PHILADELPHIA — Thursday night, less than 24 hours before the Boston Celtics tipped off Game 3 against the Philadelphia 76ers, a waiter recognized SB Nation’s Noa Dalzell. He was a Scuituate, Mass., native who now makes it his mission to represent Celtics faithful in the trenches of 76ers country.
At the tail end of Game 4 — a Boston blowout — two Celtics fans came careening down the loge-area steps.
“John! John Karalis! Locked On Celtics! We listen every day!”
Karalis — the a Boston Sports Journal Hall of Famer — got out of his seat to greet the two fans, decked head to toe in green, as the final buzzer sounded.
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Celtics fans are everywhere.
And as Payton Pritchard, Jayson Tatum, and Jaylen Brown slowly dismantled the Joel Embiid-led Sixers on Sunday night, that was painstakingly obvious.
“It never gets old,” Jordan Walsh told BostonSportsJournal.com.
“It’s great,” he said. “It’s a testament to, kind of, the culture that we have, but also, the fan culture that we have here. It’s pretty cool to see.”
Words don’t do Sunday night’s scene justice. But maybe songs do.
Justin Bieber and Vanessa Carlton took center stage late in the fourth quarter. The Sixers’ in-arena entertainment decided to run a karaoke promotion, panning to fans singing Bieber’s “Baby” and Carlton’s “A Thousand Miles.”
The Celtics were up by nearly 30 points by then.
Earlier in the game, “Let’s go Celtics” chants broke out. So, the arena crew turned up the volume on Bruno Mars and Rosé’s “APT.,” blasting the song over the loudspeakers.
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Even that couldn’t drown out the Celtics fans.
A sea of green flooded Xfinity Mobile Arena on Sunday. Behind Boston’s bench, that’s all there was. As if the blue and red had been flushed out.
Philadelphia is as prideful a sports city as can be. Murals line the streets. Allen Iverson. Julius Irving. Saquon Barkley. Dick Allen. In Game 3, as the Sixers battled late, the roar of Sixers fans could have shaken the Jumbotron.
By the end of Game 4, Celtics fans had fully taken over the building.
“It’s fun. Obviously, when I played in Orlando, when we played Boston, [we’d] get a lot of Boston fans,” Nikola Vucevic told BostonSportsJournal.com. “I think Chicago is pretty similar [to the Celtics]. When I played there, we would get a lot of fans in other cities. We weren’t as good, so we didn’t win as much to always have that feel. But yeah, obviously with Boston, it was expected, I think.
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“It’s just, obviously, a very historic franchise that’s won a lot, so we have fans everywhere, and it’s great to hear. I mean, especially coming here, a city that is very passionate about their sports, that really gets behind them, for us to hear that at the end was pretty great.”
It was just 11 days ago that the Sixers took down the Orlando Magic in the play-in tournament. A rowdy Philadelphia crowd cheered on Tyrese Maxey as their squad earned its spot in the postseason.
We Want Boston! We Want Boston!
Fast forward to Sunday night, and those exact chants were turned against them.
The first time Celtics fans began the chant, Philadelphia’s crowd tried to tune them out. But by the third and fourth iteration, there weren’t enough Sixers fans left in the building to do so.
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“I like how our fans are petty, too. Giving them the chants right back,” Walsh said. “I love that. So, yeah, I mean, we knew we had the greatest fans, but now this just [was a] representation of it.”
Walsh was even tempted to join in, but he’ll have to wait for that chance.
“I was [tempted], for sure, but I can’t do that until we win one more,” he said with a smile.
Celtics jerseys waved goodbye to Sixers fans as they slowly walked toward the exits early in the fourth quarter. By the final buzzer, there was more green in the crowd than blue or red.
“It’s just another luxury,” said Tatum. “Being a part of the most winningest franchise in NBA history, the amount of fans that we have, and how well they travel [is] just something I’ve been fortunate enough to experience my entire career. You understand it’s not like that everywhere else. So, it’s great to be a part of.”
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The roar of what felt like a Boston home crowd lifted the Celtics through the evening. Momentum was nearly impossible for Philadelphia to capture, as the crowd was almost completely in favor of its opposition.
