What’s wrong with me? C’s and B’s are in the playoffs... it’s baseball season... and yet...

[TheBostonStraggler]

When does training camp start?

To each their own, however, you're missing some extreme cutting edge tension dismissing Bruins playoff hockey.
1 minute to go, Patriots down by 2, ball on their own 30, it's 4th down needing 5 yards for the first down, ball is snapped, tension is thick as concrete.
That kind of tension, nearly, is there for almost the final 10 mins of a Bruins playoff game.

Football is the sport of the gods, no doubt. But it's the NFL offseason and that can't be changed. So turn the Bruins game on, give it a try, even if just watching the third period. If it doesn't work for ya it doesn't work. But, give it a try, ya never know. And a Bruins cup, with Celts and Sox as champs too, make a Patriot Super Bowl possible win that much more of a story, and also consider a championship sweep by all 4 sticks in the craw of Jets/NY fans that much more

 

[TheBostonStraggler]

Football is more interesting because there are fewer games and each game is more meaningful, especially in the playoffs.

Yep. Football is also a sport of 22 on the field, yet of notably precise strategy coupled with hand to hand violent mayhem, giant against giant to speedster against speedster.
Add together the value of each game, with so few of them, its ground acquisition goal (probably something primal within the human condition) and the amount of players/areas of specialty going on mano y mano? Makes it a hell of a spectator sport!

Hard to believe but back in the day, let's say crica 1980, the Boston sports fan scene was a heavily Celts-Sox-Bruins thing with the Patriots the distant also ran, runt of the litter.

 

[Tunescribe]

I don't get Bruins, Celtics or Red Sox games where I live.

I never miss a Pat's game unless there is a funeral.

Does that mean you skip weddings?

 

[captain insano]

this thread is .

 

[ALP]

neither I , nor i assume most of us, has enough time to waste to watch 160 games of baseball, and 80s games of hockey/bball, so i only actually watch the pats in the reg season and only catch other games by chance

but i follow their seasons by checking out standings, and once playoffs start, you'll see me yell just as much as w/ the pats

 

[Ice_Ice_Brady]

Is it safe to say Brady is the greatest athlete in Boston sports history? Sorry, I'm not from there.

It would be almost to insane to say he isn’t, but then again you have three athletes who arguably cannot be second place to anyone in their sport.

Brady - No sense explaining this one

Orr - I said “arguably”, and I feel very strongly that Orr > Gretzky though that is not majority opinion. The longevity gap is a big factor, but I think he was significantly better than Gretzky.

Russell - He won 2 National Championships and then NBA 11 Championships. It’s something like 13 in 14 years. Many people old enough to to remember Russell rank him above Jordan, Kareem, LeBron, etc.

So Brady is universally held as the best QB/football player ever, which it’s probably safe to say he’s number one. Orr and Russell might be #1 in their sports, but it isn’t a more universal opinion.

I think it’s definitely safe to say Brady has surpassed other absolute legends like Ted Williams and Larry Bird.

When it come to absolute dominance in their prime, I’ll still take Pedro Martinez over anyone. I mean anyone. There’s no one else I’d rather see live. He wasn’t human.

 

[Brick27]

Enjoying the NHL playoffs. NBA has been a pass since it’s the most predictable league of the big four, and the diva dramatics of the modern game is hard to watch. MLB is sort of on the back burner until July for me, then will begin to delve in a little.

 

[Triumph]

Does that mean you skip weddings?

Are you and your partner getting hitched?

 

[TomPatriot]

When does training camp start?

Same. I’m not a big hoops or hockey fan. I like baseball but football is the best.

 

[neuronet]

I'm from the neighborhoods of Boston. The local teams are ingrained. For our family it was the Sox, C's Bruins and Pats when they came into existence in that order growing up. I cried as a kid for the Sox and B's of the 50's and 60's. I reveled with the C's at the same time. I was thrilled when my older sister told me Bill Russell asked her out, and then devastated when (because she was a fan too) turned him down because he was married. I came of age during the Orr/Espisito era of Bruins Hockey. I worked the door at one of the clubs the Bruins often frequented. I threw out Wayne Cashman on several occasions, but he was a gentleman each time. I was in the same bar softball league with Derrick Sanderson, who own Zelda's. He played but never owned a glove for some reason. When he played us, he used mine.

I owned the record they made when the Sox FINALLY won a pennant. Think of it as 3 days to Glory in 1967, including a song about Yaz. I was at the airport when the B's brought back the cup in 1970. I was at the Garden when Russell won the last of his Championships. I was there when Cowens won HIS first. I played tag football for the Celts front office in the mid 80's (Volk was a friend). Larry Bird once nodded to me in the locker room because he knew I was one of Jan's tag football guys, but he didn't know my name.....or care.

The day the Pats won their way to the Superbowl, I booked a flight to NO and saw that game, that I knew was lost even when they were up 3-0. That's how great that Bears team was. What a 3 day party that was. (and as an aside, every superbowl that ISN'T in NO is a lost opportunity)

The 2 year old in the Kimmell/Brady skit was an accurate description of a Boston fan of that era. Hard passionate, and loyal with an attitude, but always expecting the worst to happen. And that BEFORE the last 20 years of 12 Championships for the city.

But I got older. I don't even think about the Sox until around mid August. The same goes for the B's and C's. I catch a game every now and then. I check the standings on occasion, but I don't get interested in their seasons until April. But of course now I'm all in on both.

