AN INSIDE LOOK
By Bill Gouveia
It has become a bit passé to bemoan
how spoiled we Boston sports fans have become.
But I’m going to do it anyway.
It’s
like telling your kids how tough it was in the “old days”. You know, when you actually had to get out of
your chair to change the TV channel, and walked to school in the snow uphill
both ways every day? The kind of stuff
you swore you would never drone on about after listening to your elders do the
same when you were younger.
But
when it comes to sports here in New England, these in fact are the good old
days. They may never get any
better. We are living in the golden age
of Boston sports, and those of us nearer to the end of our journey than the
beginning are really starting to appreciate it. Or at least – we should be.
Let’s
make the obligatory review here. The Red
Sox have won three World Series titles (including this season) in the last ten
years, after going most of nine decades without one. The Patriots have won three Super Bowls since
2001, and played in two others – the most successful professional sports
franchise in the country over that time.
The
Bruins won a Stanley Cup in 2011 after almost 40 years of futility. And the Celtics won a championship in 2008
and nearly won a couple more before moving into their current rebuilding
mode. That’s eight professional
championships in the last 13 years, and several near-misses.
That
is one heck of a run. So Boston fans
must be just smiling and enjoying life, right?
If you believe that, you just don’t understand the general nature of the
average New England fan. I wouldn’t say
we are generally pessimistic, but also wouldn’t disagree if that was your
opinion.
There are
people who think the proverbial glass is half full. There are folks who believe the glass is half
empty. Then there are Boston sports fans
who want to know who took the other half of the water, and who they can blame
for allowing it to happen.
If
you’ve ever listened to Boston sports talk radio (my car radio is perpetually
tuned to one of the two stations) you know the passion New Englanders bring to
what most consider fun and games. And
you know that shortly after the Red Sox won the World Series this October, the
focus of hardcore fans had already turned to who was going to be catching and
playing centerfield next season and how they should be obtained.
Patriot
fans feel like they are suffering through a “down year” as their injury-riddled
team heads towards its fifth consecutive division title. In my 41st year as a season ticket
holder, I laugh as I listen to complaints about the team not signing enough
stars or the way their coach conducts his press conferences.
I
sat on cold aluminum benches to watch this team for 30 years. I went when you couldn’t give away game
tickets. I suffered through Dick
McPherson, Ron Meyer and Rod Rust as head coaches. I was there when the highlight of the game
was a dog catching a Frisbee at halftime.
So
my advice is – smell the roses. Pause
and appreciate what we have been given.
This is something special, something unique, and it may never happen
again in my lifetime or that of my children and grandchildren. This is the pinnacle of being a professional
sports fan.
Of course,
I should take my own advice. I’m as bad
if not worse than most. I can find a
problem behind any silver lining when it comes to our local teams. It is the result of watching Bucky Bleeping
Dent’s homer, the ball go through Buckner’s legs, Grady Little leaving Pedro
in, and Eli Manning twice outplaying Tom Brady in a Super Bowl.
But I’m
trying to rehabilitate myself. I’m
turning over a new leaf. I’m going to
sit back and enjoy this tremendous sporting environment in which we live. I’m going to relax.
What’s
that? The Sox signed AJ Pierrzsynski to
catch? Oh man, bad move. They should have kept Salty. There goes next season.
I’m not
sure this rehab thing is working.
Bill Gouveia is a local columnist and
can be emailed at aninsidelook@aol.com and followed on Twitter at
@Billinsidelook.
No comments:
Post a Comment