BOSTON (AP) – Boston Celtics owner Wyc Grousbeck was expecting more of a fight when he and his partners approached franchise patriarch Red Auerbach about having cheerleaders perform at games.
The Celtics were the lone NBA holdout without a dance squad in 2006, and the longtime coach and general manager was famously crotchety about anything that took attention away from the game itself. But instead of arguing, Grousbeck said, Auerbach listened to the sponsorship possibilities and said, “You’ve got to pay the bills.”
The NBA’s most decorated franchise got a little more decorated on Wednesday when the Celtics announced a deal to put a General Electric advertisement on the team’s uniform. One of sports’ most tradition-laden institutions, the 17-time NBA champions will begin wearing the GE logo next season on a uniform that has remained relatively constant since the league formed in 1946.
“At the Celtics, we think about Red Auerbach, Bill Russell and Larry Bird,” Grousbeck said. “And now Thomas Edison.”
While racecars are plastered with ads and soccer teams wear sponsors’ brands where Americans would expect the team name to be, the NBA is dipping its toe into uniform advertising with a pilot program that allows a single 2½-by-2½ inch patch on teams’ jerseys, starting next season.