Welcome to Title Town

There are three things that are certain in life. Death, taxes, and the excellence of Boston sports teams. Currently, the Boston sports scene is in a golden age of success. The Red Sox just won the World Series for the fourth time this century. The Bruins and Celtics are enjoying deep playoff runs with young, talented core players, and the Patriots, are well… the Patriots.

Things haven’t always been like this though, especially for the Red Sox. From 1918 to 2004 the Boston Red Sox did not win a World Series despite having legendary players like Ted Williams, Carl Yastrzemski, and Nomar Garciaparra. This 86-year drought was known as the “Curse of the Bambino”. Legend has it, when baseball legend Babe Ruth was traded from the Boston Red Sox to the New York Yankees, he put a “curse” on the Red Sox. He said they would never win a World Series again, thus starting “The Curse of the Bambino” and the rivalry between Boston and New York. The “curse” was finally broken in 2004 when the Red Sox, led by David Ortiz, Manny Ramirez, and Pedro Martinez, swept the St. Louis Cardinals to win the World Series.

Ever since 2004, the Red Sox have enjoyed steady success, winning the World Series in 2007, 2013, and most recently in 2018. The 2013 World Series was especially meaningful because it came after the Boston Marathon bombing in April of the same year. The city and team rallied around the mantra “Boston Strong” and eventually became World Series champions.

The Patriots have also had their fair share of hard times. Since joining the league in 1970 as part of the AFL/NFL merger, the Patriots were, well… terrible. Failing to win any championships and only making one, the Patriots were on the verge of relocating to St. Louis. In 1994, Robert Kraft, a lifelong fan and business mogul, purchased the Patriots. He kept the team in New England, hired a new coach and just two years later in 1996, the Patriots made it to the Super Bowl (though they lost to the Green Bay Packers). Kraft then hired Bill Belichick, as the new head coach of the team. In 2001, after starting quarterback Drew Bledsoe was sidelined with an injury, his backup, Tom Brady, took over and led the team to their first Super Bowl win. Ever since, Tom Brady and Bill Belichick have been dominating the NFL year after year, winning 6 Super Bowls (an NFL Record) and solidifying themselves as the greatest player and head coach of all time.

As for the Celtics, they have always been a strong team. Despite a brief period of time in the 1990s and early 2000s, the Celtics have dominated the NBA , winning a record 17 titles most recently in 2008. With a young core of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, the Celtics look to continue their success for future years.

The Bruins on the other hand haven’t been quite as successful. Winning 6 Stanley Cups sounds impressive, but only until you hear that the division rival, the Montreal Canadiens, have a whopping 24. But the Bruins have a young core group of players and will continue making deep playoff runs for many years to come.

I spoke with Luke Dione, a junior at IHS and avid sports fan. I asked him if he thinks Boston fans are spoiled. “No, we aren’t spoiled.” he said, “We are just really into sports”. I also asked him if winning ever gets old; “Winning never gets old” he replied, with a grin on his face.

Overall, Boston sports is in a golden age of success. Not many 18 year olds can say they have witnessed 12 championships, but we can. We do need to remember not to take this success for granted, because unfortunately, it won’t last forever.