Bill Chisholm shares why he made a leap that many people in his position don't

When Boston Celtics fans first learned of new majority owner Bill Chisholm, his passion for the franchise came to light immediately. In fact, while the bidding process played out, he couldn't bring himself to watch "Celtics City," the HBO Max documentary. The possibility that the team would go to another group was too painful.

When Chisholm met with the organization's president, Rich Gotham, for the first time, he shared an anecdote about the team's play-by-play broadcaster in the 1980s, Gil Santos, referring to his color-commentating partner, Bob Cousy, as "mon ame," because the latter was French.

"Wow, this guy is one of us. You can't fake that," thought Gotham. That lifelong love for the Celtics made the organization hopeful that he would emerge as the winning bidder and the team's new custodian.

At Chisholm's first press conference since that came to fruition, Wyc Grousbeck shared, "I said to every bidder that came through, and I met with them all, I said, 'I think the person who really loves it the most and wants it the most is going to win. It's not going to be a financial decision. To actually win a bid like this, a global bid, you have to kind of go beyond probably finances, no offense, and just go for love.'" 

That's how Grousbeck operated while his family had a majority stake in the franchise. It's the caring hands he wanted to hand the reins to.

Bill Chisholm couldn't live with the regret of not trying

Not every passionate fan with the means to own a sports team pursues that opportunity. However, when the chance to become the Celtics' new majority owner presented itself, Chisholm was all-in.

"Maybe I'm just more passionate," he told Hardwood Houdini with a smile. "The Celtics have brought me joy my entire life, and I'm so grateful for what the ownership group has done to this point. I feel like I have something to add here, and I've got tremendous people around me here."

He understood that his love for the franchise and how far he was willing to extend himself to make the leap from fan to owner didn't guarantee this would happen. That would have been a heartbreaking scenario to live through; not chasing the chance to live out this dream was an unacceptable one.

"Ultimately, this was an opportunity that was a dream, a dream that came true," Chisholm expressed to Hardwood Houdini. "I can't speak for other people, but for me, to have this chance, I would have never forgiven myself if I didn't go for it."

That mindset, his determination to be the winning bidder, and a love for the Celtics that set him apart from other candidates, have turned his dream into a reality.