Celtics superfans ready to pump up crowd at TD Garden NBA Finals watch party
BOSTON - If Batman has Bruce Wayne, and Superman has Clark Kent, then Celtics superfans have an everyday life too. We spoke to two superfans who will be in attendance for the first ever Celtics watch party at the TD Garden for Game 3 of the NBA Finals.
Shamrock jacket and chicken hat
You may recognize Nate Gayman as the man in a chicken hat and a suit, but by day he works in telecommunications sales and lives in Wakefield. His colleagues have gotten used to his local fame.
"He hits me back on [Microsoft] Teams and goes, 'Wait are you that guy?" said Gayman. "I was like yeah, that's me."
Nate was a Detroit Pistons fan before moving to Massachusetts decades ago. His Detroit fandom relinquished as he became a diehard Red Sox fan.
"In 2004, I went to 21 games. I wore my chicken hat against the Yankees, and that's when I really, really honed in my heckling skills," said Gayman. "I guarantee the Yankees in 04' still remember my voice."
The origins of the chicken hat date back to a trip he took to Cincinnati for Octoberfest.
"My uncle had this chicken hat, and I said, 'I am not leaving without this.' I had that same chicken hat for so long. I kept Googling chicken hat, chicken hat, and then finally I got through to my manufacturer," said Gayman.
From there, the getup evolved to include a shamrock suit jacket with pins and patches. There is even a Jayson Tatum action figure that sits in his suit pocket.
"Lebron? I caught him looking for me," said Gayman. "I've got them all looking for me."
"The Well-Dressed Man" Lynsdale Ford
Nate will be at the Celtics watch party Wednesday night sitting next to fellow superfan Lynsdale Ford.
"When I'm not into my alter ego, and my addiction to the Celtics, I'm a construction worker by day," said Ford.
He grew up in a village in Belize, and they barely had the ability to watch the NBA on TV. He said maybe if it was Christmas Day. "I was one of those kids that sat in a third world country, and was told you will never be anything in life," said Ford.
Through the Celtics he found purpose, and he found family. The TD Garden has become his home.
"18,000 people plus rise with me, and that's love," said Ford.
He started going to games 20 years ago. Fans dubbed him "The Well-Dressed Man." You will now find him put together with a shirt, tie, bedazzled hat, and a custom green suit coat.
"This is the jacket that started it all. This one here," said Ford, pulling the coat from a closet. "Only man that signed it was Paul Pierce."
He first spotted the jacket on a guy at a restaurant in Revere.
"I see this guy walk in, and I was like, 'Woah! I fell in love," said Ford. "He said if it fits you, you could wear it. I said please, please don't play with me."
The jacket fit, and Ford walked away with the piece that became his identity.
Watch party tickets sold out
If you want to join Gayman and Ford at the Celtics TD Garden watch party for Games 3 and 4, it is going to be difficult. The tickets were sold for $18 a piece; however, they sold out for both games. Fans can find them available on the resale market for more than $100.
