Thank God we have the Pats. It’s not always easy being a New England fan, especially if you’re in your early 20s or younger.
The Celtics haven’t been really good since the Bird era. I was five when the Celts beat the Houston Rockets for the ’86 championship, big number 16 for the Green. We’re still waiting for 17, and it doesn’t appear to be in the near future. Now that Jim O’Brien’s gone, the Celts are heading to the lottery to find the next Kedrick Brown.
The Bruins haven’t been consistently powerful since the early ’90s, and even worse, they haven’t lifted Lord Stanley’s Cup since ’72. They won’t spend the money on the defense and complementary parts they need to make the leap to legit contender. Cross them off.
The Sox are, have always been and always will be No. 1 in town. The Hub bleeds for the Sox, as evidenced by the media frenzy surrounding pretty much every step Theo (also known as son of BU Prof. Leslie) and the Gang have taken the past six months. Offseason is just a misleading statement. It’s always baseball season in Boston.
Of course, the last memory of 2003’s baseball jaunt is a brutal one that still makes my stomach churn. An unbelievable season ended in the worst way possible, and the Sox have left millions wanting. It’s a sadly familiar feeling, and now the expectations are for them to get over that hump.
But we have the Pats.
They really are the perfect New England team. There are stars there, and people who think otherwise are the ones who give Bill Belichick – the best coach in pro sports right now – a bit too much credit. Guys like Ty Law, Rodney Harrison, Richard Seymour and Tom Brady are legit Pro-Bowlers – guys who have the talent and work ethic to always be among the best. At the same time, they’re a lunch-bucket crew with guys like Mike Vrabel, Ted Washington, Troy Brown and Tedy Bruschi.
That’s what made the AFC Championship game so fulfilling for a New England fan. Basically, the week leading up to the game featured such in-depth analysis as “Peyton Manning, Peyton Manning, Peyton Manning, Peyton Manning, Peyton Manning, Peyton Manning, Peyton Manning, Peyton Manning.” And of course, “Marvin Harrison, Marvin Harrison, Marvin Harrison, Marvin Harrison, Marvin Harrison, Marvin Harrison.” What little talk there was about individual Patriots centered on Belichick. Meanwhile, Law punked the Colts around with a little help from Harrison (the one named Rodney). Brady – surprise, surprise – won the game. It’s all he does in the playoffs.
And it’s gonna happen again on Sunday.
I know the Panthers are for real. They have the best defensive line in football. They have Stephen Davis. John Fox is an excellent coach. That team is no fluke.
But they don’t have Brady. They don’t have Belichick. When the Pats take the field as a team on Sunday, you’ll know why they’re looking at two championships in three years. More than any other team in professional sports, they understand how to win.
That counts a whole hell of a lot more than having a bunch of stars on a team. It counts more than having the co-MVP. It counts more than winning pretty.
It’s why we love them so much.
Just Because I Can
Reason Number 55 that Minnesota is a far better place to watch hockey. When they spell out M-I-N-N-E-S-O-T-A, the O actually sounds like Oh. You can hear the accent in the spelling, and this is on a level of 10,000 people saying it at the same time. Makes me wish that BU kids spelling out T-E-R-R-I-E-R-S would pronounce the R like Ahh. There’s nothing quite like Minnesota folks … I can’t believe I’m 23 on Wednesday. 23 is old. It’s almost 25, which is almost mid-20s … Does anyone else find any NBA game not involving LeBron, Carmelo, Dallas or Sacramento to be almost terminally boring right now? Just hit a frickin’ 18-footer, someone, please. And coaches need to stop ruining the sport with these clampdown defenses. It’s just horrible to watch right now … Hockey’s the same way. The trap must go (and it can take the Devils with it) … I’m taking hockey class right now, and I suck, a lot, but it’s tons of fun (like me). Plus, there’s nothing like picking up the sport at 22 to remind a guy how long and hard the guys on BU have worked to get where they are. It makes me hesitate for a fraction of a second when I’m starting to say that they can’t play, or that they suck … NASCAR changed its points system. You heard me right. Apparently, NASCAR has points. Hicks … And to all my fellow Section 8-ers, I choose not to dance.