“Who’s going to emerge victorious? The Celtics! Because there’s no other logical explanation. The Celtics are exceptional!”

Just a young dude with a prankish smile and cocky optimism, he explains his reasoning for not being satisfied with merely forecasting a Celtics victory. There is no voice-over, context, or background information. It’s just that.

The Celtics are the best!

And there’s no other explanation for this.

The Lakers lost in the NBA Finals and the Heat advanced to the finals after winning the series in six games. The NBA bubble in Orlando ended with the magic of the Eastern Conference finals, where the Miami Heat set up a series against the Raptors and outlasted the 76ers. The Celtics quickly gained popularity as a viral video of their pumping up in the 1980s appeared, but it wasn’t the most important thing posted by Barstool Sports in 2019-20.

And that was the end of the awesome video and the mysterious enthusiast from the 1980s. Its 15 minutes were over.

Except now it’s back. With the Celtics heading to the Eastern Conference semifinals after sweeping the Brooklyn Nets in the first round, the video is popping up, well, everywhere. After getting eliminated by the Heat in the Eastern Conference finals two years ago, and then getting a humbling first-round dismissal from the Nets last year, the Celtics are the balls all over again. And there’s no other explanation for this.

He left behind his wife and four children, and he was only 51 years old. It was a heartbreaking loss for me when I received the report that Donnie N. Beardsley, the man behind the message, passed away in 2015 after suffering a sudden heart attack. Two years ago, I embarked on a journey to trace the footsteps of this man, while he was enjoying his first celebrity tour in the video.

Experiencing a resurgence, the Beardsley family was equally delighted to witness it when Donnie’s brief declaration regarding the Celtics became widely popular two years ago.

John Beardsley, the elder of Donnie’s two sons, expressed, “I have received messages from countless individuals. It is widely spread. Furthermore, I have come across various variations of it. On Twitter, I observed a video where someone recorded their baby repeating my father’s words. I found it to be quite delightful.”

“Because there’s no other reason why! The Celtics are the best!” Mila is ready to run through a wall! @celtics @StoolGreenie #gameday ☘️ pic.twitter.com/AMpscENunE

— J (@jmulvv) April 20, 2022

John Beardsley, a 2017 graduate of UMass-Dartmouth, is currently employed as an assistant manager for contracting projects at a Boston-based firm. He was once asked by a television station to talk about his tall tale, but he said that it wasn’t the best part of his story.

West Boylston, their place of origin, was in the company of his pal Dale Anderson when they came across Donnie, a few months away from turning 21, at The Fours, the renowned sports tavern across from the former Boston Garden, a few hours prior to the Celtics hosting the Lakers in Game 5. The team from NBA Entertainment, which was conducting interviews with fans during the 1984 NBA Finals between the Celtics and Lakers, arrived at The Fours. It was not actually a television network that interviewed him but a crew from NBA Entertainment. However, Donnie Beardsley did not live long enough to witness his own accomplishments.

He had the guts to do it. I remember sitting there, hiding my face and cracking up laughing. Donnie did a great job. I figured I could talk to both of us. I wasn’t as much of a gabber as he was. Donnie always had the gift of gab, and they were looking for people to talk about gab. Anderson, now 62 and living in Hollywood, Fla., Said, where he runs a business that supplies golf courses.

Anderson and Beardsley, Donnie, were working together with the employees, hiding in the men’s room of the building, until they started filtering into the room. They had hatched a plan to sneak into the Garden to watch the game, and they were walking with them, then hiding in the room with the two fans.

“You can sense it. You trust him. He genuinely intended it. With such eagerness and fervor, the manner in which he uttered it, ‘We’re the best.’ Come on. It’s such a remarkable expression,” stated Jim Podhoretz, the film’s director. He selected the soundbite because, as he explained, “You encounter a man like that in a pub in Boston who epitomizes the stereotypical Bostonian when he speaks.” ESPN stumbled upon the footage while producing the “Celtics/Lakers: Best of Enemies” documentary “30 for 30,” and it remained unused for over three decades.

Donnie Beardsley, a well-known fan of the Celtics, has become one of the most beloved figures since his death. It was a crazy moment when that happened, and it was captured in a clip that was later shared on social media. The clip was originally supposed to be the end of the documentary, but everyone was thrilled to see Donnie’s uncredited cameo. His family and friends were particularly excited to see him, as it aired two years after his passing in 2017.

John Beardsley expressed, “I find it enjoyable.” “Whenever he was questioned about the Celtics and so on, he would always spin tales, resulting in no one ever taking him seriously,” my father used to say countless times during my childhood. “What I particularly liked about my upbringing was hearing,” he added.

He is consistently prompt in highlighting, but he does not possess the same level of enthusiasm as his father did. John Beardsley is a devoted supporter of the Celtics, as evidenced by his loyalty towards them and occasional attendance at games, among other things.

He stated, “However, upon reflection, it was a quintessential experience. We would merely perch there, filled with horror. We consistently positioned ourselves adjacent to the tunnel, along that barrier where the athletes emerge,” he remarked. “And nearly every instance, he would mortify us by attempting to capture the players’ notice and engage in conversation with them. During our childhood, he would bring us to matches, and we would invariably be seated alongside the tunnel, along that railing where the players exit.”

These are happy times for the Beardsley family. Donnie is back in the spotlight again, which he would have loved, and his beloved Boston Celtics have made it to the second round of the playoffs after toppling the Nets. As pleasant a surprise as it was to see the clip on social media two years ago, it’s even more pleasant this time around in that it means Donnie Beardsley’s famous words — “The Celtics are the best!” — have become ingrained in Boston sports lore.

John Beardsley expressed, “He would be an enthusiastic supporter. They are competing fiercely and displaying strong defensive skills. He would adore this team. It consistently bounces back whenever the Celtics make a move, but I initially believed it would be a temporary success.”

“Andy, the brother of Donnie Beardsley, who operates a plumbing and heating company in West Boylston, emphasizes that he remains technologically outdated, as he identifies himself as a dinosaur and continues to utilize a flip phone, without staying updated on the latest developments in social media.”

However, he mentioned that almost everyone he converses with nowadays informs him that, fundamentally, Donnie Beardsley has returned.

He said, “We couldn’t be happier about it, and that video is just another way of showing excitement for the Celtics.” “They follow it, our whole family, Donnie’s kids and my kids.”

“But I still miss the goofball. I truly do.”