2009 Archive

Sunday, April 19, 2009

Boston Sports Comes Full Circle


Last week I was on one of my new favorite blog-sites and clicked on this. I think I got something in my eye. I had never seen this add before. There are sports legends that define our lives. Probably like many from the Boston area, mine are Yaz, Orr, Bird and Brady. What a great sports town.

No one will argue that Boston is one of the biggest sports towns with the most dedicated fans. There has been much debate as to why sports fans from Boston are the way they are and I’m not here to beleaguer that because, well, that’s what we are. First off, you have to be devoted to the home team. If you’re from New York, living in Boston and you’re a Yankee fan we might spill our beer on you, but we’ll respect your opinion as a sports fan. If you’re from Boston and you ahh, decide you like the Yankees, then you’re not a sports fan, you’re a dork. That devotion is not necessarily a 24-7 love of one team or one sport because, after all, if the home team sucks then it’s good to let them know they suck and that you’re going to watch another sport and root for that home team. It's good to have choices. Other towns don’t always have that option. As a transplanted Boston sports fan in say, Seattle, you could try to root for the Mariners, but when they suck (like they do), you’ve got nowhere to turn, hence the evolution of Red Sox Nation. I know there are the one sport die-hards out there and good for them; it’s just that when you’re from Boston and you can pick and choose between sports, then you get to be critical and happy all at the same time.

Secondly and most important is that a Boston sports fan never forgets. Our lives have evolved in layers, not unlike the dinosaurs. When you’re young, like knee-high young, and a boy, the early phase usually involves playing all sports. My first love was baseball mostly because the guys across the street all played and taught me to play. Basketball was played by the older kids so I didn’t get to appreciate the Bill Russell Celtics. My baseball fascination was boosted in 1967 when the Sox won the pennant and went to the World Series. My heroes were Yaz and Tony C., like everyone else back then. That was post-Russell and pre-Orr. The Pats just plain blew for what seemed like a whole lotta years.

A couple years later I moved across town and met some new friends that weren’t so much into baseball, but hockey, particularly street hockey. I didn’t know much about the sport but I could run fast so I got to play, usually defense. My new heroes became Bobby Orr and the Big Bad Bruins, Turk, Pie, the Chief and Espo; those were the days. During games I would always try to “cup” the puck in the blade of my stick and do an end around for the goal, just like Orr. Of course it didn’t go over as well. Our street hockey team was called the Tags and our biggest rival was the Jets from down at Julia Road Park. For us, it was like the Bruins- Habs and just like real life; they had their Ken Dryden, named Picka, in the net. We couldn’t get the puck by him and they would always beat us. When the Bruins let Orr go to the Blackhawks, Bobby Orr and hockey would never be the same, at least in our neighborhood.

For the most part hockey was replaced by the Gold Dust Twin Years of the Sox and then the Big Three of the Celtics. The Red Sox of course were just heart breakers; they would just tease you and let everything slip away. When Fred Lynn went to the Angels, it was time to focus on a new kid in town from French Lick. By now we were old enough to take the “T” into The Garden and drink beer. We were either watching basketball for real, or playing basketball down at O’Sullivan Park. It was all about b-ball in those days from CYO to high school to the C’s, we couldn’t get enough. The Bird-Magic/Celts-Lakers rivalries were great times for Boston sports. The Red Sox and Patriots both made it to the top in the mid ‘80’s as well, and it was great to be a fan. It seemed that each season brought a new shot at a championship.

By 1992, the Bird years and thus the Celtics were done. The good luck of the leprechaun had withered away with Bias and Lewis. The Bruins were too cheap to be competitive and the Red Sox always seemed a step away. The Sox could always make things interesting, whether it was with the Yankees or just locker room soap operas. The Rocket, Pedro and Joe Morgan all came and went. The Patriots had been improving over the years and even went to the Super Bowl in ’85 but nobody really took them serious. Then they hired Bill Parcells and got a new owner. They changed their logo and Boston sports fans started to sense something was really happening, finally, for the Patriots. When they hired Bill Belichick and Drew got injured it looked like more of the same but something strange happened. The guy that took over for Bledsoe actually won some games and looked good doing it. My 11 year old son and I danced around the parlor after the Snow Bowl game. He learned quickly, what the Raiders had done to us in the ‘70’s when I kept saying “Tuck this, Ben Dreith” to the television.

With Kraft, Brady and Belichick, a new commitment to winning was felt throughout Boston sports. The Red Sox got new owners that made some quick changes and appeared to actually want to win. Danny Ainge came back and, although it took some doing, actually got some help for Paul Pierce. And what-ya-know, the Big Bad Bruins even kind of look like they got some muscle. We got choices.


POSTED BY STAN at April 19, 2009

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In 1976, The Patriots finished 11–3, their best record in team history to that point, and advanced to the playoffs for the first time since 1963. Their opponent in the first round would be the Oakland Raiders, whose only regular season loss had come at the hands of New England, 48–17. By late in the game, the Patriots were leading the Raiders, 21-17. On a critical third down play late in the fourth quarter, Patriots defensive tackle Ray "Sugar Bear" Hamilton appeared to get a critical sack on Oakland quarterback Ken Stabler which would have forced the Raiders into a fourth down situation and the possible end to their season. However, referee Ben Dreith called a roughing the passer penalty on Hamilton, nullifying the sack and giving the Raiders an automatic first down deep in New England territory. Replays would show that there was no illegal contact - a point that Stabler himself would all but concede in interviews years later. The call would ultimately prove fatal to the Patriots, as Stabler would score on a short touchdown run with less than a minute left, and the Raiders held on for a 24-21 win. Partially because of the controversy, the league never assigned Dreith to officiate Patriots games again.
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