most traveled from all over to arrive at I Love Boston Sports<\/em>, a small store at Faneuil Hall that sells Celtics, Red Sox, and Patriots merch. One family hailed from South Dakota. Another arrived from Germany, suitcases in hand. A couple from Australia, a man from upstate New York, two college-aged girls from Florida, the list goes on.<\/p>\n

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On this particular Saturday afternoon, the special guests weren\u2019t Jayson Tatum or Jaylen Brown. But from the look of the ocean of green forming outside the store, it certainly looked<\/em> like prominent Boston athletes were inside.<\/p>\n

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In reality, it was three Celtics bench players \u2014 all of whom have experienced long stretches of DNPs this season \u2014 who arrived on the last off-day of the regular season to sign autographs and take photos with fans.<\/p>\n

Luke Garza arrived first, then Ron Harper Jr, and then Jordan Walsh. For two uninterrupted hours, the trio of Celtics bench players snapped photos and signed merch for kids and adults alike. At I Love Boston Sport<\/em>s, fans got special Bus 1 Boys and t-shirts and posters signed, which depict Baylor Scheierman, Hugo Gonzalez, Garza, Harper Jr, and Walsh as a five-person boy band, with the Celtics schedule listed below in tour-date fashion.<\/p>\n

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Marie, a 40-year Celtics fan decked out in green, said she drove two hours to attend the meet-and-greet. And, finding out which players would be in attendance made the trip all the more compelling.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThese three have embodied what this Celtics season has been all about,\u201d she said. \u201cTo us, they are heroes.\u201d<\/p>\n

Garza joined the Celtics on a minimum contract in the offseason and emerged as a fan favorite due to his relentless hustle. The 27-year-old is having a career season \u2014 he\u2019s averaging 7.8 points and 4 rebounds in 15.9 minutes per game \u2014 but three times this season, he\u2019s fallen completely out of the rotation.<\/p>\n

One Celtics superfan, Dale, told Garza he was nervous after the Nikola Vucevic trade because he didn\u2019t it to cut into his minutes.<\/p>\n

\u201cI wasn\u2019t happy these last couple of games,\u201d Dale said, referencing the most recent three-game stretch in which Garza fell out of the rotation. \u201cThat\u2019s my boy!\u201d<\/p>\n

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Harper Jr., meanwhile, was just a few weeks removed from signing his first standard NBA contract, after four two-way deals and a major shoulder injury. And, by the looks of it, the allure of being a Boston Celtic had not worn off \u2014 the 26-year-old did not stop grinning the entire afternoon.<\/p>\n

\u201cMr. Harper!\u201d said one little boy in a Banner 18 jersey. \u201cYou\u2019re my favorite player.\u201d<\/p>\n

And, Walsh signed a slew of #27 jerseys, his teammates teasing him about the relative popularity of his jersey and jokingly getting out of the way. Garza and Harper Jr. clapped as Walsh signed his superfans\u2019 jerseys.<\/p>\n

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The Celtics fans travelled from all over to celebrate a special regular season<\/h4>\n

One older fan, Chris, drove from Pittsfield, Massachusetts, to attend the meet-and-greet.<\/p>\n

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\u201cI just wouldn\u2019t miss it,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m so excited for the playoffs. It\u2019s absolutely worth it. Being three hours away, we don\u2019t get the opportunity to meet these guys. So, you\u2019ve got<\/em> to do the drive.\u201d<\/p>\n

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On his way out, Chris tapped Garza, Walsh, and Harper on the chest and urged them to deliver Banner 19.<\/p>\n

Farrell, who became a Celtics fan during the pandemic, was not surprised at the Celtics\u2019 success this year, in large part because he\u2019s long had an undying belief in Payton Pritchard.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was a Pritchard fan before Pritchard really started to come into his own,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd nobody believed me. Everybody said, \u2018Yeah, he\u2019s just another player. He gets a three-pointer every now and then.\u2018 I said, \u2018No, no, no. This guy has some magic.\u2019 And now that he\u2019s a Celtics star, my friends all think I\u2019m psychic.\u201d<\/p>\n

Another superfan, Chris Breen, travelled from Canada, where he is based. He dons a bright green beard and is usually front and center at Celtics-Raptors games at Scotiabank Arena.<\/p>\n

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