“It’s great for us,” Brown said. “I think momentum and energy all add up to be able to sway things into your favor or not. So, just being able to have a Celtics fan base that’s great, that travels well, that gives us [that] energy, even when we’re on the road, I think is very helpful.”
Celtics fans are more than a fanbase. They’re the behind-the-bench crowd in Philadelphia during the playoffs. They’re the nuisance that even Bruno Mars and Rosé can’t drown out.
They’re the waiter at a random bar in the heart of Philadelphia on a Thursday night. They’re the two people yelling out to Karalis on media row as the Celtics take a 3-1 series lead.
The Celtics — much like the New England Patriots, Boston Bruins, and Boston Red Sox (gulp) — for many, are a way of life.
It all began with a hustle play. Pritchard crashed the offensive glass, jumping up to snag Vucevic’s missed corner three and laying it up without ever touching the ground.
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From there, all hell broke loose.
A stepback three over the outstretched hand of Andre Drummond. A 30-foot jumper in transition on the Xfinity Mobile Arena logo. A driving, pump-fake pull-up over Dominick Barlow in isolation.
Pritchard couldn’t be stopped.
“It’s great. I mean, obviously, playing against him, he’s done it, and I’ve watched him do it a lot of time,” Vucevic said. “And he’s a hell of a player. His talent to create his own shot, and his shot-making is at an elite level. And especially for a guy [who’s] a bit undersized, to be able to create that much space and be so efficient — and when he gets in that zone, it’s really impressive to see.”
Then, the pièce de résistance.
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As the seconds ticked off the first-quarter game clock, the 76ers knew what was about to happen. Vucevic set a screen for Pritchard at half-court, and Embiid immediately switched with Justin Edwards so as not to give him any space to shoot.
But Pritchard was too quick.
He dribbled around Embiid, and with 0.8 seconds left on the clock, threw up a one-legged, pull-up three from 29 feet out.
“That one to end the first quarter, that one-leg shot was crazy,” Vucevic said. “So yeah, he’s done it a couple of times [since] I’ve been here, and it’s always fun to be a part of and watch it. And I think also what it does, he really gives so much energy to the team. So, it’s great.”
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Pritchard’s dominance continued throughout the night. Thirteen points by the end of the first quarter. Eighteen by halftime. Thirty-two by the end of the third quarter. And that was all.
A scoreless fourth wasn’t enough to hide the wreckage Pritchard left in his wake.
“It’s amazing,” Brown said. “Just, the work ethic speaks for itself. When you see someone put in the work behind the scenes, moments like this, they’re all the better. So, big game from Payton, and I look forward to [him] having more big games throughout the playoffs.”
As Pritchard walked off the floor after his on-court, postgame interview, Lou Williams — who rang the Sixers’ pregame bell — called out to him. He stopped, the two shared a moment, and Pritchard smiled.
The conversation wasn’t audible, but with that many buckets shared between two guys, it was undoubtedly one of great respect.
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And the buckets aren’t enough for Pritchard.
When he’s on the court, it’s as if the whole world is against Pritchard. In his heart, that’s how he feels. Every dribble, drive, and defensive possession is driven by the unrelenting desire to prove the world wrong.
And when the shots fall, he yells. Sometimes, to the Celtics fans sitting in the loge section. Sometimes, to opposing fans. Sometimes, into the ether.
He’ll stare up into the distant crowd, shouting (likely) obscenities only audible to those next to him. And sometimes, not even them.
“I’m not sure,” Brown said with a smile when asked what Pritchard screams on the court. “But whatever it is, tell him to keep doing it. It’s working.”
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But Pritchard also yells at Boston’s bench. Everyone does.
When he makes a shot, he’ll sometimes glance at the Celtics’ sideline. His teammates will be on their feet, whether it’s a first-quarter buzzer-beater or a tough bucket in isolation. He’s not the only one.
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Baylor Scheierman threes lead to a quick thumbs-up, followed by whatever trash talk leaves his lips. Luka Garza‘s scores often yield similar results, minus the thumbs-up.
Even when there isn’t time for a staring contest with Ron Harper Jr., Hugo Gonzalez, and the rest of Boston’s bench brigade, they fill the void.
