It's more than just a giant piece of fabric that will be hanging from the ceiling of TD Garden on Tuesday night. Boston's 2024 NBA champion banner will be revealed this Tuesday evening during a ceremony on the sidelines of the season opener and the inaugural Celtics – Knicks meeting. In an article, the Boston Globe reveals a little more about this banner, with a behind-the-scenes look at the piece's manufacturer, a local company, New England Flag and Banner, responsible for every banner in the franchise's history.
“Banner 18”, like the previous 17, will be 3.05 meters by 4.57 meters for what the company describes as “ most prestigious banner » from its catalog among the approximately 10,000 handcrafted per year.
The canvas is made of nylon usually used to weave flags, and not cotton like the first in history, to better withstand the test of time, especially for a franchise as legendary as the Celtics. Each of the pieces is unique and costs up to $2,500, a little over 2,300 euros.
The true-false anecdote of the NBA logo
A sometimes little-known feature: the first 17 champion banners obtained by Boston have a wink slipped into the NBA logo in the shape of a circle, embroidered in the heart of each of the pieces. The color of this represented whether the title victory had been obtained at home or away, with a logo on a white background if the title had been obtained in Massachusetts, and a green logo if it had been won at home. 'outside.
“ I'm pretty positive that it's the truth…but not entirely the truth. » admits Ned Flynn, current owner of the New England Flag and Banner.
In the 70s and as was very common in Boston, the Garden also sometimes hosted circuses, whose acrobatics on wires suspended at the top of the room forced the Celtics to put away their banners.
But following a fire in the room's storage room, the majority of them were damaged. The employees at the time were unaware of this subtlety of the color of the logo and their pattern, and some banners have been incorrect since then, even though all the banners were completely redone in 1995, when the old Boston Garden gave way to the current TD Garden as the Celtics' den.
No problem, however, for the 2024 version, which has an NBA logo on a white background, after the victory in Game 5 at home for Joe Mazzulla's players over the Dallas Mavericks. This “Banner 18” has been ready for two weeks, although miniature versions were hastily prepared for the Celtics title parade.
“ I'm Irish, and I believe in curses, so you don't make champion banners until the championship is over » specifies Ned Flynn, who summoned his teams at five o'clock in the morning the day after Game 5.
“ We have nothing to do with the team's success, but being part of its commemoration is humbling and a great honor » he continues. “ I'm a little moved by it, and I find it wonderful. I just love seeing everyone in the audience clapping and cheering » when the banner joins the hangers of the Celtics room.
