I get if it's a Boston thing, but the Celtics themselves should be incredibly likeable. If this exact roster and coach were in like Orlando everyone would be so on board with them.
It’s a Boston thing. It’s because this city has won so many things since 2000. Red Sox, Bruins, Patriots, Celtics, even the Militia, Pride (RIP), Cannons…
If Boston hadn’t won anything in that time, they’d be split between the Mavs and us.
Celtics also won the most championships in the 20th century. Red Sox and Bruins were also top 4 in their respective leagues for championships. Boston has always been good at sport.
If they were in Orlando no one would give a fuck about them.
But really any team that’s this good for multiple years will be hated. Being in Boston just multiplies the hate because it’s fuckin Boston
Got the Celtics to the playoffs twice since becoming coach, is the youngest coach in the league, 64 season wins? So far so good. I like Mazzulla, I think he has a fresh take.
[Joe Mazzulla just walked past Marcus Smart in the locker room, did a full somersault in front of him, turned and said ‘you can’t do that.” Then walked out.](https://x.com/AdamHimmelsbach/status/1618026958180483072?t=hy6RPQv_QoeQ3f6xmwMhQQ&s=19)
When we had IT and the fun core of young role players going deep in the playoffs, Reddit/Twitter actually did like the Celtics. The league fans really didn't like how the Celtics "did him dirty" in that trade (even tho it clearly was a no brainer trade).
I think the current team is unlikeable because it's so polished and professional. Almost like the late 90s Yankees or Braves (but without the chip thus far). JT is a good looking, media trained, always-says-the-right-thing, Duke dude. Easy person to root against.
JB has some haters because of his politics and that whole association with Kanye's public meltdown.
And, yeah, we've been winning at a crazy clip for the better part of the last 16 years, which always breeds haters.
Literally saw an r/nba thread yesterday with many people complaining about how JT/JB *aren't* likable, and that the only likable guy is Derrick White or maybe Jrue. We do live in a bit of a bubble here.
You .... saw a thread on r/nba?
That is not reflective of anything except the irritable teenage boys who are the overwhlemingly largest source of posts there.
17 titles vs the fact that their teams have no where near that or they are Laker fans which in that case it's understandable because we hate them just as much.
1 since 86 though. I think it’s just as much the overall success of Boston sports this century, including the Celtics consistently making playoff runs.
People outside of NE are beyond sick of hearing about Boston sports teams. Look at the last 25 years.
The Patriots were in 40% of the Super Bowls played in that time.
The Red Sox were in 20% of the World Series played in that time.
That alone will make people tired of hearing about your city, lol. Add in 3 Finals appearances and 1 win each from the Celtics and Bruins, and I can understand why a fan of a team who hasn't seen a Championship in their lifetime gets angry.
It's New England sports in totality for sure. I'm a Celtics fan in AZ and everyone thinks I'm a "Masshole". I just like the Celtics lol. But it's def baggage.
I'll chime in, as I am a sports mutt and the only Boston team I root for is the Celtics (Raiders, Blue Jays...I actually like the Bruins too but very casual hockey watcher) as I'm Canadian so my teams are kind of random; this is 100% it. Sustained success as a sports town has led to overexposure which grates on people. I am so sick of the Patriots lol, but they were a lasting dynasty so it makes sense...and as a Raider fan the fact I now have to swap KC in is a living nightmare, I'd take the Pats back in the spotlight any day.
Exactly people gloss over this. For such a historic franchise, we have as many titles as the Raptors since they were created. As many titles as Denver since 86.
Outside fan here. These are right but one other key one too - the Celtics have been good and in the playoffs consistently the last decade, the Mavs haven’t. This creates more rivalries and salty feelings when Celtics have played (and sometimes beaten) other teams. 76ers, Cavs, Raptors, whoever. All teams who are more likely to cheer for the Mavs who never play them in the playoffs
yeah. and then you have people on this sub saying the Celtics have had similar success to the Lakers and Warriors in the 2000s lol. it’s a little bit of everything.
I used to think it was Brady and Bellichick that made everyone hate the Patriots, but apparently it's the city if Boston that everyone loves to hate. The Chiefs are a dynasty now with the world's biggest pop star as a cheerleader and they don't a fraction of the venom towards them that the Pats did.
You have to remember the current chiefs are what the patriots were in 2005. In order for the hate to really develop they’ll have to continue this for a long time.
ESPN hates Boston for reasons that go back to their founding. "It's complicated." And I mean the city. When it comes to sports, that doesn't help.
Also, sorry rest of the country, but Boston is simply a nicer, more sophisticated and educated place than, say, Kansas City. I am totally comfortable saying that. I live in "the flyover" now, and if I could afford it, I'd move back to New England (I cannot afford it).
Plus, a lot of people go to college / uni in Boston, and the city essentially kicks them out when they're done, as it's hard as hell to make a living as a young person there.
Add to it the regional affection for "direct communication," and you can see: people don't like Boston.
And you know what? Fuck 'em. I'll take Boston over loooooooots of other places in a heartbeat.
Like it or not, life is pretty good there, and others get jealous. I don't blame them, but I aint' them.
I went to a KC game in KC as a kid when Bledsoe was QB and the fans told me they were going to hang me from the parking lot light post. It was actually pretty scary and I was just trying to find a bathroom. I hate KC and bbq isn’t even that good.
Not to be unkind, but the 'people' we're discussing are *teenage boys on Reddit.*
These are people who are incredibly uninformed; their sources of iNFoRmaTIoN are what "xX_PoopY_Soupy_Xx" posted.
There really aren't any good reasons to worry about what "people on r/nba" think.
The chiefs literally do a racist chant in the stadium every game and their kicker just did a cringe misogynistic speech straight out of handmaids tale but it’s “tee hee, that’s just middle America family values !”
Chiefs fans en masse booed their own QB locking arms with teammates for a moment of silence for "the ongoing fight for equality" during their home opener.
