In sports-passionate New England, Joe McDonald asks: Which team is No. 1?
There’s no denying the passion of New England sports fans.
It’s currently on display with the Celtics and Bruins in the playoffs, while the Patriots recently celebrated a successful NFL Draft by selecting Drake Maye, who has the potential to become the franchise’s next great quarterback. With the Red Sox, at least we can say they’re above .500 to start the season.
It’s always a fun discussion when you ask a Boston sports fan which team is the most popular of the four major sports. So, which team would you say is currently No. 1 among fans?
The immediate response is the Patriots, which is true. The team’s success since 2000 is unmatched in New England and fans are eager for their favorite team to return to prominence. Maybe with new coach Jerod Mayo, along with Maye’s potential, the Patriots can turn things around after several postseason failures.
Fans were spoiled during Boston’s dominance when the four major teams combined for 12 championships from 2000 till now. The Patriots led the way with six Super Bowl titles, followed by the Red Sox’s four World Series championships as the Bruins and Celtics each one once during that stretch.
Currently, the Celtics have the best chance to win Boston’s next championship as the team is favored to win the NBA title. The Bruins should advance to at least the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs. A deeper run will depend on the team’s goaltending, which is solid right now with the tandem of Jeremy Swayman and Linus Ullmark.
For generations, the Red Sox were the No. 1 team in New England. Before the club won four World Series titles in 2004, 2007, 2013 and 2018, it pulled at the heartstrings of fans for generations. The Red Sox went 86 years without winning a championship, but they were just as popular when they disappointed fans season after season.
The Red Sox have lost a bit of their mystique. It starts with ownership. John Henry doesn’t seem to care about the product on the field. He’ll try to say all the right things, but subpar rosters have led to subpar performances and that’s been the case for the Red Sox the last six seasons. Ownership has allowed franchise players to sign elsewhere, which has infuriated fans. The farm system is not what it used to be and watching the Red Sox feels like rooting for a Triple-A team. Injuries aside and despite its 15-13 record through 28 games this season, this team is not built to win.
Alex Cora is a great manager and he’s been able to get the most out of the roster he’s been handed, but it’s not enough for Red Sox fans, which is one reason the team’s popularity has dipped the last few seasons. The Red Sox are no longer No. 1 in the region. That will change again once the team returns to its winning ways.
Celtics ownership has done everything to build a winning program. Under the guidance of native Rhode Islander and head coach Joe Mazzulla, the Celtics are poised for a deep playoff run. The Celtics lost in the finals in 2022 and dropped a heartbreaker to the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference finals last spring, but this should be the season for the Celtics to hoist another championship banner into the rafters at TD Garden.
During the Celtics first-round victory over the Heat in Game 3 Saturday, Boston’s Jayson Tatum became the third all-time NBA playoff points leader before the age of 27, joining Kobe Bryant and LeBron James on that list. Tatum should become one of the best Celtics players of all time before his career is finished — if he leads the team to another championship.
Many believed the Bruins’ chances were done after Patrice Bergeron retired after the 2022-23 season. Well, Brad Marchand has done an incredible job as the team’s current captain and the Bruins could enjoy a longer playoff run than most expected this spring. It’s insane to think about the possibility of both the Bruins and Celtics winning a championship in the same season. If through some unbelievable set of circumstances that occurs this year, the Bruins would still be more popular than the Celtics.
The thing with hockey is that either you’re a fan or you’re not. There are no casual fans. The game’s popularity increases during the playoffs because nothing in all of sports can compare to the two-month grind that leads to a Stanley Cup. It is the hardest trophy to win and it’s on display every spring. Every second of every game throughout the playoffs is packed with passion, purpose and an intensity that’s unmatched by other sports.
When the Red Sox won the World Series in 2004 and ’07, the celebrations were off the charts. During that time, I always said that if the Bruins were to win the Stanley Cup, the championship parade would be even bigger and better than those of the Red Sox. That came to fruition in 2011 when the Bruins won their first Cup since 1972. More than a million fans celebrated as the Duck Boats rolled through the city in late June. Yes, it helped that the parade was held on a beautiful Saturday afternoon and it brought a record number of fans to watch and celebrate the Bruins’ victory.
If either the Celtics or the Bruins can win a championship in 2024, they will own the label as the region’s most popular team for the moment, but once the Patriots start training camp, the football team will have everyone’s focus. In this era, the Patriots are New England’s most popular and successful team both on and off the field.
All the teams have a unique synergy and support each other and the fans’ devotion is unmatched. Unless the Red Sox can re-create their perennial dominance, the Patriots will be the fans’ favorites.
On X: @JoeyMacHockey
This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: In sports-passionate New England, Joe McDonald asks: Which team is No. 1?
