Boston, MA
Boston's trip to Abu Dhabi was a complete success
The Boston Celtics won both games against the Denver Nuggets in Abu Dhabi, getting their preseason off to an incredibly strong start against one of the toughest opponents in the NBA. Despite being outside the USA, Boston and Denver played in front of large and engaged crowds.
In a recent article for the Boston Globe, Adam Himmelsbach reported that Boston fans traveled from around the world to be in attendance in Abu Dhabi. During his time with the team, Himmelsbach spoke with numerous fans that had made the trip to see their favorite team playing in the Middle East.
“I think it’s the great luck of my life,” Reant Gumerov, a fan from Tbilisi, Georgia told Himmeslbach. “I am a big Boston fan, and my friends know I watch all the matches and [am] always talking about Boston. I am green, and now I have an opportunity to look at this great show.”
The NBA is an established and consistently growing international brand. Every team in the league has a rabid fanbase outside of the US, with bigger market franchises having pockets of fans in every country around the world. As such, it makes sense that worldwide fans would make the trip to Abu Dhabi to experience a preseason game in the sunshine.
Boston is currently the biggest-name team in the world; that’s what happens when you dominate the league en route to winning a championship.
However, it’s also because of the storied history of the franchise, with legends spanning across multiple generations, ensuring everyone has a head of the Boston Celtics, at least peripherally. The Celtics’ trip to Abu Dhabi was a success. This was not only because of winning both games and getting started on the right foot, but also because it helped raise the profile of the team and the NBA as a whole.
There’s a reason the NBA runs its global games program, and judging by the turn-out at the Etihad Arena, that reason is working.
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This article originally appeared on Celtics Wire: Celtics’ trip to Abu Dhabi was a complete success