We Talked To The Celtics Fan Who Went Viral For Sitting Next To Taylor Rooks To Find Out What He Was Actually Saying

On Thursday, the Celtics dominated the Mavericks in Game 1 of the NBA Finals, and there was one member of the Boston faithful who found himself dominating social media thanks to a viral picture of him talking to a seemingly disinterested Taylor Rooks in the stands at TD Garden.

Plenty of people understandably assumed the photo in question was taken during the first game of the championship series, but it was actually a resurfaced image that was originally captured by former ex-Nets forward Rondae Hollis-Jefferson when the Boston Celtics hosted his former team last March.

It nonetheless made the rounds courtesy of a popular NBA Twitter account that thrust it back into the spotlight shortly before tipoff, and it quickly entered the “Guys Explaining Things To Women In A Public Setting” meme canon as it experienced a wildly viral second life.

It was only natural to wonder what the Celtics fan who found himself sitting next to Rooks was saying when the fateful picture was snapped—and I’m happy to report I was able to get to the bottom of the mystery after tracking him down.

An exclusive interview with the Celtics fan who went viral for his interaction with Taylor Rooks

The guy in question asked us not to reveal his identity, but he’s a 25-year-old teacher who was born and raised in New England who was more than happy to answer some questions about what exactly went down between him and the veteran reporter.

Can you give me a quick rundown on your Celtics fandom?

I really got into the Celtics during the 2007-08 season with The Big Three. Rajon Rondo was my favorite player growing up. I have his jersey and the Garnett one I was wearing. I make it to a game every three or four years, and it was just kind of crazy that the one game I go to last year something like this happens.

So how did you end up at the game—and in that seat—in the first place? 

It was on March 3rd last year against the Nets. The Celtics were up the entire game and blew it in the fourth quarter. It was Jayson Tatum’s birthday. Taylor Rooks ended up going to his party after. I was not invited.

My girlfriend got the tickets for me for Christmas. We had four tickets at nosebleed level, but me and her dad moved down after scouting out some seats that no one was sitting in around the middle of the second quarter.

So we had really good seats, but I get up and go to the bathroom and I come back and my seat’s taken. I had made friends with the guy in front of me and he was like, “I respect your hustle. If you get kicked out, the seat next to me is open. The lady on the aisle is a TV reporter and I think she’s alone so you’re good to come sit right here with us.”

So I go and sit next to Taylor and I have no idea who she is. I’m a social person, so I start talking. I can make friends at a sporting event pretty easily. I asked her “Are you a TV reporter?” and she was like “Yeah.” I said, “Do you go to a lot of games?” and she said, “Yeah, this is my first Celtics game in a while.”

I think it was literally a 30-second conversation. She was pretty short with her responses but she was friendly and nice. I guess it just got captured at the worst possible moment. I’m not trying to flirt with her at all; my girlfriend is in the upper section and she saw us on the Jumbotron when it flashed to us with “TAYLOR ROOKS” at the bottom of the screen.

I still had no idea who she was until the next day when I found out it started blowing up a little after Rondae Hollis-Jefferson tweeted it out. Now, a year later, it came back and it was everything I experienced then times ten.

It’s pretty cool and also not that cool at the same time.

How did you find out it was going viral during Game 1?

The texts just started rolling it. I got probably 25 or 30 and students have been showing it to me all day at school. I’ve been trying to have some fun with it with them. This is stuff I preach: you can’t let stuff on the internet bother you—especially trolls that post something and forget about it right after.

Am I getting made fun of? Yes, absolutely. Am I getting ridiculed or canceled? No, so that’s the silver lining.

Are there any particular tweets or memes you’ve seen that you’ve particularly enjoyed? 

Big Cat posting it was a surreal moment. There’s one of a painting that was really good. I’ve got sent so many. I don’t think it’s as bad as the other similar memes people are comparing it to, but maybe that’s just me.

I’ve read so many articles and people are like “I hope he has people looking out for him.” When it made the rounds last year one of my buddies made t-shirts for me. I handed them out to my fantasy football league.

It’s all in good fun at the end of the day, and I think I’ll go down as a Celtics meme for the rest of my life whether I like it or not. I just kind of have to live with it.

One last question: what’s your prediction for the series after Game 1? 

Celtics in 4.