A question from down under...

A Question For The Bostonites
by 101Walterton on 19 Jun 2008, 9:05pm
Your team has won the NBA and in recent years has won the World Series baseball and NFL. If you are from Boston do you automatically follow all three teams or do you just stick to the sport you follow. Trying to gauge whether it is regional support of whether you just support the franchise of one team ???

My response:
I think I can speak to this one a little bit. I love all the teams but I have to admit it comes to season alliances. I am a baseball by summer, hoops by winter guy.

Red Sox Baseball:
Generally speaking, everyone from around here is emotionally tied to the Red Sox. Even if you don't like baseball the Sox are so in your face that you'd have to be self-punishing to not like 'em. I was raised on the team from childhood. My father worked for the Boston Globe and he'd score good seats 3-4 times a summer. It's interesting, he was a fan for sure, but he was still hurt from the Braves leaving. It's been good lately but we used to be like Cubs fans with worse attitude. There was a lore of loserdom. The 1946 loss to the cards, the 1967 loss to the Cards again, the Reds in 1975 defeat, NYY's Bucky Dent homer in 1978, Buckner in 1986, and then another 17 years getting jerked around culminating in the 2003 NYY Boone homer in game #7 of the ALCS. 2004's win was more a relief than anything, like finding out that the cancer won't kill you. The Red Sox are still the sports soul of the town, they've been at it for a century. Winning it all only brought out the bandwagoneers, the seats would be full if they lost game 4 in the 2004 ALCS.

Celtics Basketball:
The Celtics were the most dependable team in town from 1957 until they fell apart between 1986-1993, with Lenny Bias' death, Reggie Lewis' death, and the rapid decline of the Big Three. We learned to deal with the Sox, but the sad fading of the Green put the local sports scene into a deep malaise for a decade. This big win for the C's has, I dare say, been the sweetest win for the city in the new century (with the 2001 Patriots a near tie). Like I said, the Sox own the town, but they brought so much hurt to people around here that them winning is more a relief than anything. Back to the Celtics, they are all about mojo and swagger. Them winning again has given the city a huge emotional boost and, to quote the local TV station, A return to glory. It's been beautiful. Basketball was invented around here (Springfield, MA) and is subtly woven into the culture. Folks might not watch the NBA because of, um, cultural differences they have with most of the top players, but there are basketball hoops on most garages and are also often on the telephone polls too. The Celtic Pride thing, shitty movie aside, is real. The Celtics always delivered and the last 20 years or so they were sick and fading. The win was gigantic for the town. Huge.

The Patriots:
Their modern popularity dates to Bill Parcells coaching tenure of 1993-1997. Prior to that, the Pats were a wirking man's passion, the hardhat set were the only ones into it. They pretty much either sucked or couldn't get over the hump until the late 1990s. Parcells was a nationally known guy and, even though he didn't stick around to reap the rewards of the titles, was the spark that brought the team to national attention. I can't not mention the local ownership of the Kraft family who save the team from moving to LA or St. Louis. Like my dad, Bob Kraft was a Boston Braves fan. He was rich as hell and couldn't bare to see another team fly the coop. Bless him. This family turned a half rate sports club with a history of failure into America's Team, ripping off Dallas in the process. I love the Pats. The 2001 season and Super Bowl win were something else indeed. Wow. America had a lump from the Hajjis of 9-11 and the Pats really captured the angsty guile that I personally associate with all that is good about America. It sounds corny, but it's true. The Pats faced a superior foe and smacked the poo out of their colon, picked it up, and shoved it in the Rams mouth. Oh the glory. Shit, the Adam V. field goal is probably the single greatest life moment of every 23-40 year old males in all of New England. People will go and tell you that their kid being born was the greatest day of their lives. Bullshit. The field goal as time expired to win the first local championship since the 1986 Celtics was fucking top.

Bruins Hockey:
I believe this still exists but have not seen it in years. Very sad, hockey going to Florida.