Al Horford swarmed by hundreds of Celtics fans during appearance at Raising Cane’s
"When I came here eight years ago, this is what I envisioned."
Al Horford and the rest of the Celtics will be serenaded with cheers, confetti, and libations as Boston’s latest championship parade crawls down Boylston Street on Friday morning.
But a day before the Celtics’ anticipated festivities, the Celtics big man made a pit stop on Boylston Street as part of a promotional event with fried chicken chain Raising Cane’s.
And with the revelry of Boston’s record-setting 18th title still evident across the city, it came as little surprise that hundreds of Celtics fans gathered outside the storefront on Boylston Street as Horford took orders behind the counter.
“We play basketball for the Celtics, but we understand we represent much more,” Horford told reporters, including Noa Dalzell of CelticsBlog. “We represent Boston, we represent the New England area, and I’m just very proud to be able to bring a championship to Boston. When I came here eight years ago, this is what I envisioned. It’s been a lot of hard work, a lot of tough losses over the years. But just to get to this point, I’m very grateful.”
Horford, who arrived at the store in full Raising Cane’s attire, admitted to the media that Thursday marked just the second time that the 38-year-old center has left his house since Boston won its title — with the veteran opting not to travel with a majority of the team down to Miami earlier this week to party.
“I feel like we’re still caught up in the celebration — the confetti going down, everything that just transpired over the last couple days,” Horford said. “I haven’t really had a chance to really look at it from that point of view. I feel like we’re really just caught up in looking at the pictures, trying to take it all in with my family.”
Fans started to line up outside of Raising Cane’s long before Horford arrived at 1 p.m., prompting the Celtics forward to be ushered both to and from the fast-food spot like one of the Beatles in the 1960s.
“It’s a special place. I feel like for me, the love of the people here for their sports, for the game,” Horford said, via Zack Cox. “When I came here as a rookie, that captivated me. I’ve been all over the country and I just haven’t seen the love, the care, commitment from people towards not only their sports, but their community. I feel like here in Boston, it’s like a real tight community. Like, that’s a real thing.
“And I’m out, whether I’m out putting gas in my car, whether I’m at the grocery store, like whatever — people always say good things, always embracing me and my family. And it’s everywhere in Mass.
“I mean, talk about in Boston, but I take my kids apple picking, we go to the beach …. I go to different places and people are the same. They keep the same energy. People really love it here. And for me, that’s the thing that captivated me – was like just the sense of community here and that togetherness that we have here in Boston.”
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