After Walsh and Scheierman corralled three straight offensive rebounds in the first quarter, the whole bench was on its feet. Sam Hauser got hyped, inching toward actually stepping onto the court. Neemias Queta yelled out toward the action. Assistant coach Ross McMains clapped as fellow assistant Craig Luschenat stood up next to him in the second row.
Just like how Celtics fans are willing to travel to — and take over — enemy territory, the team itself has built up a fortress. An unshakeable collective of humans that never wavers.
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“I think it’s huge. We say it all the time, it’s different here. And I really do believe that,” Walsh said. “Obviously, I haven’t been nowhere else, but I really do believe it’s different here, just hearing thoughts from other guys who have come and gone. But I think that’s huge. I think that’s a big part of our team camaraderie.”
Joe Mazzulla roams the sideline, screaming when necessary and clapping until his hands go red. DJ MacLeay catapults up from his seat, bellowing out when Boston makes a big play. Sam Cassell is always active. As is Tony Dobbins, in his unique, quiet demeanor.
Yet the frenzy that often takes over Boston’s bench in the middle of games is the polar opposite of the team’s everyday mentality. The chaotic celebrations are complemented by a strategic, forget-the-past approach.
“I think you just see a team that has experience in the playoffs, that’s been there before, that knows what it takes. You see the seriousness, the approach,” Vucevic said of his initial impression of Celtics culture. “And I think, to me, the most important thing [is that], no matter what’s going on, there’s no huge swing of emotions. We won Game 1. Played great. It was [onto the] next game. We lost Game 2, didn’t play as well. OK, what can we do different? Game 3, won. Great. Game 4, we win now, I know it’s still [just] move on to the next one.
“So, I think just, obviously, the experience they have, just stay in the middle ground, and understanding that there’s always next game. It’s never over. But I think that, even throughout games, when they’d have runs, when things wouldn’t go our way, we just stay calm and don’t overreact, and that’s very important.”
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The Celtics want the Celtics to thrive. Every Celtic.
If Walsh is on the bench, he’s living and dying with every Scheierman thumbs-up. If Scheierman is on the bench, he’s doing the same for every Walsh stop on Maxey.
Queta stands up for every Garza offensive rebound. Every Vucevic triple. And they do the same for him.
Boston fans travel far and wide, infecting enemy arenas, and these Celtics have provided a product that speaks for itself. Even in a year when some didn’t see that reality coming.
And perhaps that’s the exact reason Boston has become the unit it is today.
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“Everybody wants to see everybody succeed. Everybody wants to see everybody win,” Walsh said. “I think that that’s what’s kind of boosting us to get us to the next steps, especially when everybody thought it was gonna be a gap year. You know what I’m saying? I feel like that was a big component that got us through that.”
Because this season is anything but a gap year.
“Hell no,” Walsh said. “You tell me, you see where we’re at.”
A fire broke out at a home in East Boston Sunday evening, extending to additional buildings and sending black smoke billowing high into the air.
The Boston Fire Department said the flames started at a multi-family home at 263 Princeton Street. There was heavy fire on all three of the home’s porches, which had burned through to the inside.
The fire damaged three additional buildings, the fire department said on social media, and more crews were called in to help. Thousands of feet of firehose were used to battle the flames.
Deputy Fire Chief Steven Shaffer told NBC10 Boston that one firefighter was taken to the hospital by Boston EMS after suffering burns on his hand.
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It’s unclear exactly how many homes were damaged by the fire in total, but the fire department said 21 people were displaced. The American Red Cross of Massachusetts assisted them with shelter and emergency supplies.
There was no immediate word on the fire’s cause. An investigation is underway.
Now, research shows the redesign substantially improved the lives of the children who grew up there. The main reason for these outcomes: increased interactions with people who live nearby, the higher income the better.
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Compared to kids raised in similar but unchanged public housing, those raised in Hope VI sites are more likely to go to college and less likely to be incarcerated, and earn more money, according to the research from Harvard’s Opportunity Insights, an economic mobility nonprofit.
