Boston: City of Champions

For 100 years, Boston sports have reigned supreme, but what is it about Beantown that breeds champions?

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(Valianti Photos)

A display of all off Boston’s titles, the Bruins with six, Red Sox with nine, Celtics with seventeen, and Pats with five

With the Red Sox becoming the 2018 World Series champs, yet another banner will be added to the ever-expanding collection of titles for Boston sports.

Since 2000 alone, Boston has won 11 championships: five Super Bowls for the Patriots, four World Series wins for the Red Sox, and one each for the Celtics and Bruins. In total, Boston has garnered 38 championships, the Celtics leading the charge, with 17 of the 38 coming from the NBA’s most accomplished franchise.

All of this success has earned Boston the moniker of Titletown, a name not taken lightly by the athletes who call Boston their home. All of the city’s four major sports teams are consistent playoff contenders, with every team making an appearance since 2015.

One of the biggest factors for the success of Boston sports is its unquestionable luck when it comes to amassing iconic players. In its history, Boston has been home to the likes of Babe Ruth, Bill Russell, Ted Williams, Bobby Orr, Larry Bird, and Red Auerbach, and more recently, David ‘Big Papi’ Ortiz, Paul Pierce, Tom Brady, Mookie Betts, Rob Gronkowski, and Kyrie Irving.

Behind all these iconic names, there are iconic teams, and without much competition in their own leagues, a rivalry has formed as to who is the best team in Boston’s illustrious history.

“Bill Russell and the 1960-70 Celtics, easy,” says Triton junior and basketball player Michael Farago. “Eleven championships out of twelve final appearances, you just cannot beat that, in fact, I’m not sure any team ever will.”

“It’s gotta be the 2004 Red Sox dude,” says Triton junior and baseball player Will Gundrum. “They are the guys who broke the curse of the Bambino! C’mon, biggest title in this city’s history.”

Many others interviewed offered up other opinions such as the 2016 Patriots, the 1986 Celtics, 1970 Bruins, the list goes on and on.

With all this rampant success, the question has been raised as to what makes Boston so good at sports, and the truth is, it is just as much off the court as it is on it.

There is no question that it is home to one of the most enthusiastic fan bases (to put it kindly) in all of America, season ticket orders backed up to almost 2050 in some of its arenas. But their enthusiasm does not fall on deaf ears. Many of the cities players say that they receive a great deal of their energy from the fans at their games. A semi-symbiotic relationship is formed which makes the players want to play to the best of their ability to get the fans on their feet. In the words of Celtics shooting guard Marcus Smart, “It’s Boston baby, what else can I say.”

It is no secret that New England is not the easiest place to live and for many fans, it is watching their teams succeed that keeps them strong and hopeful during the rough winters.

“Yeah that’s definitely a part of it,” says Triton junior Kyle Noonan. “Things can get pretty bleak, but for a lot of people around here, watching Tom Brady throw a 60-yard long touchdown pass or Kyrie Irving hit a game-winner in overtime makes them forget about all that other stuff and cheer on the team they love.”