BOSTON – If Batman has Bruce Wayne and Superman has Clark Kent, then Celtics superfans have everyday lives, too. We spoke with two superfans who will be in attendance at the first-ever Celtics viewing party at the TD Garden for Game 3 of the NBA Finals.
Shamrock jacket and chicken hat
You might recognize Nate Gayman as the guy in a chicken hat and a suit, but by day he works in telecommunications sales and lives in Wakefield. His colleagues have grown accustomed to his local fame.
“He’s hitting me again [Microsoft] Teams up and says, “Wait, are you that guy?” Gayman said. “I thought yes, that’s me.”
Nate was a Detroit Pistons fan before moving to Massachusetts decades ago. His Detroit fandom gave up when he became a diehard Red Sox fan.
“I went to 21 games in 2004. I wore my chicken hat against the Yankees, and that’s when I really honed my skills as a negotiator,” Gayman said. “I guarantee the Yankees will remember my vote in 04′.”
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The origin of the chicken hat dates back to a trip he made to Cincinnati for Oktoberfest.
“My uncle had a chicken hat and I said, ‘I’m not leaving without this.’ “I had that same chicken hat for so long that I kept googling chicken hat, chicken hat, and finally I found my manufacturer,” Gayman said.
From there the outfit evolved to include a shamrock jacket with pins and patches. There’s even a Jayson Tatum action figure in the pocket of his suit.
“Lebron? I saw him looking for me,” Gayman said. “I’ll have them all looking for me.”
“The Well Dressed Man” Lynsdale Ford
Nate will be at the Celtics watch party on Wednesday night, alongside fellow superfan Lynsdale Ford.
“If I don’t love my alter ego and my addiction to the Celtics, I’m a construction worker by day,” Ford said.
Growing up in a village in Belize, they barely had the opportunity to watch the NBA on TV. He said it might have been Christmas Day. “I was one of those kids who was in a third world country and was told you’re never going to amount to anything in life,” Ford said.
Through the Celtics he found purpose, and he found family. The TD Garden has become his home.
“Over 18,000 people stand with me, and that’s love,” Ford said.
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He started going to competitions 20 years ago. Fans called him ‘The Well-Dressed Man’. You can now find it together with a shirt, tie, beautiful hat and a custom-made green jacket.
‘This is the jacket that started it all. This one here,” Ford said, pulling the coat out of a closet. “The only man who signed it was Paul Pierce.”
He first saw the jacket on a man at a restaurant in Revere.
“I saw this guy come in and I thought, ‘Woah! I fell in love,'” Ford said. “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 the party tickets sell out
If you want to join Gayman and Ford in the Celtics TD Garden viewing party for Games 3 and 4 it will be difficult. The tickets sold for $18 each; however, they sold out both games. Fans can find them on the resale market for over $100.