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Researchers found little difference for adults, but for children, each year spent in these renovated spaces increased their adult household income by 2.8 percent. All told, those born and raised there earned 50 percent more over their lifetimes, compared to those who grew up in more isolated and impoverished surroundings.
The new Old Colony complex is fully integrated into the neighborhood around it, with updated architecture, landscaped grounds, and streets running through it. Outsiders regularly walk their dogs or jog through, sometimes even stopping to say hello, Moreta said, likely unaware they’re in the midst of public housing. There are fewer police sirens, fewer safety concerns — and a lot less stigma.
Moreta’s two older children were already grown by the time the project was completed last year.But her younger daughter, Brianny, who’s 14, is benefiting.
“My older childrenwould feel like scum, because that’s how other people would make them feel,” Moreta said in Spanish, through an interpreter.
With the redevelopment, that sense of “otherness” has lifted, she said: “They don’t see us as criminals anymore.”
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Public housing was started by the federal government in the 1930s as a way to get people out of overcrowded slums. The buildings were situated on “super blocks” closed off from the street grid to keep cars from driving through, and to keep children safe, said Alexander von Hoffman, a senior research fellow at Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies.
Aerial view of Old Colony under construction in 1940.Mathison Aerial Surveys for the Boston Housing Authority
But eventually, these secluded spaces isolated residents and provided cover for criminal activity. In time, working-class families increasingly left public housing, prompting authorities to admit more single parents and welfare recipients, said von Hoffman, who has researched the history of public housing. Crime and disorder increased, maintenance faltered, and buildings fell into disrepair.
By the 1980s, public housing was in crisis.
Old Colony was no exception. Kevin Weeks, an associate of notorious gangster James “Whitey” Bulger grew up there, and their organized crime ring took over a liquor store across the street.
Moreta’s oldest child, Samuel, was a baby when they moved into Old Colony in 1999. Back then, the complex was row after row of identical brick buildings, encircled by streets that cordoned it off from the rest of the neighborhood. Inside, there were cockroaches and mold, peeling paint and crumbling walls. Homeless people came inside to sleep and do drugs in the stairwells. Gun shots and drunken fights broke out in the street.
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At school, Samuel’s rowdy behavior was dismissed as him being a “project kid.” At home, he saw neighbors walking by with a “clutch of a purse,” and he avoided them as well.
“I think subconsciously what it did … is hold off me being able to make connections with certain people sometimes, because I don’t know what their intentions are,” said Samuel, who asked that his last name not be used to protect his privacy.
The government started revamping these deteriorating housing developments in 1993. In Boston, Old Colony was the last of five to undergo a transformation. Housing developments in Cambridge, Taunton, New Bedford, and Holyoke were also part of the Hope VI makeover.
Researchers at Opportunity Insights, led by famed economist Raj Chetty, began studying tax and housing data of people living in these resuscitated spaces. Earlier research by Chetty showed that families who move to higher-income neighborhoods improve their children’s future success, and he wanted to know if bringing opportunity to lower-income families would produce better outcomes, too.
It did — by breaking up the concentration of poverty and increasing social interactions between children of different income levels, said Matthew Staiger, coauthor of the Opportunity Insights study. Cellphone data, Facebook connections, and Census records showed that children who grew up in Hope VI developments were more likely to befriend and later live with peers from outside public housing.
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The rate of violent crime in refurbished projects fell by 41 percent compared to untouched ones, national police records show.
Before, segregated public housing likely reinforced the idea that lower-income kids were different and better economic opportunities were not for them, Staiger said.
“Interacting with and befriending kids from higher-income families changes your aspirations and what you think is possible for yourself,” Staiger said. “It changes how you think you fit into the world.”
Occupants of reconfigured housing developments in disadvantaged areas, on the other hand, didn’t experience any economic gainsduring the same time period.
Not all Hope VI public housing residents are happy with how things have changed. Only about a fifth of residents came back after they moved out during construction,including some who had settled elsewhere in their years away. Others were screened out by criminal background checks and drug tests.
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At Washington Beech in Roslindale, resident Meena Carr said the formerly close-knit community is no longer.
