City of Champions
In recent years Boston has been called the City of Champions. It has inherited this name due to its sports teams winning an incredible ten championships since 2000. Each professional team has won at least one championship, while the Patriots have won the most with five titles. Even when the quartet of teams that includes the Bruins, Celtics, Red Sox, and Patriots don’t win it all they’ve still been successful. This year has proven to be no different.
New England Patriots
Over the past eighteen years, the Patriots have been the most successful franchise in football and all of sports. They’ve won five titles and made the playoffs fourteen times. They have arguably the best coach and quarterback in the history of the game. Every year they are competitive, and unlike other teams have not needed to rebuild. They are the most controversial team in sports, but that’s what happens when you’re good for eighteen straight years. Today they play the Tennessee Titans to begin their playoff run. They are again favorites to win another championship, which would give them three in a four-year span.
Photo Credit: AP/ Photo Darron Cummings
Boston Celtics
The Celtics have struggled at times over the years. That does not mean that it’s all been bad. In 2008 after acquiring Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen to join Paul Pierce, the Celtics won their first title since 1976. The Big three made back to the finals in 2010 but lost in seven games to the Lakers. They were unable to win another championship before the blockbuster trade that changed the franchise in 2011. The Celtics, however, have used that trade to build the current roster and speed up their rebuild, which only took two seasons. For the past three years, the Celtics have made it to the playoffs but have been unable to advance very far. This year the Celtics are primed to win a title and have a core in place to keep them competitive for the foreseeable future.
Photo Credit: Tim Cato
Boston Bruins
Boston is said to be a hockey town at heart and that was apparent when they won the Cup in 2011. Since 2000 the Bruins have made it to the playoffs eleven times and the Stanley Cup Finals twice. Last year they made it to the playoffs for the first time in two years. This season they have been one of the best which has come as a surprise to many. Like the Celtics, they are full of young talent and primed to be good for years to come. The Bruins have struggled at times over the years but have made the playoffs the majority of the time. Their future looks bright and they are primed to win a title with this core before the end of the decade.
Photo Credit: Elsa- Getty Images
Boston Red Sox
The Red Sox like the Patriots have been very successful since. They’ve won three titles and made the playoffs nine times. They’ve provided the city with some of its most thrilling postseason moments. In 2004 they came back and stunned the world against their arch-rivals. Some seasons have been tough, but the Red Sox have been able to recover without going through extended rebuilds. They’ve lifted up the city when it needed them the most such as in 2013 after the marathon bombings. In what is a common theme among Boston sports teams they are rich with young talent. Going into next year the Red Sox are not the favorites, but they aren’t that far off from being champions again.
Photo Credit: Rob Tringali/MLB Photos via Getty Images
Why Boston Fans Should Be Thankful
For the past eighteen years, Boston fans have been spoiled. Unlike any other city, the teams are almost always good and at least one team is always a favorite to win a championship. Some sports fans never see their team win a championship. In Boston, it’s considered a failure if these teams go two years without a title. That excellence is rare, and all these teams are filled with young talent. This impressive run won’t end anytime soon meaning Boston will be considered the city of champions for a while.