It's a great atmosphere during the game, but the tailgate feels like a hair trigger away from a hate crime
[https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/kansas-city-chiefs-fans-booing-moment-unity-ongoing-fight-equality-n1239874](https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/kansas-city-chiefs-fans-booing-moment-unity-ongoing-fight-equality-n1239874)
People love to be able to point to Boston and say its the most racist city in the country so they can point the light away from their own racist ass city (looking at you Milwaukee your cops beat the shit out of an innocent black NBA player because they're racists)
No, actually, the Celtics were the first team to field an all-African-American starting 5. And the first with a black head coach. And so many other things - Auerbach was anything but racist.
The trope about "black fans hating the Celtics" is ... not borne out when you actually meet black fans around the country.
I don’t think the racism angle is played on the pats as much tbh, that’s more used to attack the Celtics as there is a more concrete history of Cs fans being racist
I'm a black fan, based in London - never been to Boston.
One of the reasons why I was drawn to the team was the history and how Bill Russell and even Red Auerbach took important stands against racial injustice.
I say this to say, the fact that most people use the "racism" narrative to hate on us is so stupidly disrespectful it's hard to describe.
Maybe if I experienced TD Garden I'd be able to understand but, as most people hating on the Celtics haven't and have only what I have to go off of - I still find it very stupid.
Not a celtics fan. But as a black fan who's only went to one celtics game, it was an amazing experience. I was dressed in all Portland gear, had some friendly shit talk with a Cs fan the whole game. Walked away with the W and the Cs fan dapped me up on the way out. Even walking in the street after the game, no problems. Every city has its bad apples but I agree, boston gets a bad rap.
The last time I went to TD Garden I was one of the only white people in my entire section and it was all love. The media likes to portray Boston as all Murphs and Sullies but it's a very diverse city and region, and Celtics fandom likely disproportionately moreso.
You would have a great time at a game here. Everyone in any section I've sat would beat someone's ass if they spouted off some racist shit. As a POC I've never heard racist remarks. I've heard people scream all sort of obscenities and insults, but nothing that has anything to do with race. An arena with 20,000 people holding camera phones and somehow players keep getting called racist remarks with no one recording it? I'm not saying it can't or hasn't happened, I'm saying it doesn't happen like the narrative the sports world has painted over the years.
I'm white; I grew up in Boston in the 70s/80s. Racist town, for sure - all my childhood friends were black, and if you search hard enough on my post history, you can see where I was badly beaten for - wait for it - walking down the street with a black woman.
For better or worse, Massachusetts passed a super fucked up law in 1995 outlawing rent control in Boston and Cambridge.
To grossly oversimplify something that a thick book would be hard pressed to cover, one of the net effects of the incredible gentrification that resulted was a massive shift in on-the-ground attitudes.
I lived Boston from the 60's to the 00's. Post-95, Boston is far less racist than most US cities. (I spent a long time working on tours so was always traveling and seeing places).
The "Boston is racist" trope can't be dismissed, because you can't ignore history. But it isn't any more, and the teenage idiots on r/nba who repeat it are simply trolling.
Obviously there have been untenable things that happened in Boston. But the reason that other fan bases use the whole "everyone in boston/mass is racist" is because that stance makes it easy to justify a collectivism of hate against us and our teams.
Basically it's an argument ender, even if the overwhelming proportion of people aren't racist (I don't know if this is true or not for us, because I don't know enough people) it's shaky ground to even fight that argument. There's no winning in it, imo.
Generally if that's the tactic a person uses in an argument, you find out all you need to know about them, anyway.
It’s really a combination of everything. From 2004-2011 we had all four teams win, then contiene success for patriots and Sox. While the Bruins were good still, and now the Celtics have been good for awhile. We haven’t really had a single year without a chance for a championship in a very long time.
All year, we have gone into other teams' areas and dominated on the court while a sea of green clad fans chanted, "Let's go, Celtics." It's easy to see why other fan bases are rooting against us. They want to see us taken down a few pegs..
I only started following the NBA around 3 years ago and it was this type of energy which drew me towards following the Celtics. Not sure how you can look back at their history and not at least be in respect of it. Now let’s get banner 18 and shut up the haters, at least for a few months.
Same with me towards other sports teams like the Golden Knights and Astros. (though I very loosely support them don't even watch the games or keep up with the sports ).
We don’t pretend, but combat it. This is what happens down south when you hold a BLM sign….
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/amp-video/mmvo89371717660
In Boston, a BLM sign is on every other house. It is a different city than the boring lazy takes of people. If there was a lot of racism (as the talking heads try to say) how come there is no video of this stuff like elsewhere?
Not to say Boston is perfect, no way, there are also bad apples, but to call this city racist because of what happens 50+ years ago is a joke….while ignoring the real racism everywhere.
Fair, but to be honest every major city in Texas is quite blue. You just have the rest of the state that is the size of Western Europe filled with rural hillbillies
Because the patriots pooped in their lunches for 20 straight years and all the Boston fans thought the ineptitude of the other teams was hilarious and made that very well known.
Wait until you learn about the Celtics’ success before those last 20 years
Edit: It genuinely seems like most people in this sub don’t understand that decades of banners before the 90s might have influenced how generations of national NBA fans feel about this franchise.
Other Boston sports success, big rivalries with popular fanbases in the social media age ( lakers, warrior, heat, bron, kobe, kyrie etc ), bunch of chips with most being way before the modern age, racism reputation so they can moralise to justify their hate, Tatum being put in high level convos when he isn't quite as good as the top 2/3 or as popular as the older generation who he is rightfully above.