“There’s no togetherness,” said Carr, 84, a retired teacher originally from Trinidad and Tobago. “It looks nice, but inside is rotten.”
There are no more bingo nights, no coffee hours. Even the basketball court, formerly used by kids from around the neighborhood, is fenced off with a sign reading: “This is not a public playground.”
Regardless, the Boston Hope VI properties are better off than some because they are all located in or near wealthy, resource-rich areas, said Kenzie Bok, administrator of the Boston Housing Authority, and because the housing authority gets more grants from the city than from the federal government, which has been cutting funds for public housing.
The key, said Bok, is that these new apartments make children feel valued at an impressionable time in their lives.
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“It’s going to embolden you in making those connections, feeling like those people and those resources are available to you, that they’re for you,” Bok said.
The economic gains weren’t due to the new mix of residents, noted Staiger, the Opportunity Insights study coauthor. The longer a child lived in a redeveloped property, the better he or she did later in life. Younger siblings who lived in these new spaces longer than an older brother or sister went on to outearn them, Staiger said, and this shows that the environment played a role in their outcomes.
Von Hoffman, at the Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies, questioned the implication that “poor people left to their own devices will just wallow in the slums.”
This criticism has been raised before. But the real takeaway, Staiger stressed, is that it’s harmful to wall people off from society.
Moreta, at Old Colony, can already feel the difference. She and her family moved to another public housing complex during the final phase of construction, and came back about a year ago. Her new apartment is spacious, with high ceilings and central air conditioning. Security cameras and key cards make the property more secure.
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More than anything, she said, she finally feels like she belongs.
“Everything has changed because the appearance of the buildings has changed,” said Moreta, who works ina high school cafeteria.
Her daughter Brianny, who is finishing up her freshman year, gets straight A’s. Her friends sometimes joke about her being from “the projects,” her mother said, but, so far, she isn’t experiencing the discrimination and stress that Samuel did.
And she’s thinking big. Samuel, now 27, recently told Brianny, who loves to draw, she should think about art school.
“Art school?” she scoffed. “I’m aiming for Harvard.”
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This story was produced by the Globe’s Money, Power, Inequality team, which covers the racial wealth gap in Greater Boston. You can sign up for the newsletter here.
Katie Johnston can be reached at katie.johnston@globe.com. Follow her @ktkjohnston.
BOSTON (WHDH) – Mass General Brigham Sports Medicine provided hundreds of Boston Public School athletes free preseason physicals ahead of the upcoming fall sports season.
Often a major hurdle for many prospective athletes, the event marked the sixth time the healthcare system has performed the service for Boston’s city schools. Mass General Brigham’s athletic trainers and clinical connections provide comprehensive care across all sports seasons for Boston Public Schools, which includes participation from more than 2,000 student-athletes.
The pre-participation physical exam also includes vision and blood pressure screenings, and height/weight/body mass index testing. In addition, Mass General Brigham Clinical Research Dietitian from Translational and Clinical Research team will be conducting Food Insecurity Experience Survey and the PHQ-9 mental health survey modified for teens.
“Ensuring that every student-athlete has access to the resources they need to safely participate in athletics is a top priority for Boston Public Schools. A current physical is a required and essential first step,” said Senior Athletics Director Avery Esdalle. “This weekend’s effort helps remove what can be a barrier to many families and opens the door for more students to fully engage in the opportunities athletics provide. We are grateful for our partnership with Mass General Brigham Sports Medicine for their collaboration and commitment to supporting the health, safety and well-being of our students.,” said Avery Esdaile, Athletic Director, Boston Public Schools.
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“The Mass General Brigham Sports Medicine and Athletic Training teams are proud to support the 5th Annual Boston Public Schools Pre‑Participation Physical Exam Event, an opportunity to give back to the Boston community. By providing free, essential resources and services, we help remove barriers to access care and support the health and safety of BPS student‑athletes and their families. This event reflects our shared commitment to community wellness, access to care, and ensuring these student athletes can safely participate in the sports,” said Jessica Meiley, ATC, MPH, Supervisor, Boston Public Schools Athletic Training Services at Mass General Brigham Sports Medicine.
(Copyright (c) 2026 Sunbeam Television. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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