Raise your hand if you expected to see a partnership between the Boston Celtics and a famous snowboard company in 2023.
Hand is still lowered? Thought so.
The pairing of the Celtics and Burton MINE77 may come off on the surface as odd, but dig a bit deeper into the story and it all makes sense.
The two iconic brands collaborated this year on the design of a new snowboard that is constructed from wood from the 2008 championship parquet floor. Tonight at TD Garden, the brands will cross paths again on the newest parquet floor as the Celtics play host to the New York Knicks.
Burton’s founder, the late Jake Burton Carpenter, was a huge fan of the Celtics. He was a New Englander who started the brand in 1977 in Vermont.
His fandom contributed to the two franchises teaming up this year to create the Burton MINE77 x Celtics Floor Board. In a nod to Carpenter’s affinity for the No. 77, only 77 of the floor boards will be released to the public for purchase. The limited-edition boards go on sale tomorrow for $1,300.77, and they can be found here.
In celebration of the board going on sale, Burton snowboarder and 2020 XGames gold medalist Zeb Powell will be at the game tonight at TD Garden. Powell also just so happens to be a friend of Celtics star wing Jaylen Brown, so Brown is planning to present Powell with a Celtics jersey on the court prior to the game.
This is certainly an odd pairing, but it turned into a perfect combination at the perfect time of year. The collaboration led to a stunningly beautiful board hitting the marketplace just ahead of ski and snowboard season in the Northeast, just as the Celtics’ latest pursuit of an 18th championship got underway.