Titletown, USA

When the Patriots went to New Orleans and upset the seemingly invincible Rams back in February of 2002, it broke a seemingly interminable streak of futility by Boston’s four major sports teams.  The Celtics were the last team to have won a title way back in 1986, a grueling span of sixteen years between professional championships.  We won’t even go into the painful Red Sox history of “almosts” and “might have beens” in this space, the fact that the Bruins hadn’t won a title since 1972, or the fact that the Patriots hadn’t won a title since their inception in 1960 - but suffice it to say, Boston has since emerged from our sporting nadir.  In fact, such a drought seems laughable in the current atmosphere of championship-laden superteams from Beantown.  Over the course of the last ten years, Boston’s pro teams have made an astounding ten title series (or games), and have won seven of them - more than twice as many as the next closest city (Detroit with three - Wings/Pistons).  Even more astonishing, each of Boston’s four major sports teams have now won a title during that period - and at least two Boston teams - the Red Sox and the Patriots - are poised (and favored) to win another title before the current run of dominance is finished.  Major sporting cities across the country turn envious eyes towards the rejuvenated “hub of the (sporting) universe” as we bask in the glow of yet another championship parade almost before the street sweepers have had a chance to clear the confetti from the last championship celebration off of our streets.  The poor Duck Boat drivers better be getting some serious overtime for their efforts.

If you’re in your mid thirties, like me, the thought of this level of sporting success would have been laughable at one time.  With the exception of Larry Bird’s mighty Celtics, Boston teams were best known for near misses (1986 vs. the Mets), blowout losses (1985 vs. the Bears), and irrelevance (the Bruins going almost four decades without a meaningful playoff series).  However, the thick skin many of us built as fans of these once-struggling, now-powerhouses has also given us perspective.  We’ve drank the dirty water of futility and we’ve tasted the bitterness of defeat time and again - and we will tell you to a fan that you have to hold onto these days with everything you’ve got - because time is fleeting in sports and things can change quickly.  I really feel for the young teen fans in Boston who have never known a world without Boston sports teams standing at the top of the mountain.  I want to caution them to start imagining teams with no Tom Brady, no Kevin Youkilis, no Paul Pierce and no Tim Thomas abusing opponents on a daily basis.  Scary, huh?  Welcome to my childhood, kid.  Even the greats we did have, like the peerless Ray Bourque, had to leave town to win a title.  Ug.

So live it up Beantown.  Right now we’ve got this sports thing licked.  We’re a freight train on greased tracks going downhill, but enjoy it while it lasts.  Some day soon, the next Tom Brady will be born - and maybe, just maybe, he won’t magically fall to the Patriots in the sixth round this time...

Contributions by certified sports nut J.P. Powers