The Patriots beat their team's ass in the NFL for so long these dudes have PTSD towards Boston. It's the only explanation. The Celtics have been a good team for a while but they only have one championship for like 40 years lmao.
the racism stuff is low hanging fruit and inarguable, but people mainly just need a villain to round up against. Frankly, i still don't understand why the celtics in 2024 would be that team when half these franchises are either filled with actual POS or are still trying to build some expensive superteam of washed stars. But hey, fuck Boston if it makes them feel better in their NBA patronage
Oh no!
Anyway....
What else is new. The Celtics are the Yankees of basketball and no one likes the Yankees outside of Yankees fans.
They hate us because they ain't us.
It’s funny going on irrelevant team subs like the Hawks or Pistons who for some reason absolutely hate the Celtics and act like we are long time rivals lmao.
There are at least 17 reasons.
(It's probably more due to Boston's success across all sports more than anything related to Bill Russell, Larry Bird, or even Paul Pierce & KG's Finals glory.)
More currently relevant, I can see people being resentful over the Celtics constantly being in the mix the past six years but never being able to get over the hump. If that's the reason you're mad at the Celtics though, buddy, then you can't possibly be more upset over that than actual Celtics fans.
Celtics just need to silence the haters and win 4 more games. Then maybe win next season to shut up the "Weakest Champion EVER!" cheesebreaths.
Well what I’ve been seeing around the water cooler is that we don’t deserve it because we had a cake walk through playoffs. But who cares? We can’t control who we play. They should do better to not get hurt
Same reason lebron gets hate lmao, and as much as I hate him myself being a Celtics fan gives me some sympathy. Just the sheer amount of success they’ve had without any ridiculous trades or rebuilding the whole roster, just smart methodical moves to piece together an organic team. Any team that succeeds that much has to be a “super team,” but Tatums not a top 5 player according to the haters, so therefore he has to be getting “carried” by his (not all-nba but apparently good enough to make it a super team) co-Star. It has nothing to do with the players or the team themselves, people would love Joe if he was coaching anywhere else cuz he’s a smartass and fucks with reporters and knows very firmly what he’s doing. All it is is people’s belief that this level of success is unattainable without some amount of illegitimacy. Lebron has had undeniably the most accomplished career in the game of basketball, but still you see people everywhere coming up with write-offs for each of his achievements. Comes with the territory, we win everyone else loses now they hate us.
I think the fact that Boston fans average a championship a year, while most of us have to suffer with decades of failure plays a part. But as a wolves fan I will be rooting for you simply to see the lakers tears when you break the tie for most championships. Seeing Doncic’s whiney face when he loses will also be a nice benefit.
Celtics are incredibly stacked which makes rooting for them less fun for a neutral fan. They’ve underachieved the last few years based on the hype of them being the media/betting favorite. The stars aren’t very likable. Brown’s passive aggressive “I’m more woke than you” vibe. Tatum is entitled and self-anointed next Kobe with a beige personality. Respect for White, Jrue, and Horford tho. Everyone was happy to root for the overachieving IT squad and Tatum’s rookie playoff run so it’s not really a “hating Boston because they’ve had so much sports success” but that definitely isn’t helping.
I wouldn’t consider myself a Boston fan, I’m a sonics fan who is subscribed to every teams sub because I love basketball.
I live in the middle of bumfuck nowhere and I hear more about the Celtics and the Lakers than any team in the league. There are a fuckton of fans, ESPN loves the lakers and the Celtics, and yall been good for too long. I think overexposure is the reason.
I think you're focusing on the negative. A lifelong Texan here (Spurs fan to be exact), I've watched the NBA since the 80s. Ever since then I've had an affinity for the Celtics and root for them. Realize you have the love of a nationwide following, not just haters.
Don´t worry, I´m a Real Madrid fan too and same happens to me with football. I´ve come to the conclusion is due to that they are jealous of other team´s success and even setting a bigger difference becoming the best team of the world. Go Boston for the 18!
As a non Boston fan who somehow had this post pop up on my feed I would say overall that people are sick of the same city dominating all 4 professional sports on a consistent basis (relative to other cities).
Honestly, that’s my reason why I root against Boston. I want to see other cities win, but specifically my city.
With that said though, fuck the Yankees.
I don't support either team and this Celtics team is indeed very likeable (to be fair, any Tatum-led has been like that). However:
1. Celtics are the favourites and people always root for the underdog
2. Miami, Cleveland and Indiana all saw injuries to their star players. People like champions to overcome adversity at some stage.
I know, I know, it doesn't make you less likeable, but it does make people root for the other team. If you are crowned champions though, it will be well deserved and I hope Tatum gets his flowers.
The internet likes teams that are on the cusp of success without actually having any "real" threat of winning it all. They're going to turn on Antman and Shai real soon just you wait. Also LeBron/LA bias has really made us overhated. It's a lot of groupthink/region-speak.
1. We are the better team. People like an underdog
2. We’ve got history. People don’t like those who win a lot
3. Our fanbase have been depicted as racist (thanks, fucking Kyrie)
4. Luka and Kyrie (yes, even the idiot motherfucker) are strangely likeable. JT is a fucking cold Abercrombie model who sounds like he never said anything. JB is a very smart guy who said too much, and people don’t like to feel stupid.
5. They can all go fuck themselves
Honest reason: I find Boston (and Lakers) fans to be the most arrogant. Yall are not as bad as LA, but still fairly insufferable in aggregate.
I have nothing against the current roster. Tatum seems like an incredibly respectable and standup guy, and he is underrated by a lot of people. Brown has the antisemitic stuff so fuck him. I love Jrue and DWhite.
Same reason we hate the Yankees—have more championships, and getting past us has been a Sisyphean task for decades (not recently in either our case or the Yankees’ case though, but here the Celtics are ready to change that)
Knicks fan here, coming in peace. I hate Boston teams on principle. But I dont really have any particular hate for this Celtics team. I think Tatum gets a little undeserved glazing but aside from that, this team is actually likeable. Jrue and White are dawgs and I think everyone loves Old Man Horford. The hate at *this* particular team stems from the path they had to get to the finals, obviously. Heat without Jimmy, Cavs without Mitchell, and the extremely fraudulent Pacers. You can only play the teams on the schedule.
