Boston Red Sox slugger David Ortiz endorses a Boston bid for the Olympic Games in a new promotional Web video by Boston 2024, the local Olympic bid committee.
In the video, posted yesterday on Boston 2024's YouTube page, the Dominican-born designated hitter talks about playing stickball in the street as a kid, sometimes making homemade baseballs from his father's socks or the head of his sister's doll.
Shots of Ortiz narrating the video are interspersed with scenes of kids playing stickball.
"When I'm playing in Fenway Park, it feels like I have the fans going through my veins," Ortiz says in the video, which was made by the advertising firm Hill Holliday, according to Boston 2024.
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"The fans here are going to support the Olympics better than anywhere else," Ortiz says. "Bringing the Olympics to Boston is something that's going to make this place even more special."
Ortiz is a volunteer member of the Boston 2024 Board of Directors. The board also includes former Boston Celtics star Larry Bird and Olympic skater Michelle Kwan.
Recent public debate about bidding for the Games has focused very little on Olympic sports. Debate has instead centered on the potential financial risks and benefits of hosting the Summer Games in 2024.
Mark Arsenault can be reached at marsenault@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @bostonglobemark