New England sports fans aren’t used to uncertainty. Whether our teams are dominant or struggling, we always have a reasonable idea about how things will turn out.
In the 1990s, we knew our teams would lose, and this meant we were always bitter and cynical. The Celtics had eight straight losing seasons between 1993 and 2001. The Patriots weren’t quite as pathetic, as the 1996 team with Drew Bledsoe and Curtis Martin had a nice run to the Super Bowl, but the team was mediocre for most of the decade.
But the Boston team that created the most misery was the Red Sox. Year after year every Boston fan knew the season would end with disappointment, but we tricked ourselves into thinking the Sox were finally putting it together whenever the team did something positive.
We knew every season for all our teams would end badly. When it got really bad, we sometimes complained that the Red Sox were cursed. We had a negative view on everything and our only small satisfaction came when other people occasionally took pity on us. We were probably terrible people to hang out with.
In the 2000s, everything changed. It was like whatever sports deity that looks down on us flicked a switch. Adam Vinatieri kicked a dramatic field goal against the Rams to win the Super Bowl in 2001, and five Boston championships followed in the next seven years.
It was like nothing could go wrong. When Tom Brady threw a pass down the field to Randy Moss we knew it would end up being a touchdown even while the ball was still in the air. The Red Sox won two World Series titles in 2004 and 2007, and we passed our ‘lovable loser’ status on to the Chicago Cubs fans.
Now, we don’t really know where our teams stand. Some of the same pieces are still there. Kevin Garnett will make his return to the Celtics next week. Tom Brady started to look more like himself in last week’s 59-0 rout of the Titans and the Red Sox still have players like Dustin Pedroia and Kevin Youkilis who were keys to their 2007 championship.
But all these Boston teams seem to have some flaw that stops them just short of those that were so successful a few years ago. The Red Sox, for example, were swept out of the ALDS by a superior Angels team. The personality of the team has been very professional and business-like for a number of years, which is a good thing. It reflects on the solid leadership of veterans like Mike Lowell, Jason Varitek and Tim Wakefield.
But this Red Sox team looked bored and dispassionate all year. It seemed that at some point, they stopped having fun playing the game. That apathy showed when the Sox lost a three-run lead at Fenway Park and allowed the Angels to finish the sweep.
The future of the Patriots is also up in the air. After a year away from football, Tom Brady is making poor throws that fans are not accustomed to seeing from him. He’s also one of just five players remaining from the team that won the Pats’ last Super Bowl in 2004.
It’s possible that these Boston teams are at the end of their glory days, or maybe they just need one or two adjustments to get back on top. At this point, it’s impossible for us to know.
The trend in Boston sports doesn’t end with the professional teams. This year’s Boston University men’s hockey team also has an uncertain outlook.
Only one of the top six point scorers remains from last year’s team. Solid defenseman Brian Strait and team captain John McCarthy are also gone. The seven-goal explosions and run of tournament wins probably won’t happen again this year. That kind of team comes along very rarely and it would be greedy of Terrier fans to expect it two years in a row.
Despite the loss of so much, BU is still loaded with talent. They were the preseason favorite to win the Hockey East Conference in the coaches poll, and they’re currently the third-ranked team in the nation. Nick Bonino and Kevin Shattenkirk bring experience from last year’s team, while freshmen, such as forwards Alex Chiasson and Wade Megan, have an opportunity to make a huge immediate impact.
The Terriers have regrouped very quickly, and all the pieces are there for another title run. But it may take this group a while to become comfortable with their roles. The team is young ‘-‘- there are only three seniors ‘-‘- and some of the players from last year’s group will be asked to play a bigger role on this team.
Because of that, there may be some huge emotional swings throughout the year. BU could look like the best team in the country one day and lose to a lesser team the next.
We already may have seen this trend in BU’s opening loss against the University of Massachusetts. Chiasson scored his first two goals of the season, but coach Jack Parker told The Daily Free Press it was the subpar performance of some of BU’s older players that mainly contributed to the loss. Parker echoed that same sentiment again after last night’s loss to Notre Dame.
Parker has continually repeated that this is a ‘different team,’ and he’s right. He’s not just saying that to free his team from the pressures that come with defending a championship. It may take a while for the Terriers to hit their stride, but that doesn’t mean Terrier fans should postpone their dreams of another parade. ‘ ‘ ‘
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