Always the Victim

Within the first 10 minutes of arriving in a New England pub, I overheard a group of guys talk about Peter Carroll and the Super Bowl 49 interception.

It literally took 10 minutes. And I wasn’t even part of the conversation; it was brought up organically.

No lie…….no exaggeration…..first stop…..10 minutes.

I will never escape that.

So why do I bring this up? Other that it is wicked amazing that this happened, it shows both how inundated sports are in New England culture and also how goddamn lucky and fortunate they are with their success.

I mean over the last 20 years, Boston has had unprecedented success.

  • 4 World Series titles

  • 1 NBA title

  • 1 Stanley Cup

  • And a stupid amount of Super Bowls

And yet, Boston fan will always feel the victim.

There are cities that haven’t won one title in those 20 years. In fact, most sports cities haven’t even been in a finals in the last 20 years. Yet here is Boston, winning 12 titles in that time.

And yet, Boston fan will always feel the victim.

Why do I say this? Well….

  • I saw people with ‘Kyrie is a Douche Bag’ shirts. I did not see any current Celtic player jersey. Although funny, the dwelling of the negative in this case shows a fan base that is concentrating on the disappoint rather than the 17 titles they have won.

  • Even though the Bruins are in prime playoff position, all the fans around me chatted about was how disappointing Patrick Bergeron has been this season.

  • Tom Brady retired the day I was in Boston. All the sports radio networks were harping over and over again how Brady didn’t mention his time in New England to their satisfaction. In fact, the radio voices were so deeply enraged that the Patriot Nation was not acknowledged, insults towards him ensued. I guess if you don’t win 7+ Super Bowls, you are uttah gahbage.

  • One word: Buckner. I swear to God, these Sox fans talk more about Billy freakin’ Buckner than they do about any other sporting event in history. Forget that they have won 4 World Series since that time, forget that their team makes the playoffs almost every season, and forget the fact that Buckner misplay was after Boston was up by 2 in the 10th, where Calvin Schiraldi gave up that 2 run lead, and that error happened when the game was tied…..in GAME 6!!!!! YES!! Boston had a chance to win in game 7, even had a 3 run lead in that one, but lost. And yet all these fans care about is Billy freakin’ Buckner.

You know who should feel like a victim? A city who loses a Super Bowl like the Hawks did in Super Bowl 49. You know who should feel like a victim? A city who has their NBA team stolen away out of vengeance and to appease some friend of David Stern. You know who should feel like a victim? A city with a baseball team who has the only franchise that has never been to the World Series AND has not made the playoff in over 20 years (current professional league record). You know who should feel like a victim? Me, for having to endure these people.

And yet, Boston fan will always feel the victim.