It’s the day all Boston sports fans have circled on their calendars: Paul Pierce’s final game at TD Garden. But that contest might have a little competition on the local sports scene.
The Boston Celtics will take on the Los Angeles Clippers on Sunday, Feb. 5, which, of course, is Super Bowl Sunday. And while Pierce’s last road game in Boston before he retires after this season will tip off at 2 p.m. ET, it soon will be forgotten as fans turn to watch New England Patriots battle the Atlanta Falcons in Super Bowl LI.
Turns out the double-header creates a conflict of interest not only for Pierce’s loyal fans but for the former Celtics star himself. During his weekly appearance on 98.5 The Sports Hub’s “Toucher & Rich” on Thursday, Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge revealed what some of us already know: Pierce is a huge Patriots fan.
“I think that Paul is going to really be wanting to watch the Super Bowl that day,” Ainge said. “I know that for sure. He’s like the biggest Tom Brady fan in the world.”
How big of a fan? Enough to get into arguments with anyone who will listen about why Brady is better than Peyton Manning.
“If you ever wanted to throw Paul off his game in practice or just get him in a heated argument, all you had to do was say, ‘I think Peyton Manning is better than Tom Brady,’ and he would just go off and want to fight,” Ainge said. “He’s the biggest Tom Brady fan and Patriots fan in the world, so I know that he’ll have other things on his mind in his last game at the Garden, that’s for sure.”
Pierce left Boston in 2013, but it’s clear Boston didn’t leave him.
Thumbnail photo via Sergio Estrada/USA TODAY Sports Images
