WASHINGTON, DC -- Late November in Washington doesn’t scream for an outdoor event, but the White House staff didn't have much choice. The crowd for this celebration of the Boston Celtics championship was too big to hold it inside, so they moved it out to the Rose Garden.
“I think this is one of the largest groups to ever come together in the White House to celebrate a championship, even far larger than 2008,” Celtics co-owner Steve Pagliuca said. “(It included) every Senator, Congressperson, person in the government of Massachusetts, the President, our players, it was just a very emotional and uplifting day.”
The evening chill was more than tolerable for the hundreds there. The hot apple cider might have helped some, but mostly it was the glow of the Larry O’Brien trophy and one last public celebration of the team’s 18th championship that made people forget about the dropping temperatures.
“It's just life-changing,” Wyc Grousbeck told Boston Sports Journal. “President Biden was amazing … to be able to hear him talk about the Celtics that way and to be able to connect with him. It just meant a lot.”
The Boston Celtics arrive at the White House pic.twitter.com/BHXKivqy3L
— John Karalis 🇬🇷 (@John_Karalis) November 21, 2024
The President shared that his Secret Service name was Celtic, which made this particular celebration appropriate. He was presented with the traditional gifts of a jersey and a commemorative ball, which he seemed to enjoy. He tossed the ball to Al Horford and then, on his way out, to Massachusetts Senator Ed Markey standing in the front row.
But while the celebration was a standard White House visit for a champion in many ways, the experience for those involved is always unique.
“It was awesome. That was unbelievable,” Kristaps Porzingis told Boston Sports Journal. “(It’s my) first time here even though I lived in Washington ... got to see the building from the inside. It’s spectacular.”
It was also a first for Brad Stevens, who told me “I was asking Jrue (Holiday) where to go.” Holiday, of course, has a White House visit under his belt from his Milwaukee days.
“I love that these guys get a chance to experience it,” Stevens said. “The older you get, all these experiences are cool, and I think you cherish them more and more.”
Kids dream of winning championships and holding up trophies, but the stuff that happens afterwards is what is most like a dream. Winning the title is obviously amazing, but the players put so much work into getting there that it feels like the culmination of all the practices, film sessions, and hours in the weight room.
The parade? A White House visit? That stuff is mind-blowing.
“Frankly, going to the White House is something I never thought I’d be able to do in my life,” Luke Kornet told Boston Sports Journal. “To meet the President is a really special occasion … I don’t know if this is the last thing we’ll do celebrating the championship, but it’s definitely a cool part of it.”
Derrick White admitted that he was “a little more excited than I thought I was going to be … just to be in the White House and just all the decisions and stuff that goes on in there … being where all the decisions, all the big things happen was the coolest part…
“One of the Secret Service was giving (Jaylen Brown) a history lesson, and I kind of walked over there and kind of listened to the stories, and just all the different pictures and why they're up there, and how they got there. So just hearing different stories like that, that was really cool.”
It wasn’t all simply a celebration, though. The Celtics took advantage of the opportunity to make the case for some of the legislation and initiatives the Celtics Foundation has been involved with. Among them, the “raise the age” initiative, which aims at treating people 18 through 20 years old as juvenile offenders in the criminal justice system in order to give them a better chance at rehabilitation and reduce recidivism. They are also hoping to expand the “Curbside Care” program nationwide. Curbside Care is a mobile unit that provides comprehensive, high-touch, dyadic care to mothers and infants during the first six weeks of life, right outside of patients’ homes, which reduces hurdles to that kind of critical care in lower-income neighborhoods.
“President Biden talked about all the things that we do off the court,” Pagliuca said. “We're actually here in the White House having meetings with the policy advisors now to talk about the things that Celtics United for Social Justice are doing … It's been a fantastic government day, everyone was all in, and Joe Biden himself was very excited and energized at the meeting.”
As much as they hope to accomplish after the celebration, the day was truly dedicated to the champion Celtics. It even included Oshae Brissett, who got to be part of everything and get his championship ring in the process. It added a little something extra to a very memorable day.
“Getting to meet President Biden and have the ceremony is something that you always watch as a kid,” Jayson Tatum said as he left the White House. “Now to be part of that tradition is something we'll always remember.”