Has there ever been a better time to be a Boston sports fan?The Red Sox suffered for years at the lovable losers, but they've won two of the last four World Series and appear to be reloaded for more success in the coming years.
The Patriots have won three Super Bowls since 2002, including the precursor to the Curse breaker in 2004. And as we all know, things are clipping along this season. At 9-0 and with the toughest portion of their schedule behind them, New England seems poised for another championship, if not an undefeated season.
Until the formation of the Big Three this year, the Celtics have been the black sheep among the "big three" sports franchises. I was among the skeptics when Danny Ainge traded away the franchise present and future for Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen, but the proof has been in the pudding thus far.
In five games, the Celtics are undefeated with a 16.6 point average margin of victory. The Big Three has been big indeed, with Paul Pierce averaging 23.6 and Garnett and Allen adding 22.6 apiece. Garnett has also averaged six assists and nearly 16 boards per game.
It's still very early to crown the Celtics NBA champions, and for that matter, the Patriots winning the Super Bowl is not a foregone conclusion. But the possibility remains for Boston teams to achieve a triple crown in sports championships, something that hasn't been accomplished in recent history, if ever.
It is, indeed, a good time to be a Boston sports fan.
But let me remind the card-carrying members of Red Sox Nation that things won't always be this way. Big Papi and Manny Ramirez are getting older, and based on the names that have surfaced already, I wouldn't be shocked if at least one of their names will show up on the Mitchell Report.
And don't forget, Patriots fans, that Randy Moss is a free agent after this season. Other teams reload in the off-season, and yours is just an injury or two away from being like any other team; just ask the Colts.
Celtics fans, the futility of the last two decades is all too fresh your minds, so you need no reminder of what it feels like to lose. The Big Three have all passed the big Three-Oh, and when they are gone, the franchise will return to dormancy.
Yes, it is a good time to be a Boston sports fan, and you shouldn't be resented for it if you are (unless you're a bandwagon jumper).
But sports, like everything else, is cyclical. What goes around comes around. Yesterday's losers are today's winners are tomorrow's losers. Insert additional cliche here.
So enjoy it while it lasts, Boston sports fans -- and try not to be too obnoxious -- because your franchises will return to futility. It's only a matter of time.
Celtics fans, the futility of the last two decades is all too fresh your minds, so you need no reminder of what it feels like to lose. The Big Three have all passed the big Three-Oh, and when they are gone, the franchise will return to dormancy.
Yes, it is a good time to be a Boston sports fan, and you shouldn't be resented for it if you are (unless you're a bandwagon jumper).
But sports, like everything else, is cyclical. What goes around comes around. Yesterday's losers are today's winners are tomorrow's losers. Insert additional cliche here.
So enjoy it while it lasts, Boston sports fans -- and try not to be too obnoxious -- because your franchises will return to futility. It's only a matter of time.
11 comments:
"Big Papi and Manny Ramirez are getting older, and there's a better than even chance that at least one of their names will show up on the Mitchell Report."
How is there a "better than even chance?" I mean, you can't base that on the "11 free agents" report, because neither is on the open market...are you privy to information that the rest of us don't have access to?
Obviously, it wouldn't be a surprise if these guys were named in the report...but how can you put odds @ "better than even?" Seems a bit presumptuous.
How 'bout them Bs!
Pure garbage: Maybe someone will be named in the Mitchell Report. Maybe someone will get hurt. maybe someone will leave as a free agent. Yawn.
George Mitchell is on the board of directors of the Red Sox. No way any Boston player gets named in his report.
what a waste of bandwidth
"Big Papi and Manny Ramirez are getting older, and there's a better than even chance that at least one of their names will show up on the Mitchell Report."
How very scientific. And I see you don't bother to point to a single shred of evidence, or even give any kind of your own kooky analysis, at how you arrived at this brilliant deduction.
Lame. And a snoozefest. No original thought here at all.
I think there's a better chance that the aliens from Independence Day come back, and Manny Ramirez has to retire from baseball because he's the only one who can stop them from taking over the Earth... because he used to be one of them. You know, or something like that...
Thanks for telling us becasue we don't realize that. I mean Bob Ryan writes this same column every 10 days.
"Big Papi and Manny Ramirez are getting older, and there's a better than even chance that at least one of their names will show up on the Mitchell Report."
That's some borderline libel there, son. I'd like to know how you attributed that opinion.
To those of you who called me on my "better than even" statement about the likelihood of Big Papi and Manny Ramirez, you're right that it was without substantial evidence. I fixed it. But if we are honest with ourselves -- and I know that's hard to do when considering your favorite players -- the numbers that those men posted in the era in which they posted them is more than enough to cast suspicious glances in their direction. I'll just leave it at that until the report comes out.
And for the rest of you, I think you may have missed the point of the post. The accomplishments of the Boston-area teams is remarkable, and I went out of my way to point that out. But the point was that all of these things converging at once is incredibly unusual and not likely to ever happen again, not to Boston nor to any other city.
Boston sports fans are already obnoxious, I lived there for 4 years during college, and if there is any reason to hate the red sox it would be because of the fans. They riot after everything like stupid hooligans, perhaps it's because they aren't used to the winning ways we have in New York. No I'm not a Yankees fan but even us Mets fans have more class.
Post a Comment