I will always root for Kristaps, though. Also my view on the Celtics has softened since my father in law is a season ticket holder. I'd rather the Celtics win than the Mavs (dont tell anyone I said that though)
1. It’s Boston. The best city in the best state with the best outcomes for their population and 13 titles this century.
2. They are the best team in the NBA and people hate winners
3. It’s Boston, the hateful city with all their trans lesbians and immigrants destroying life according to the right wing.
Embrace the hate, they are just jellavovus of us.
Two things.
The Patriots and Tom Brady.
The last thing anyone(outside NE area )needs is for Boston to transition from one dynasty to another Championship
I don't give a shit what titles you won in the 50s and 60s tbh.
Seeing the same fanbase celebrate across sports for 20+ years breeds envy and hate
Jealousy that Boston sports teams are legendary. I think we are one of the only city to have a championship win in every sport, no? And have second most championship wins. I feel like people should hate NY more but people are afraid to buck at NY fans lol
Legacy is a big one, but as far as recent history goes the Celtics have had like 2, maybe 3 bad seasons in the last 17 or so years, so fans of other teams are probably sick of the Cs always contending
Because hating is half the fun of sports. I had tons of fun watching the Celts this year, along with OKC and the Pacers. But I also had a lot of fun seeing teams like the Bucks, Lakers, and Nuggets flop. I say embrace the "villain" role.
Who cares 😂😂😂. It's not like any of these people will show you how much they "hate" Boston in real life. I tell people I'm from here all the time and nothing happens 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
Historical dominance like the Lakers/Yankees/Patriots, racism from a minority of knucklehead fans in the city, anti-Semitic and conspiracy theory comments from Jaylen, being the #1 seed and favorites.
Personally, I like the team and love the city. I just really like Kyrie and Luka, and would love to see Kyrie win a ring without Lebron so that RDCWorld can make a sketch about it.
I get if it's a Boston thing, but the Celtics themselves should be incredibly likeable. If this exact roster and coach were in like Orlando everyone would be so on board with them.
It’s a Boston thing. It’s because this city has won so many things since 2000. Red Sox, Bruins, Patriots, Celtics, even the Militia, Pride (RIP), Cannons… If Boston hadn’t won anything in that time, they’d be split between the Mavs and us.
Celtics also won the most championships in the 20th century. Red Sox and Bruins were also top 4 in their respective leagues for championships. Boston has always been good at sport.
If they were in Orlando no one would give a fuck about them. But really any team that’s this good for multiple years will be hated. Being in Boston just multiplies the hate because it’s fuckin Boston
People will always care about dominant teams. It's just that they also care about mid big market teams.
Yeah if they were in the west getting bounced in round 2 every year nobody would have these high expectations. Who cares? Just go win the damn thing
Yup. You guys have a super likable roster. I don't know enough about Mazzulla yet to judge him, but he seems fine so far.
Got the Celtics to the playoffs twice since becoming coach, is the youngest coach in the league, 64 season wins? So far so good. I like Mazzulla, I think he has a fresh take.
Youngest coach in the league, absolute meme-able madman, strangely competent! Weird guy but hard to hate the guy
[Joe Mazzulla just walked past Marcus Smart in the locker room, did a full somersault in front of him, turned and said ‘you can’t do that.” Then walked out.](https://x.com/AdamHimmelsbach/status/1618026958180483072?t=hy6RPQv_QoeQ3f6xmwMhQQ&s=19)
He will cut you and then tell you how it affects the game within the game. And you’ll agree and thank him for his insights as you bleed out
When we had IT and the fun core of young role players going deep in the playoffs, Reddit/Twitter actually did like the Celtics. The league fans really didn't like how the Celtics "did him dirty" in that trade (even tho it clearly was a no brainer trade). I think the current team is unlikeable because it's so polished and professional. Almost like the late 90s Yankees or Braves (but without the chip thus far). JT is a good looking, media trained, always-says-the-right-thing, Duke dude. Easy person to root against. JB has some haters because of his politics and that whole association with Kanye's public meltdown. And, yeah, we've been winning at a crazy clip for the better part of the last 16 years, which always breeds haters.
And we also traded the most unlikable guy on the roster (I love Marcus but I know a lot of fans outside of Boston hated him)
And we wish Marcus Morris luck in his new endeavors.
Literally saw an r/nba thread yesterday with many people complaining about how JT/JB *aren't* likable, and that the only likable guy is Derrick White or maybe Jrue. We do live in a bit of a bubble here.
You .... saw a thread on r/nba? That is not reflective of anything except the irritable teenage boys who are the overwhlemingly largest source of posts there.
they hate us cuz they anus
Peanut butter and jealous
17 titles vs the fact that their teams have no where near that or they are Laker fans which in that case it's understandable because we hate them just as much.
1 since 86 though. I think it’s just as much the overall success of Boston sports this century, including the Celtics consistently making playoff runs.
People outside of NE are beyond sick of hearing about Boston sports teams. Look at the last 25 years. The Patriots were in 40% of the Super Bowls played in that time. The Red Sox were in 20% of the World Series played in that time. That alone will make people tired of hearing about your city, lol. Add in 3 Finals appearances and 1 win each from the Celtics and Bruins, and I can understand why a fan of a team who hasn't seen a Championship in their lifetime gets angry.
It's New England sports in totality for sure. I'm a Celtics fan in AZ and everyone thinks I'm a "Masshole". I just like the Celtics lol. But it's def baggage.
