ProShop Event Fun For All

Tuesday evening, November 25, the season ticket holders for both the Boston Bruins and the Boston Celtics thought they had been invited to a special event at the brand new Reebok powered Pro Shop at North Station at which they could shop and save on items with their favorite team logos on them. However, both teams had a little surprise for them—some of the players had been signed to one-night contracts to serve as “ProShop employees.”

Jeff Green

The Bruins players included Patrice Bergeron, Torey Krug, Milan Lucic, Brad Marchand and Reilly Smith who were joined by Celtic players Jeff Green, Kelly Olynyk and Tyler Zeller. Also along for the fun were both teams’ mascots—Blades and Lucky—and some of the Boston Bruins Ice Girls and the Boston Celtics Dancers.

As the event got under way, Celtics power forward Green was quite happy to serve as door greeter. In fact he had his Ultimate Fan Hands on and was having a great time poking the fans who at first didn’t realize it was really him.

“Yah, I was hiding underneath the hat,” Green joked while talking with The Pink Puck. “I think this is just a great opportunity for fans to see us outside of the court and the ice.”

Each of the players had a job to do. Some worked the checkouts while others worked as personal shoppers and still others helped out with specific items, such as selecting the perfect cap from the wall of caps—the array is quite something. Those in search of a cap could turn to Bergeron, who took his job quite seriously. He asked questions, made recommendations, found the right sizes, and even assured shoppers that if they didn’t like his suggestion that his feelings would not be hurt.

Patrice Bergeron and Ellen

Ellen, a season ticket holder for the past eight years, was helped by Bergeron in her search for a cap that he thought might be best for her. Watching him interact with her as he pointed out different caps and made a couple of selections for her, it was clear that he was enjoying interacting with the fans and could perhaps be a connoisseur of baseball style caps. Flat brim? Breathable mesh? Snap back? He knew them and walked the fans along the wall making serious suggestions.

After making her choice, The Pink Puck got an opportunity to chat with Ellen about the event and the surprise of having the players there.

“It was a really huge surprise. When we saw Jeff Green right there, I didn’t even recognize him. I went right past him and thought ‘Oh, it’s a tall guy.’ And then I saw [Lucic] and then I saw a couple other of the Bruins players,” she told The Pink Puck. “It was awesome. It’s a great surprise for us to actually get to interact with them this way.”

Bergeron was so good at helping people with their cap selections that The Pink Puck and Ellen suggested that he might have a new career if the hockey thing didn’t work out for him. He laughed. And when Krug was told how good Bergeron was with the caps, he wasn’t surprised.

“Bergeron is good at everything.” Krug grinned.

And Krug was having a good time as a personal shopper. Sarah from NESN ended up with a nice collection of items after getting helped by him. But he was helpful to everyone he met.

“You get to talk a little bit [to the fans],” he told The Pink Puck. “I mean, it’s all fun.”

Lucky and Jeff Green

Celtics forward Green agreed.

“[The fans] get to see the fun side of us. See us joking around with each other,” he said. “I think this is a great opportunity for us as well, all the players, to just have fun.”

It was fun watching Green and Olynyk figure out what a foam puck head was and Olynyk was intrigued by the foam Bruins mascot bear head that is popular with many of the kids who attend games. The Celtics mascot, Lucky, was quite good at spinning the basketball on his finger, and he passed it off to Green, who was still wearing his ultimate fan hand.

Green shared the feelings he experienced when the younger fans realized it truly was him standing in front of them.

“It’s humbling. You don’t really think that people admire you that much.” he said. “But it’s a great chance to see you and talk to you, see you, like I said, off the court. For a couple of minutes you’re friends, and just talk.”

Brad Marchand

Krug was pleased that the fans were having a good time, though he was sorry that he didn’t get the opportunity to see Marchand in the Boston Bruins adult onesie. He was sure that he would get the chance to see photos though.

Overall it was a relaxed, fun-filled evening that introduced the fans to the impressive new ProShop while also giving them a moment to see some of their favorite players just having a good time being with them. And the players exhibited some hidden skills. In addition to those already mentioned, word is that Lucic folds clothes like a professional, while Olynyk and Zeller worked those check out registers like they were hardwired to them.

Don’t forget, the savings aren’t done yet. After all, Black Friday is just a couple of days away, and in addition to some amazing discounts and free parking, there will be doubleheader ticket giveaways every half hour from 7:00 to 11:00 am. The Boston Celtics will be taking on the Chicago Bulls in a Green Friday matinee at 1:00pm and then the Boston Bruins will be hosting the Winnipeg Jets in a game at 7:00pm. You could shop and then enjoy two great games for a Black, Green, and Black and Gold Friday.