Boston fans have been spoiled since going a decade and a half without a championship. It all started with the 2001-02 Patriots who seemingly came out of nowhere to win Superbowl 36. Now a decade and six more rings later, Boston has become the ultimate sports city. I thought I would give myself the difficult task of ranking the seven titles. Oh how tough it is being a Boston sports fan.
1. 2008 North America Superliga Championship: The New England Revolution... Just kidding.
1. 2004 World Series: The championship that was 86 years in the making. Red Sox fans from all over New England grew up being prepared for the heartache and suffering that comes along with being a Red Sox fan. We all suffered together as a community as years and decades passed by without a ring. They finally broke through in 2004 against the St. Louis Cardinals. What made it even sweeter was the epic 2004 ALCS when the Red Sox came back from their arch rivals, The New York Yankees.
Why it could have been lower: The actual World Series was boring. It was a four game sweep and they won the series on the road. But, half of Red Sox nation would have had a heart attack if it went seven so it being a boring sweep might've been a good thing.
2. 2002 Superbowl: No one believed in 2001-02 New England Patriots and why should have they? The year before they went 5-11, they started the season 1-3, and lost their star quarterback in the second week. Yet this team was lead by a young Tom Brady through a roller-coaster season that almost ended against the Raiders in the playoffs if it wasn't for the tuck rule. The most important thing about this championship is that it was the first title. It started a dynasty, Tom Brady's legacy, and more importantly a winning culture in Boston.
Why it could have been lower: Out of the four major sports teams in Boston, the Patriots were the one people cared the least for. Obviously the Red Sox have always been beloved and both the Celtics and Bruins had a rich history full of legends such as Russel, Bird, Orr, and Bourque (Seventy7) just to name a few. The Patriots had little history and the fans did not have as much of a connection as they did with the other teams.
3. 2011 Stanley Cup: Bruins fans have watched this team over the last half decade waiting and hoping for them to meet the high expectations of Boston sports. They lost in 07-08 to the rival Canadians in the conference quarterfinals, 08-09 to the Hurricanes in the conference semifinals, and 09-10 lost to Flyers again in the semis and becoming the third hockey team ever to lose a series after winning the first three games. Each of those three loses were game 7s. Fans watched young players grow up such as Bergeron, Lucic, Krecji, Marchand, and Rask (even though we mostly saw him on the bench this season). The Tim Thomas story is something out of a cheesy sports film. It also got higher ratings than the 2008 NBA Finals.
Why it could have been lower: The Bruins have been the bastard step child of Boston sports while the others have made big acquisitions and won championships. After giving a parade to Ray Bourqe when he won with the Avalanche, Boston fans forgot about hockey as the other three Boston teams fought for the spot light. The Bruins barely ever made the front of the Boston sports pages during the 2000s.
4. 2008 NBA Finals: After their worst season in team history in 06-07, Danny Ainge built a Frankenstein team, the 2007-2008 Celtics. They pulled off trades (more like heists after reviewing them) to land Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett. Then James Posey, Eddie House, PJ Brown, and Sam Cassell all joined the team in hopes for a ring. Thats the main reason its not ranked higher, this wasn't our team, it was more like The Six Million Dollar Man (or in this case the roughly 75 million dollar team).
Why it could have been higher: it completely revitalized the Celtics in the minds of Boston sports fans. The Celtics were the lone successful team Boston had in the 80s (there were none in the 90s). It also quantified Paul Pierce as a Celtic legend and put Rajon Rondo on the map.
5. 2005 Superbowl: This one cemented the dynasty. Gave Tom Brady his third ring and his place in conversation as the best quarterback of all time. This dynasty will be one that will be always remembered by fans and extremely helped the Patriots brand among fans for years and decades to come.
Why it could have been higher: It created a dynasty, can I say more?
6. 2007 World Series: After a 2005 season thats better described as a continuation of the 2004 World Series after party and a boring 2006 season when the Red Sox finished third, The Sox won their second title in the decade. Sadly it was another road sweep. I'll still take it.
Why It could have been higher: It stopped all the talks of 04 being a fluke and shut up Yankee fans from saying we had to wait another 86 years for our next title.
7. 2004 Superbowl. Our second championship in the decade. Like the 07 World Series it showed the nation and even us that the Patriots were no fluke. The game itself was a great defensive battle going into the fourth quarter when there was an offensive explosion. One thing I always find odd about this game is the Panthers copying the Patriots and being introduced as a team.
Why it could've been higher: After giving Boston a taste of winning in 01, the Patriots gave us another championship and a sports team to be truly proud of.
Let me know what you guys think. Just remember one thing, when ranking these seven titles over the past decade, there is no wrong answers. If only the 2008 Superbowl wasn't canceled, we would've had eight.
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