The Pats are the only team that holds my attention year round, and controls my calendar for the FULL season. You couldn't pay me to see a preseason game of any team, yet once they put on the pads, I'm at most TC practices. Go figure

....and why I bothered to write this down slips my mind.

Face it kid--you're a writer.

 

[mosslost]

When does training camp start?

I would be thrilled in the Boston Slam happens.

I think the Bruins have a real chance, but the Celtics not quite good enough.

 

[Froob]

Patriots have always been my biggest love, but I'd rather see a Celtics championship than another Super Bowl win after winning so many of them recently.

 

[aluminum seats]

I'm emotionally invested in all Boston teams. Its a drug.

Too much Cs and Bs going on monopolizing my time.

I'm assuming the Sox are hungover. They have time to right the ship.

Yep. Pretty much everyone I grew up with are and were fans of all four teams. Can’t even imagine not being. Everyone has different preferences (big surprise, the Pats are top of the heap for me) but I love all of them.

 

[fair catch fryar]

Born and raised a fan of all 4 since the early 70s, but weened on Bruins and Red Sox. The Pats are are by far the king of Boston sports. Of course, that absolutely has everything to do with BB/Brady and when they're done...

 

[maust]

So Brady is universally held as the best QB/football player ever, which it’s probably safe to say he’s number one. Orr and Russell might be #1 in their sports, but it isn’t a more universal opinion.

When it come to absolute dominance in their prime, I’ll still take Pedro Martinez over anyone. I mean anyone. There’s no one else I’d rather see live. He wasn’t human.

We really have gotten to the point with Brady that any argument against him as the GOAT just sounds silly. What could make a bigger statement about his greatness than that?

I feel Russel vs Jordan as the best ever (James doesn't breathe their kind of air) is predominantly a generational argument. I think where someone comes down on Orr vs Gretzky as the best ever is a combination of generation and understanding of the game. Orr dominated at both ends of the ice whereas Gretzky had a hard time finding his own end. Given the opportunity anyone seeing them both play would definitely be impressed by Gretzky's incredible offensive ability but in complete awe of Orr's total game.

I'm almost right there with you on Pedro, Orr is the only player I would rather see live. Getting to see either of them just own it while they were out there was honestly a privilege.

 

[Ice_Ice_Brady]

We really have gotten to the point with Brady that any argument against him as the GOAT just sounds silly. What could makes a bigger statement about his greatness than that?

I feel Russel vs Jordan as the best ever (James doesn't breathe their kind of air) is predominantly a generational argument. I think where someone comes down on Orr vs Gretzky as the best ever is a combination of generation and understanding of the game. Orr dominated at both ends of the ice whereas Gretzky had a hard time finding his own end. Given the opportunity anyone seeing them both play would definitely be impressed by Gretzky's incredible offensive ability but in complete awe of Orr's total game.

I'm almost right there with you on Pedro, Orr is the only player I would rather see live. Getting to see either of them just own it while they were out there was honestly a privilege.

I largely agree with this post. Though I think Russell versus Jordan is also about the pre-expansion NBA vs. the post-expansion NBA. Jordan had to face 30 teams whereas Russell had to face like 7 teams. Modern NBA teams need to win four series to win a title. It's just a different level of difficulty, and you have free agency, etc. This is what makes it incredible that Brady has the most rings in NFL history (not just expansion era history) because Bart Starr's five championships, while incredible, were the result of having the best record out of six teams (not much harder than winning your division now) and getting a berth in the title game. The difficulty now is so much higher for so many reasons. Including that the Packers, Steelers, and Niners had a slew of Hall of Fame teammates.

I personally don't believe Jordan is the GOAT. He only won with one certain set of teammates (and the triangle offense under Jackson), and his championship span was only 8 years. Largely it was him and Pippen, and though the first and second 3-peat iterations differed, he didn't win a championship, or make the finals, in all the years preceding Jackson/Pippen. Had he not retired for two years, or played into his later years (after 1998 - not the Washington circus), he would probably be the GOAT. But I mark him down for missed years and again, really only winning with one system and not having to take down any major dynasty rivals like other teams did.

Orr and Gretzky...I almost see it as identical to Gronkowski vs. Gonzalez. Orr is still unprecedented and unduplicated by anyone, and his plus-minus shows he was the player on the ice that led to a greater chance of victory than Gretzky. I'd take Orr, but it's just a matter of opinion on the GOAT criteria itself.

 

[SBLIII]

Yeah, I'm just a Patriots fan.

 

[zoostation]

I'll watch maybe 10 total pitches during the regular season. It boggles my mind when people say they watch or listen to every pitch/every game. Some even can't miss the spring training games. I'm assuming most are older retired (bored out of their mind) folks.

 

[Midship]

Football is more interesting because there are fewer games and each game is more meaningful, especially in the playoffs.

Bingo. Way too many games in the other sports. Imagine if NHL/NBA went to 40 game seasons, play twice a week - every game would be an event. 82 is just too many, 162 is absurd.

 

[YOUGOTMOSSED]

I would be thrilled in the Boston Slam happens.

I think the Bruins have a real chance, but the Celtics not quite good enough.

Celtics have plenty of talent but they're getting jobbed by the refs.

I really can't abide the NBA and their "star treatment" of certain players. I've seen that movie too many times and it just gets more and more obnoxious with each viewing. I've been a Celtics fan since the 80's and I just turned the TV off after the 3rd quarter last night. Enough is enough!