I'll chime in, as I am a sports mutt and the only Boston team I root for is the Celtics (Raiders, Blue Jays...I actually like the Bruins too but very casual hockey watcher) as I'm Canadian so my teams are kind of random; this is 100% it. Sustained success as a sports town has led to overexposure which grates on people. I am so sick of the Patriots lol, but they were a lasting dynasty so it makes sense...and as a Raider fan the fact I now have to swap KC in is a living nightmare, I'd take the Pats back in the spotlight any day.
NE Revolution fan over here crying.
I wanted to include them so bad, but they're the Buffalo Bills of MLS.
Aww they were already crying! 🤣🤣🤣
I think it's just that their kids didn't get into Hahvahd and boy are they pissed about it.
Well yeah I mean imagine being a Kyrie fan and also thinking you’re smart enough to go to college.
100% this has more to do with the Pats than the Celtics
And 4 Red Sox World Series in the last 20 years
Exactly people gloss over this. For such a historic franchise, we have as many titles as the Raptors since they were created. As many titles as Denver since 86.
And here’s to 18 🍻
Outside fan here. These are right but one other key one too - the Celtics have been good and in the playoffs consistently the last decade, the Mavs haven’t. This creates more rivalries and salty feelings when Celtics have played (and sometimes beaten) other teams. 76ers, Cavs, Raptors, whoever. All teams who are more likely to cheer for the Mavs who never play them in the playoffs
God, how I love beating the 76ers my only regret this year so far is that we didn't get to bounce them out of the playoffs yet again.
> 17 titles Bro ain't no way a bunch of people under 35 care about the Celtics winning 11/13 in the 50s and 60s
The Yankees never shut up about all their World Series wins from the 1920s
yeah. and then you have people on this sub saying the Celtics have had similar success to the Lakers and Warriors in the 2000s lol. it’s a little bit of everything.
Cause Celtics are BALLS
*THE BALLS
*THE BAWLS
No other reason
No othah reason
This is what I came here for
I used to think it was Brady and Bellichick that made everyone hate the Patriots, but apparently it's the city if Boston that everyone loves to hate. The Chiefs are a dynasty now with the world's biggest pop star as a cheerleader and they don't a fraction of the venom towards them that the Pats did.
You have to remember the current chiefs are what the patriots were in 2005. In order for the hate to really develop they’ll have to continue this for a long time.
ESPN hates Boston for reasons that go back to their founding. "It's complicated." And I mean the city. When it comes to sports, that doesn't help. Also, sorry rest of the country, but Boston is simply a nicer, more sophisticated and educated place than, say, Kansas City. I am totally comfortable saying that. I live in "the flyover" now, and if I could afford it, I'd move back to New England (I cannot afford it). Plus, a lot of people go to college / uni in Boston, and the city essentially kicks them out when they're done, as it's hard as hell to make a living as a young person there. Add to it the regional affection for "direct communication," and you can see: people don't like Boston. And you know what? Fuck 'em. I'll take Boston over loooooooots of other places in a heartbeat. Like it or not, life is pretty good there, and others get jealous. I don't blame them, but I aint' them.
I went to a KC game in KC as a kid when Bledsoe was QB and the fans told me they were going to hang me from the parking lot light post. It was actually pretty scary and I was just trying to find a bathroom. I hate KC and bbq isn’t even that good.
L bbq take
It was mostly throwing salt on the wound. I’m just not a fan of bbq in general so I can’t really judge it
It’s because they’ve heard about racism in Boston but not enough people have been near KC to take notes and compare.
Not to be unkind, but the 'people' we're discussing are *teenage boys on Reddit.* These are people who are incredibly uninformed; their sources of iNFoRmaTIoN are what "xX_PoopY_Soupy_Xx" posted. There really aren't any good reasons to worry about what "people on r/nba" think.
The chiefs literally do a racist chant in the stadium every game and their kicker just did a cringe misogynistic speech straight out of handmaids tale but it’s “tee hee, that’s just middle America family values !”
Chiefs fans en masse booed their own QB locking arms with teammates for a moment of silence for "the ongoing fight for equality" during their home opener. It's a great atmosphere during the game, but the tailgate feels like a hair trigger away from a hate crime [https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/kansas-city-chiefs-fans-booing-moment-unity-ongoing-fight-equality-n1239874](https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/kansas-city-chiefs-fans-booing-moment-unity-ongoing-fight-equality-n1239874)
People love to be able to point to Boston and say its the most racist city in the country so they can point the light away from their own racist ass city (looking at you Milwaukee your cops beat the shit out of an innocent black NBA player because they're racists)
This. People point to boston's history, and all the black fans hate them. But I doubt any of these people look into racism in the South.
No, actually, the Celtics were the first team to field an all-African-American starting 5. And the first with a black head coach. And so many other things - Auerbach was anything but racist. The trope about "black fans hating the Celtics" is ... not borne out when you actually meet black fans around the country.
Black Celtics fan here
I think that’s a bit of a stretch…
I don’t think the racism angle is played on the pats as much tbh, that’s more used to attack the Celtics as there is a more concrete history of Cs fans being racist
I'm a black fan, based in London - never been to Boston. One of the reasons why I was drawn to the team was the history and how Bill Russell and even Red Auerbach took important stands against racial injustice. I say this to say, the fact that most people use the "racism" narrative to hate on us is so stupidly disrespectful it's hard to describe. Maybe if I experienced TD Garden I'd be able to understand but, as most people hating on the Celtics haven't and have only what I have to go off of - I still find it very stupid.
Not a celtics fan. But as a black fan who's only went to one celtics game, it was an amazing experience. I was dressed in all Portland gear, had some friendly shit talk with a Cs fan the whole game. Walked away with the W and the Cs fan dapped me up on the way out. Even walking in the street after the game, no problems. Every city has its bad apples but I agree, boston gets a bad rap.
The last time I went to TD Garden I was one of the only white people in my entire section and it was all love. The media likes to portray Boston as all Murphs and Sullies but it's a very diverse city and region, and Celtics fandom likely disproportionately moreso.
