David Ortiz is nothing short of a legend in Boston.
After 14 years with the Red Sox and three World Series titles, he brought the city together in its darkest hours and grew to love Boston just as much as Boston loves him. Although he’s no longer on the field, his loyalty to the city and its teams remains unwavering.
Big Papi has often been a familiar presence courtside at Celtics games over the years, frequently donning a #42 Al Horford jersey. The relationship between Ortiz and Horford goes way back. Their connection began with Horford’s mother, Arelis Reynoso, who worked as a sports journalist in the Dominican Republic and began to cover Ortiz and his winter league baseball teams there.
The two reconnected during Horford’s rookie year, when the Atlanta Hawks had a playoff game against the Celtics in 2008. Since then, the two Dominican athletes have remained close, with Ortiz even playing a role in recruiting Horford to Boston as a free agent in 2016.
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For Ortiz, his close friendship with Horford, along with his Celtics fandom, made the moment when the Celtics raised Banner 18 in June even sweeter.
“I gotta tell you, man, I’m a Celtic. I cheer. I scream. I cry. That’s my thing, man,” Ortiz said. “When I see the Celtics win, when I see my hometown homie getting it done, I feel like I got it done.”
Ortiz had a front-row seat for Boston’s dramatic Game 1 win over the Pacers in the Eastern Conference Finals in May, where Jaylen Brown’s clutch buzzer-beating 3-pointer forced overtime—sending the Hall of Famer slugger into a frenzy.
Ortiz cheered on the green from a distance as the Celtics secured the championship against the Mavericks in the NBA Finals, ending a 16-year title drought—a triumph Ortiz had foreseen after their devastating loss to the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference Finals the year before.
“Last year during the playoffs, I saw what happened this year coming,” Ortiz said. “I saw it. I mean, I saw the guys, more experienced, Tatum with more experience, all of them. I mean, it was an absolutely great moment.”
For Ortiz, and for Boston, the victory was well worth the wait. As Ortiz knows well, winning a championship in this city is something truly special.
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“These guys, and any sport here in New England — if you go to the Celtics, you go to the Patriots, you go to the Red Sox, you go to the Bruins, any sport, even when you go to a college sport, you can see how every single athlete is just trying their best, because they know who they play for,” Ortiz said.
“This is one of the greatest towns when it comes down to sports. Like I’ve played in every city. And there are three cities where you can sit down and feel like, ‘Wow, you can feel it.’ When you guys go to L.A., you can feel that. When you go to New York, you can feel that. When you play here, you can feel that all the time. So, very happy for the Celtics. Very happy for my boy. Those playoffs were amazing.”
Now, the focus turns to the possibility of becoming Boston’s first repeat champion since the New England Patriots in 2003 and 2004—a feat Ortiz believes they can achieve.
“Of course, the Celtics are gonna repeat,” Ortiz confidently said when asked for a prediction about next year’s champion. “Without a doubt.”
