The Harbaugh brothers have a catchphrase: “Who’s got it better than us? Nobody!” Well, with all due respect to that football family (well, mostly Jim; John will likely never be in Boston’s good graces), nobody had it better than Boston as far as professional sports went for 20 years.
From 2001 to 2020, Boston truly was the hub of the sports universe. Twelve championships is more than most fans can consider witnessing over a lifetime, let alone a two-decade span of dominance. Our teams were the best, led of course by six Lombardi Trophies for the Brady and Belichick Patriots, four World Series for the Red Sox after almost a century of futility and heartbreak, and one title apiece for the Bruins and Celtics. A new Titletown was truly born.
We were spoiled. We were blessed. We became entitled and insufferable. So what! Oh well. Who could blame us? Every day was the next best day to be a fan in the best sports city in America. Every morning you woke up, you felt like you were practically better than everyone because your teams were. Even if you hit a rut or were having a tough go of it, you always had a Big Papi at-bat or a Brady-led comeback drive on the horizon to look forward to. Chances are you’re likely never to see such a run, such dominant and glorious times again.
You know what? That’s OK. Because you’ll always have all of that as part of your story as a fan. Those memories, the emotional exhaustion, the souvenirs, the photos, the videos, the merch (so much merch!), the shirts (even more shirts!), all of it. And no one, not even Roger Goodell and the crooked commission behind Deflategate, can take any of that away from you.
Things haven’t looked as rosy or optimistic for Boston sports since Tom Brady left town in March 2020. Didn’t help that a global pandemic broke out the same day he said he was “Forever A Patriot,” but maybe that took our mind off the pain for a while since we couldn’t go anywhere to bitch with our friends. There have been no championships, titles, banners or duckboat parades since. How we, the unbearables of sports America, have been able to maintain our composure after bathing in the luxury of riches for so long, is beyond me. Boston, New England, I admire your resilience. That strength, likely learned from your heroes, is beyond admirable.
However, that drought may soon come to an end. The Boston Celtics are up 2-0 in the NBA Finals over the Dallas Mavericks and old frienemy Kyrie Irving. While, as Kevin Garnett reminded us in 2008, “Anything is possible,” it is, to use familiar parlance, “more probable than not” that the Celtics are going to win their first tile in 16 years, hang banner 18 from the rafters at the Garden and end this five-plus year spell.
Again, for most cities this would be cause to go wild and celebrate as if a great conflict has ended, or it was the last night on Earth. Here in Boston, a sigh of relief and a parade should ensue. And then we’re on to the next one, or as Tom Brady would call it, his favorite one.
Game 3 of the NBA Finals will tip off right in the middle of Tom Brady Night at Gillette Stadium, an extravaganza of celebratory excess that will truly bring climax and closure to the unthinkable awesomeness and achievements of Brady, his coach Bill Belichick (confirmed to attend and likely to receive the biggest ovation aside from Brady himself), and all those who wore the Flying Elvis during those championship runs. Some may be bemoaning the idea that they’ll miss part of the game while cheering on the GOAT and thanking him for basically giving us two decades of incessant joy and relevance. Oh poor you! To have to see Brady’s statue revealed and number retired and miss half the game! How will you do it?
To be serious for a moment, heavens forbid, let’s not overlook this timing. Brady being enshrined in the Pats Hall of Fame while Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown and company are grinding for Boston’s next title shouldn’t be scoffed at. This could well represent a torch passing, a baton handoff, a transfer of energy for the Boston sports scene, officially putting bronze statue and wax stamp to the 2000-2020 run and cracking the cover of the book to the next phase of potential excellence. Sure, we’ve heard about the Jays and seen all the Eastern Conference Finals appearances, but no rings to validate yet. This feels different now, different here (hmm…sounds familiar). If they are able to realize their open potential, certify their greatness and begin a new era of Boston sports greatness? As someone who believes in karma, things happening for a reason and the unquantifiable? This seems no accident. Or maybe I just learned to believe thanks to icons like Brady and Big Papi.
Your Celtics are on the verge. The Bruins need a little something but they have pieces in place to get after it for a while to come. The Pats are in a reconstruction phase, but if what we read about Drake Maye is to be believed, then in time a new winner could take over in Foxboro to write his own story. Be nice if the Red Sox ownership cared as much as their fans, but let’s not get greedy.
Point is, there’s much to be grateful for, to enjoy in the now, and look forward to in the future. It won’t be like how it was, nor should it be. The titles, the championship runs, the playoffs, all of it will have a new look and feel. As it should. That’s something every fan should look forward to with open arms.
Given the region’s rich history overall, let alone in sports, nobody does nostalgia like New England. Some say you have to kill the past or let it go to grow in the now and make the most of your future. Don’t forget your past. Embrace it, take it with you forever.
This is a week to be thankful for what you had and be optimistic and excited about what you soon may have. Celebrate what it was and then turn your attention to the good things and competitive teams that lie ahead. Bask in the past! What a time to be a fan! And LFG for the future! It’s exactly how the man most responsible for all those titles would want it.