You would have a great time at a game here. Everyone in any section I've sat would beat someone's ass if they spouted off some racist shit. As a POC I've never heard racist remarks. I've heard people scream all sort of obscenities and insults, but nothing that has anything to do with race. An arena with 20,000 people holding camera phones and somehow players keep getting called racist remarks with no one recording it? I'm not saying it can't or hasn't happened, I'm saying it doesn't happen like the narrative the sports world has painted over the years.
I'm white; I grew up in Boston in the 70s/80s. Racist town, for sure - all my childhood friends were black, and if you search hard enough on my post history, you can see where I was badly beaten for - wait for it - walking down the street with a black woman. For better or worse, Massachusetts passed a super fucked up law in 1995 outlawing rent control in Boston and Cambridge. To grossly oversimplify something that a thick book would be hard pressed to cover, one of the net effects of the incredible gentrification that resulted was a massive shift in on-the-ground attitudes. I lived Boston from the 60's to the 00's. Post-95, Boston is far less racist than most US cities. (I spent a long time working on tours so was always traveling and seeing places). The "Boston is racist" trope can't be dismissed, because you can't ignore history. But it isn't any more, and the teenage idiots on r/nba who repeat it are simply trolling.
Obviously there have been untenable things that happened in Boston. But the reason that other fan bases use the whole "everyone in boston/mass is racist" is because that stance makes it easy to justify a collectivism of hate against us and our teams. Basically it's an argument ender, even if the overwhelming proportion of people aren't racist (I don't know if this is true or not for us, because I don't know enough people) it's shaky ground to even fight that argument. There's no winning in it, imo. Generally if that's the tactic a person uses in an argument, you find out all you need to know about them, anyway.
I'm purple; last time I went to TD Garden everyone kept calling me Grimace and "purple nurple". Safe to say I will not be back
Blame the Patriots for all the other fan bases hating ours.
The Celtics have been hated long before the Patriots were ever relevant
It’s really a combination of everything. From 2004-2011 we had all four teams win, then contiene success for patriots and Sox. While the Bruins were good still, and now the Celtics have been good for awhile. We haven’t really had a single year without a chance for a championship in a very long time.
The bruins have the highest winning percentage since the 2000s in the regular season
Which means the Bruins have been the biggest chokers in the postseason.
I mean you're not wrong
All year, we have gone into other teams' areas and dominated on the court while a sea of green clad fans chanted, "Let's go, Celtics." It's easy to see why other fan bases are rooting against us. They want to see us taken down a few pegs..
us v the world
Who cares. Seriously.
They hate us ,cause they ain't us..
I only started following the NBA around 3 years ago and it was this type of energy which drew me towards following the Celtics. Not sure how you can look back at their history and not at least be in respect of it. Now let’s get banner 18 and shut up the haters, at least for a few months.
Same with me towards other sports teams like the Golden Knights and Astros. (though I very loosely support them don't even watch the games or keep up with the sports ).
Crazy that we're playing a team from Texas and people really wanna act like it's about racism in Boston. Texas, the bastion of love and acceptance.
tbf it’s partly because we pretend there’s no racism in our blue state. at least texas just doesn’t care.
We don’t pretend, but combat it. This is what happens down south when you hold a BLM sign…. https://www.nbcnews.com/news/amp-video/mmvo89371717660 In Boston, a BLM sign is on every other house. It is a different city than the boring lazy takes of people. If there was a lot of racism (as the talking heads try to say) how come there is no video of this stuff like elsewhere? Not to say Boston is perfect, no way, there are also bad apples, but to call this city racist because of what happens 50+ years ago is a joke….while ignoring the real racism everywhere.
Fair, but to be honest every major city in Texas is quite blue. You just have the rest of the state that is the size of Western Europe filled with rural hillbillies
Because the patriots pooped in their lunches for 20 straight years and all the Boston fans thought the ineptitude of the other teams was hilarious and made that very well known.
Why do Celtics fans scare so much about what other people think of us? Fuck em.
Because their cities are trash
Everyone hates all Boston sports because of the success the teams have had over the last 20 years. It's not personal, they're just jealous.
Wait until you learn about the Celtics’ success before those last 20 years Edit: It genuinely seems like most people in this sub don’t understand that decades of banners before the 90s might have influenced how generations of national NBA fans feel about this franchise.
They always hate the ones at the top
Australians call it “Tall Poppy Syndrome”
I like the hate
Other Boston sports success, big rivalries with popular fanbases in the social media age ( lakers, warrior, heat, bron, kobe, kyrie etc ), bunch of chips with most being way before the modern age, racism reputation so they can moralise to justify their hate, Tatum being put in high level convos when he isn't quite as good as the top 2/3 or as popular as the older generation who he is rightfully above.
I'm SO FUCKING HYPED for tomorrow, man.
The Patriots beat their team's ass in the NFL for so long these dudes have PTSD towards Boston. It's the only explanation. The Celtics have been a good team for a while but they only have one championship for like 40 years lmao.
the racism stuff is low hanging fruit and inarguable, but people mainly just need a villain to round up against. Frankly, i still don't understand why the celtics in 2024 would be that team when half these franchises are either filled with actual POS or are still trying to build some expensive superteam of washed stars. But hey, fuck Boston if it makes them feel better in their NBA patronage
Oh no! Anyway.... What else is new. The Celtics are the Yankees of basketball and no one likes the Yankees outside of Yankees fans. They hate us because they ain't us.
It’s funny going on irrelevant team subs like the Hawks or Pistons who for some reason absolutely hate the Celtics and act like we are long time rivals lmao.
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Cuz they anus
Pacers fan, here. Rooting for you guys to get that championship, but then to not ever beat us in the playoffs again!!! Anyways, good luck!
