For Celtics fans, waiting was plate of frustration
Finally, the faithful can show loyalty to team every time they go for a spin
After an excruciating three-year wait, diehard Celtics fans finally got their trophy.
No, we’re not talking about another championship. It’s the specialty Celtics license plate, which the Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles finally began producing last month, nearly three years since the basketball team’s charity, the Shamrock Foundation, first promoted it.
Despite Boston winning its first championship in 22 years in 2008, the Celtics’ popularity didn’t translate into a sellout for its charitable causes. It turns out the state needs 1,500 orders to print the $40 specialty license plate, and the Celtics’ tag didn’t hit that threshold until mid-October.
“It was a little frustrating, because the other [Boston] teams have their plates, and I just thought it would be kind of neat to have one,’’ said Paul Connolly, a lifelong Celtics fan who placed his plate order in 2006.
The Boston Bruins were the first local team to have a specialty plate, in 2002, which took only five months to garner enough orders for the state. The Boston Red Sox and New England Patriots followed suit.
And so it appears Beantown fandom hit a saturation point.
“We got that all the time: ‘Sorry, I already have a Red Sox plate. Sorry, I have a Bruins plate,’ ’’ said Rebekah Splaine, the Shamrock Foundation’s community relations director.
The state says plate orders will be ready in 10 to 12 weeks. For each plate sold, $28 will go to the Celtics’ designated charity, Children’s Hospital.
