Have you ever felt the urge to go physical against someone just because you do not agree with their take on sports, or support a different team? If not, then applaud yourself, because you certainly belong outside of that large group of fans who are willing to put out their aggression in the form of both words and fists. According to an Onlinecasino.ca poll published back in 2022, half of NBA fans have reportedly experienced physical aggression at games. That same year, a poll by Vegas Insider found that Celtics fans ranked 3rd amongst the fan bases with the worst behaviour. After 3 years and a championship title, you would have expected the fans to have become more mellow and accepting of losses, right? Well, if anyone believed that, then a recent incident has now proven that claim.
An X account with the name ‘GreenRunsDeep’ recently featured a clip on its feed. It highlighted a fight breaking out in the streets of Boston after the New York Knicks’ 2nd consecutive win against the Boston Celtics. A Celtics fan wearing a Paul Pierce ‘34’ jersey was seen attacking another man who had donned Knicks colors. As the Knicks fan tried to stand back up, the Celtics fan kept on landing punches. That was just one part of the chaos, as police tried to break up several instances of physical aggression breaking out in the area.
At one point, four officers came together to pin down another Knicks fan, who kept on audibly shouting. In the background, several groups of people kept on shouting, “Let’s go Knicks! Let’s go Knicks”. The ugly (or passionate, depending on your perspective) side of basketball was on full display for everyone to see.
Celtics and Knicks fans brawling on Causeway St after Game 2. #Boston pic.twitter.com/015vsA7xJw
— GreenRunsDeep (@CelticsGRD) May 8, 2025
Believe it or not, but that wasn’t even the first sign of physical aggression between fans since the Knicks-Celtics playoff series began. A group of fans was sharing snide remarks and was getting violent even after Game 1. The same was in the process of getting as bad as the recent fighting, but two police officers came up soon, and the crowd dispersed. The good news is that the next game will not be taking place in Boston. The bad news is that there is no guarantee that fans attending the matchup at Madison Square Garden will be calmer than the Game 2 crowd.
It is no surprise that the Boston fan base took the physical route. After all, they are even willing to fight against each other. This was seen when two Boston fans, a younger one and an older, seemingly intoxicated fan, landed punches during Game 4 of the 2024 NBA Finals. The altercation highlighted the mounting frustration among the Boston faithful, as Game 4 was supposed to mark the team’s championship wins, but the Mavericks won that game instead. Then again, Knicks fans are no better, as seen when two of them pummelled each other ‘about three minutes into the game’, at Madison Square Garden, back in February.
When it comes to sports, the passion and energy held by the people often turn into something ugly, prompting such incidents to happen. For Celtics fans, the recent fights would have been prompted by the fact that their team lost 2 consecutive games by the closest margins. No wonder there was a feeling that punches need to be thrown in. To be fair, things could have been worse. After all, we have seen what the Celtics crowd is like when they lose, and then they win. In comparison, the former was better.
Boston Police arrested 8 people at the Celtics’ NBA championship’s ‘unruly’ celebration
Any fan base would want to celebrate after their team wins the Larry O’Brien trophy after 16 years. Therefore, it wasn’t a bad thing for thousands of fans to gather in the streets near TD Garden after the Boston Celtics defeated the Dallas Mavericks in Game 5 of the NBA Finals. However, it was bad when the same turned into an “unruly” celebration.
People were literally climbing up light poles and street signs, and Joseph Cirone, a 24-year-old, allegedly hit a police officer after the cop reportedly told him that an area outside the arena was closed to the public. Two juveniles were arrested following a report of a fight near Causeway and Beverly streets. Three people were put in handcuffs near Causeway Street and Lomasney Way after an anonymous person first climbed on top of the electric pedestrian control signal, and then fell from it, which caused the electric display panel from the top of the pole to snap. In all, over 8 people were arrested that night.
“As the Celtics game began to wind down, the crowds at Causeway St and Haverhill St began to grow immensely in size, and their behavior turned volatile,” the police report reads. “As the officers ensured nobody breached the barriers, they observed several individuals climbing light poles and street signs, a ladder onto the signage at the front of the TD Garden parking garage and other unruly behaviors that were spurned on by onlookers.”
Celtics Fans SCALE Police Truck outside TD Boston Stadium as Celtics Win NBA Championship pic.twitter.com/S8BMV11seQ
— Oliya Scootercaster (@ScooterCasterNY) June 18, 2024
In comparison to this, a fight seems like nothing. Therefore, the Knicks better defeat the Boston Celtics, otherwise we could see Boston destroyed if the people get their hands on it when in a celebratory mode.
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