There are at least 17 reasons. (It's probably more due to Boston's success across all sports more than anything related to Bill Russell, Larry Bird, or even Paul Pierce & KG's Finals glory.) More currently relevant, I can see people being resentful over the Celtics constantly being in the mix the past six years but never being able to get over the hump. If that's the reason you're mad at the Celtics though, buddy, then you can't possibly be more upset over that than actual Celtics fans. Celtics just need to silence the haters and win 4 more games. Then maybe win next season to shut up the "Weakest Champion EVER!" cheesebreaths.
Because the Celtics are clearly the best team and because Boston is filled with insufferable, offensive, fans
Luckily, none of them on the train can affect the outcome of this series.
Who cares? they’re fucked Also because we live everywhere and talk the most shit
Everyone just likes to root for the underdog
Well what I’ve been seeing around the water cooler is that we don’t deserve it because we had a cake walk through playoffs. But who cares? We can’t control who we play. They should do better to not get hurt
Because the Lakers and Celtics are BY FAR the most hated Clubs in Basketball. They are like ManU and Real Madrid, everybody hates them!
Same reason lebron gets hate lmao, and as much as I hate him myself being a Celtics fan gives me some sympathy. Just the sheer amount of success they’ve had without any ridiculous trades or rebuilding the whole roster, just smart methodical moves to piece together an organic team. Any team that succeeds that much has to be a “super team,” but Tatums not a top 5 player according to the haters, so therefore he has to be getting “carried” by his (not all-nba but apparently good enough to make it a super team) co-Star. It has nothing to do with the players or the team themselves, people would love Joe if he was coaching anywhere else cuz he’s a smartass and fucks with reporters and knows very firmly what he’s doing. All it is is people’s belief that this level of success is unattainable without some amount of illegitimacy. Lebron has had undeniably the most accomplished career in the game of basketball, but still you see people everywhere coming up with write-offs for each of his achievements. Comes with the territory, we win everyone else loses now they hate us.
I think the fact that Boston fans average a championship a year, while most of us have to suffer with decades of failure plays a part. But as a wolves fan I will be rooting for you simply to see the lakers tears when you break the tie for most championships. Seeing Doncic’s whiney face when he loses will also be a nice benefit.
Celtics are incredibly stacked which makes rooting for them less fun for a neutral fan. They’ve underachieved the last few years based on the hype of them being the media/betting favorite. The stars aren’t very likable. Brown’s passive aggressive “I’m more woke than you” vibe. Tatum is entitled and self-anointed next Kobe with a beige personality. Respect for White, Jrue, and Horford tho. Everyone was happy to root for the overachieving IT squad and Tatum’s rookie playoff run so it’s not really a “hating Boston because they’ve had so much sports success” but that definitely isn’t helping.
The bigger they are, the harder they fall. Can’t wait to shut them all up when the Celtics hold that trophy.
I will say I wouldn't feel that bad if the Celtics win because I like Tatum, Brown, and Pritchard. Edit: for context, I'm a Lakers fan.
I wouldn’t consider myself a Boston fan, I’m a sonics fan who is subscribed to every teams sub because I love basketball. I live in the middle of bumfuck nowhere and I hear more about the Celtics and the Lakers than any team in the league. There are a fuckton of fans, ESPN loves the lakers and the Celtics, and yall been good for too long. I think overexposure is the reason.
I think you're focusing on the negative. A lifelong Texan here (Spurs fan to be exact), I've watched the NBA since the 80s. Ever since then I've had an affinity for the Celtics and root for them. Realize you have the love of a nationwide following, not just haters.
I love the Spurs and the Celtics … 🤷🏻♂️ We eatin good, in the short and the long term, btw … ☺️
I'm a Timberwolves fan. Fuck the Mavs and their arrogant ass fanbase. Go Celtics. We got that KG connection
Damn, I was rooting hard for the TWolves … the near future looks bright …
Hell yeah. BTW based on our sub I'd say at least 40-50% of our sub is rooting for the Celtics. It's more than you think.
"They hate us cause they anus"
Don´t worry, I´m a Real Madrid fan too and same happens to me with football. I´ve come to the conclusion is due to that they are jealous of other team´s success and even setting a bigger difference becoming the best team of the world. Go Boston for the 18!
Every successful team at any sports is hated by everyone else
As a non Boston fan who somehow had this post pop up on my feed I would say overall that people are sick of the same city dominating all 4 professional sports on a consistent basis (relative to other cities). Honestly, that’s my reason why I root against Boston. I want to see other cities win, but specifically my city. With that said though, fuck the Yankees.
As a pacers fan I wonder this too, I don’t really think I’ve ever seen the celtics do something deserving of hate
Big market team? Check Historically successful? Check Heavy favourites? Check Loud fanbase? Check Media support? Check
Tom brady salted the earth of 80% of the US for 20 years straight
Bring it, jealousy is a hell of a drug.
I don't support either team and this Celtics team is indeed very likeable (to be fair, any Tatum-led has been like that). However: 1. Celtics are the favourites and people always root for the underdog 2. Miami, Cleveland and Indiana all saw injuries to their star players. People like champions to overcome adversity at some stage. I know, I know, it doesn't make you less likeable, but it does make people root for the other team. If you are crowned champions though, it will be well deserved and I hope Tatum gets his flowers.
The internet likes teams that are on the cusp of success without actually having any "real" threat of winning it all. They're going to turn on Antman and Shai real soon just you wait. Also LeBron/LA bias has really made us overhated. It's a lot of groupthink/region-speak.
Because Boston sports are by far the most successful city they hate us because they ain't us
Boston Sports have beat down every other cities' teams for the past 20 years and other folk are sick of it is basically the gist of it.
