Why West Coast Sports Fans Are Frustrated With Boston

Written by a West Coast resident who laments over lving in the shadow of Boston and East Coast sports.

Sports fans born and raised on the West Coast are a little frustrated. Not the type of frustration that stems from your team’s futility. No, this is a very unique type of soul-crushing dissatisfaction. It’s the kind of mind-numbing aggravation that can’t be erased with a championship.

This type of frustration is not known by Boston sports fan. In fact, Boston and their plethora of successful sports teams play a huge part in the West Coaster’s eternal irritation.

It’s not that we particularly dislike Boston area teams. Kevin Garnett is a warrior and he makes it easy to root for the Boston Celtics. Screaming “anything is possible” after winning the NBA championship was a little over-dramatic, but for the most part Garnett’s passion, along with Paul Pierces’ dedication and Ray Allen’s professionalism, make the Celtics agreeable.

New England Patriots’ head coach Bill Belichick goes out of his way to be unlikable and it’s easy to hate golden boy Tom Brady, with his embarrassment of riches, but besides those two, the Patriots are a good group of hard working, blue collar football players.

The Boston Red Sox, even when they had Manny Ramirez, are an affable team. Jon Lester returning to the team after having cancer and pitching a no-hitter was quite inspirational. With manager Terry Francona, and players like David Oritz, Kevin Youkilis and Dustin Pedroia, the Sox are a team you can like.

It’s not really the fans either. Boston sports fans are obnoxious but that’s not an inherent quality. They are obnoxious because their teams have won 6 championships in the 21st century.

Red Sox fans were once loveable losers that needed comfort every fall as they cried over their team’s demise. Now that they’ve broken “The Curse” and won two World Series, they’ve formed their own nation. It’s a nation that West Coast fans want to invade and overthrow.

I had a conversation with a Patriots fan after Matt Cassel’s first start in Brady’s absence. The Pats fan was lamenting Cassel’s poor performance and derided the team’s fall into mediocrity. Mediocrity? After just two games? The team just went 16-0!

And if I hear one more “C’s” fan proclaim Peirce is better than Kobe, I’m going to bang my head against a backboard.

But what really irks West Coast sports fans about Boston isn’t necessarily their teams nor is it necessarily their fans, it’s the media.

I understand that when West Coast teams tip-off, or the first pitch is thrown, most everyone on the East Coast is in bed, but do the Celtics have to be on television all the time?

When Brady went down with his injury in 2008, it was covered so intently I was worried the media was going to do bedpan updates.

And could someone please tell ESPN that there are more than two teams in MLB? All that network can talk about is the Sox and the Yanks.

I hate to break it to the sports director and the television executives, but more people live outside of Boston then live inside Boston.

Now you know where our frustration comes from. East Coast teams, especially the ones from Boston, are constantly being thrust upon West Coast sports fan and done so under the assumption that we actually care.

It’s reasonable to conclude that the Celtics, Patriots and Red Sox have more fans nationally than say the Portland Trail Blazers, the Seattle Seahawks and the San Diego Padres. Since they do, that popularity warrants more media coverage.

However, the balance isn’t slightly tipped in Boston’s favor - it’s completely tipped. And when a West Coast team (Los Angeles included) is dominating, they never get the same attention as their East Coast counterpart. Look no further than the Pac-Ten.

In 2008, ESPN spent all baseball season reassuring Red Sox fans that there was no way the Rays (granted they are an East Coast team too but the antidote still works) could best the Sox in the playoffs. It was quite delicious to us on the left coast when the Rays actually did.

Let's talk about the NBA breifly. Brandon Roy. If he was playing for Boston, or any other East Coast team, he would be a household name by now. As it currently stands, most Boston sports fans have probably never even seen him play.

While this sounds like some ridiculous inferiority complex, the mentality of the West Coast sports fans needs to be taken seriously. Media perception leads to real-life consequences.

Many on the West Coast believe quite strongly that their teams will never be allowed to win a championship. Take for instance Super Bowl XL and the horrible calls that went against the Seahawks.

Fans of teams like the Trailblazers, the Utah Jazz and the Sacramento Kings are adamant that league officials, fearful of the lack of media attention they might receive, will never let them win a championship.

So Boston fans please continue to be obnoxious as you cheer for your teams, all of whom have legitimate championships aspirations. Meanwhile, many West Coast sports fans will be cheering for their own favorite team even though they know it’s ultimately in vain.

Boston Sports