Boston Professional Sports
Boston is one of the country's best sports towns. The city has earned that distinction not because its sports teams have long and storied histories, or because they play in iconic venues, or even because they've won multiple championships. Boston's professional sports teams embody the heart and soul of the city they plat in and in return they are supported by some of the most loyal, passionate, and knowledgeable fans in America.
The city's oldest professional sports franchise is the Boston Red Sox. The famed Red Sox play in the American League East Division with their arch nemesis the New York Yankees. The club, which was founded in 1901, play in Fenway Park located in the Fenway-Kenmore neighborhood of Boston. Having opened in 1912, Fenway is Major League Baseball's oldest venue. The franchise has fielded a slew of great players over the years including Roger Clemens, Wade Boggs, Pedro Martinez, Carl Yastrzemski, Johnny Pesky, Jim Rice, Carlton Fisk, and the greatest hitter of all-time, Ted Williams.
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Even though the New England Patriots don't play in the city they still enjoy the unyielding support of Bostonians. The Pats play in nearby Foxborough, Massachusetts—a town of more than 16,000 that's located about 22 miles southwest of Boston. Founded in 1959, the Patriots were an original member of the American Football League. They joined the National Football League when the two leagues merged in 1970. The Pats play their home games at Gillette Stadium and are aligned in the AFC East. New England's main rivals are the other three teams in their division, the Buffalo Bills, the Miami Dolphins, and the New York Jets. Since the turn of the century, whenever the Pats play fellow AFC stalwart, the Indianapolis Colts, the media usually dubs the affair the "game of the year." In their first 50 years of existence the Patriots won three Super Bowls, all three victories were orchestrated by quarterback Tom Brady.
As of 2010, the Boston Bruins of the National Hockey League have won the second most Stanley Cups of any team from America. They have five and skate behind the Detroit Red Wings who have 11. Unfortunately, the franchise's last title came way back in 1972. The Bruins are one of the NHL's so called Original Six—a group teams that populated the league from 1942 to 1967. However, the Bruins' history goes back even further than that as the club was founded in 1924. The Bruins currently find themselves in the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference. After every Bruins' home victory the song "Dirty Water" by The Standells is blasted through their home arena, TD Garden. The same tradition is employed by the Red Sox.
That's not all the Bruins share with a fellow Boston team. Their arena, TD Garden, is also home to the NBA's most successful franchise, the Boston Celtics. Founded in 1946, the Celtics enter the 2010-2011 season with a league leading 17 NBA Championships. The franchise assembled their impressive collection of titles thanks to legends like Bill Russell, Larry Bird, Bob Cousy, Dave Cowens, Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, and Ray Allen. The Celtics dominated the 1960's winning nine titles including eight in a row. For most of that period they were coached by one of the league's all-time great basketball minds, Red Auerbach. Aligned in league's Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference, the Celtics have three main rivals: the Philadelphia 76'ers, the Detroit Pistons, and the Los Angeles Lakers. To date, the Celtics and the Lakers have clashed a dozen times in the NBA Finals.
Boston boasts four historic and successful sports franchises. But what really makes the city's professional sports teams so special is even after decades of existence all four clubs are still relevant and still annual title contenders.
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