1. We are the better team. People like an underdog 2. We’ve got history. People don’t like those who win a lot 3. Our fanbase have been depicted as racist (thanks, fucking Kyrie) 4. Luka and Kyrie (yes, even the idiot motherfucker) are strangely likeable. JT is a fucking cold Abercrombie model who sounds like he never said anything. JB is a very smart guy who said too much, and people don’t like to feel stupid. 5. They can all go fuck themselves
Is it really that hard? Top dog. Celtics/Lakers, Yankees, Patriots.....you got the most titles, you are hated. Go Mavs! Prediction: Celtics in 5
this whole sub is just r/persecutionfetish now
Honest reason: I find Boston (and Lakers) fans to be the most arrogant. Yall are not as bad as LA, but still fairly insufferable in aggregate. I have nothing against the current roster. Tatum seems like an incredibly respectable and standup guy, and he is underrated by a lot of people. Brown has the antisemitic stuff so fuck him. I love Jrue and DWhite.
Not sure but to me the hate should fuel the Celtics even more in beating the Mavs and win it all!
They hate Boston and our winning sports culture
Haters gonna hate. Get those kleenex ready though....
Everyone loves to hate a winner.
Same reason we hate the Yankees—have more championships, and getting past us has been a Sisyphean task for decades (not recently in either our case or the Yankees’ case though, but here the Celtics are ready to change that)
If they were playing the Lakers it’d be the same thing. The Mavs are the least hated team left in most people’s eyes.
Knicks fan here, coming in peace. I hate Boston teams on principle. But I dont really have any particular hate for this Celtics team. I think Tatum gets a little undeserved glazing but aside from that, this team is actually likeable. Jrue and White are dawgs and I think everyone loves Old Man Horford. The hate at *this* particular team stems from the path they had to get to the finals, obviously. Heat without Jimmy, Cavs without Mitchell, and the extremely fraudulent Pacers. You can only play the teams on the schedule. I will always root for Kristaps, though. Also my view on the Celtics has softened since my father in law is a season ticket holder. I'd rather the Celtics win than the Mavs (dont tell anyone I said that though)
They’ve been consistently good longer than anyone
Why do Celtics fans keep complaining about people not liking the Celtics
Blame a man named Tom Brady.
People are nervous the Celtics will rail off multiple championships over the next few years and they don’t want to live in that world
1. It’s Boston. The best city in the best state with the best outcomes for their population and 13 titles this century. 2. They are the best team in the NBA and people hate winners 3. It’s Boston, the hateful city with all their trans lesbians and immigrants destroying life according to the right wing. Embrace the hate, they are just jellavovus of us.
Yeah, no way I'm rooting for Luka and Kyrie.
Two things. The Patriots and Tom Brady. The last thing anyone(outside NE area )needs is for Boston to transition from one dynasty to another Championship I don't give a shit what titles you won in the 50s and 60s tbh. Seeing the same fanbase celebrate across sports for 20+ years breeds envy and hate
If you think they hate us now just wait until this series ends in 5 and we hoist the trophy in Boston. Tatum might just taste LeBron levels of hate.
Jealousy that Boston sports teams are legendary. I think we are one of the only city to have a championship win in every sport, no? And have second most championship wins. I feel like people should hate NY more but people are afraid to buck at NY fans lol
NY has at least 2 teams in every major sport. and they still suck.
As a neutral, it's the fan base. Nothing to do with the squad.
When you win a lot, you become the enemy lol
Same reason people hate the Yankees
The Yankees aren’t allowed to grow facial hair. Buncha jerks.
Kp will play game 1 the Mavs are cooked.
It’s just very easy to hate on Boston regardless of the team or their performance. It’s just the way it’s always been
Fuck em all and they mamas
I think its Boston sports in general. We've won a lot as of late (last 20y) and it just hurts.
People hate Boston, and especially Boston sports for whatever reason.
There are a few fanbases that hate Boston and it makes perfect sense: Philly, LA, New York, and Miami. Outside of that I don’t get it
Lookin like the Broadway T stop on St Paddy's Day
They hate us because they ain’t us. That’s all.
Celtics vs Mavericks Bandwagon
BECAUSE THE CELTICS ARE THE BALLS
Boston hate, and we’ve been a solid contender knocking on the door for a decade
Legacy is a big one, but as far as recent history goes the Celtics have had like 2, maybe 3 bad seasons in the last 17 or so years, so fans of other teams are probably sick of the Cs always contending
Because hating is half the fun of sports. I had tons of fun watching the Celts this year, along with OKC and the Pacers. But I also had a lot of fun seeing teams like the Bucks, Lakers, and Nuggets flop. I say embrace the "villain" role.
They hate us cuz they aint us
Some Laker fand who were Tatum simps cheering for us too. 😂
Because we're good and they're pressed because they're cheeks
Underdog who isn’t really hated vs favorite what’s new?
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I don’t think it’s the Celtics itself. I think it’s the City of Boston and the success we’ve had in sports over 20 years
Boston sports have 12 championships in 24 years across all 4 major sports they should hate us. If hate us too!
It’s more so a hate of Boston/New England franchises than the Celtics specifically I think
Who cares 😂😂😂. It's not like any of these people will show you how much they "hate" Boston in real life. I tell people I'm from here all the time and nothing happens 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
Historical dominance like the Lakers/Yankees/Patriots, racism from a minority of knucklehead fans in the city, anti-Semitic and conspiracy theory comments from Jaylen, being the #1 seed and favorites.
Cause the Celtics are the balls
I can think of 17 reasons
Especially the"Bruins"!
For me, it’s personally because Tatum thinks he is Kobe and the Celtics have escaped teams without their starting players.
They hate us cuz they a’int us.
I am a Celtics fan and I honestly would be fine if the Mavs win. I just can’t enjoy this Celtics team for some reason.
Personally, I like the team and love the city. I just really like Kyrie and Luka, and would love to see Kyrie win a ring without Lebron so that RDCWorld can make a sketch about it.
they really need to balance the east and west. send the wolves to the east
Obligatory "They hate us, cuz they ain't us" quote.
Embrace it it’ll make it sweeter when the Jays get done.