2007 Was The Year of Boston Sports

Look, I never try to hide the fact that I am a Yankee fan. So when the Red Sox won their second World Series title in four seasons this past October and my Bronx Bombers remained trophy-less for a seventh straight season, it hurt.

It hurt like hell. Of course, it didn't help that the once loveable and sympathetic Red Sox fans, who for years forcefully educated us on the joys and sorrows of losing, suddenly became the biggest blowhards in the history of fandom. Hey guys, two titles in 90 years ain't a dynasty!

But I digress. Because this piece is not my usual stuff about how it's all fixed, and how the three big pro leagues all got together and decided that it was time to manufacture championships in Boston.

No. I have suspended my temporary insanity when it comes to Beantown, and I am here to give congratulations. Because no matter how I try to deny it, one thing is true: this is the Golden Era of Boston Sports. And for once, I am going to give those chowderheads exactly what they deserve: a little damn respect. Because, at least in my lifetime, I have never seen a city so dominate the sports landscape the way these teams from New England did in 2007.

After they won it all for the first time in 2004 (for the first time in 86 years), I was quietly very happy for the Red Sox and for my many friends who were rooting for that band of long-haired sluggers who called themselves the Idiots. It wasn't easy, because on the way to the ir2004 title, the Sox humiliated my Yankees by overcoming a 3-0 deficit in the American League Championship Series.

But I figured, it had to happen sometime, and why not get all of the agony and heartache out of the way for everyone? So I was happy.

But I certainly didn't think that it would become a routine thing. But now, that is precisely what seems to be happening, and the only thing I can say is: good for Boston.

The Red Sox run to the title this year was at first, fairly unremarkable. The team won 96 games and edged out a Yankee squad that had been decimated by pitching injuries all season long. I thought they were an average team who made the most of a good situation. But, I was wrong. The Red Sox proved in October that they are a team of substance, mentally tough men who never surrender, no matter what the odds.

In the American league Championship Series, the Cleveland Indians (who had run the Yankees right out of the playoffs in the previous round) seemed poised to reach their first Fall Classic in a decade. They had a 3 games to 1 lead and were playing the potential clincher at home in Jacobs Field, Cleveland, Ohio. Most of the TV talking heads were already talking about how the Tribe would fare in the upcoming World Series. Even many Boston fans were talking about "next year."

But not the Red Sox. No, not those guys. Those sumbitches came out for Game 5 as loose as the proverbial goose (or gaggle of geese, more accurately), and squashed the Indians in Games 5, 6 and 7. Watching those three games, I never doubted for a minute that the Sox would do what they had to do. It made me jealous, of course, but it also put me in awe of what a real team can accomplish if they never give up, never surrender, stay focused and play like their backs are up against that bottomless pit from the movie "300".

After dispatching the Indians, the Sox beat the holy hell out of the Colorado Rockies in the World Series. On the very first swing taken by a Boston player in the 2007 Fall Classic, rookie second baseman Dustin pedrois hit a bomb over the Green Monster at Fenway Park. I remember when a young Derek Jeter used to do stuff like that. But that was the past; the Red Sox are the present and probably the future.

They won the Series in four games, and to be honest, none of the games were even as close as the score reflected. They were the best. They deserved it. My hat is off to them, especially to my favorite player in the game, Mr. Manny Ramirez. Because without Manny being Manny, baseball just ain't baseball.

This I enjoyed. I enjoyed it a lot. First of all, I have no strong affiliations when it comes to football. I grew up in New York and now I live in Philly, and on occasion, when the wind is blowing the right way, I will root for either of those teams. I like when they win, but it certainly doesn't hurt when they lose (it does hurt when the Yankees lose, however, like root canal).

So I don't see the Pats as a rival, and I am not one of those impotent jerks who roots against teams simply to feel better about my own shortcomings (of which I have none, by the way, ha!). No, I found the Pats run really fun. It didn't hurt, of course, that I drafted Tom Brady as my fantasy football quarterback.

And it also didn't hurt that the one team who previously had finizhed a regular season without a loss were the 1972 Dolphins. I don't like those guys. Especially that Mercury Morris. If you have never seen him, don't.

Mercury was a great running back, and he was a key part to that undefeated '72 squad, but in his late middle age he has become a real prick. Every year when the last team who is still undefeated loses its first game, Mercury and his buddies pop open a bottle of champagne to celebrate the defeat.

Okay, that's obnoxious, but it's tolerable. This year, however, old Merc went way over the top, appearing on ESPN every week to badmouth the Patriots and say that they weren't even in the same neighborhood as the '72 Dolphins. He continued to do this every week as the Pats won again and again, and is still trying to sell that propaganda even after the Pats finished the regular season at 16-0. Which, by the way, is two more wins than the 14-0 record put up by the Dolphins (who played a shorter season).

Mercury is still shooting his mouth off. I wish someone would close it for him.

Anyway, putting that jerk aside, there may never have been a better football team than the 2007 Pats. Not only did they go 16-0, but they scored more points than any team in football history (589), scored more touchdowns (75) and won more games by at least 20 points (10) than any team, ever.

Along the way, they beat some pretty damn good football teams, too. The Colts, Giants, Chargers, Browns, Steelers and Cowboys all got whipped by New England.

Quarterback Tom Brady played as if his opponents were my 1979 Pop Warner squad. He threw 50 touchdowns (a new NFL record) and just eight interceptions. Randy Moss caught a new NFL record 23 touchdown passes. Little known Wes Welker came over from Miami before the season and set a new Patriot record for receptions with 112. Their defense was ranked fourth in the NFL.

In short, they were one awesome football team. Even if they don't go all the way and win the Super Bowl (which they will), it would be hard to argue that there was another team in football history who is on par with the Pats.

And oh, those 1972 Dolphins, they would have lost 77-3. So shut up. Mercury!

Call them the Parquet Posse. Call them the Three Amigos. Cal them what you want, just remember to call them great. Because the centerpiece of the 2007-2008 Boston Celtics -- Ray Allen, Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce -- form the heart of the greatest team in baseketball. These guys are so good, they could probably even beat the Argentina National Team, for god's sake.

As of December 31, 2007 (a little less than halfway through the full season), the Celtics are 29-3. The NBA team with the next best record? The Detroit Pistons at 26-8. In any other year, hoops fans would be marvelling at the Pistons great year. But not this year. Not when the Celts are running away with the East and threatening to break the Chicago Bulls season record of 72 wins. No, this year belongs to the Celtics. And the credit should go to Danny Ainge, the team's general manager.

After watching his once great team struggle through nearly two decades of mediocrity, Ainge made the two biggest personnel moves during the last off-season, acquiring perennial all-star Kevin Garnett and shooting master Ray Allen. When these two joined the multi-talented Paul Pierce in Boston, they instantly formed the best core of players in the game. And they have proven it not just on paper, but on the hardwoods as well.

Whether the Celtics can keep this pace up is a matter to be seen, but with their level of talent, I would be shocked if they finished any worse than 70-12 and took home the NBA crown.

If they do, then I may have to abandon my current sports affiliations and move to Boston. It wouldn't be an unprecedented move in the Ray family. After all, legend has it that one of my great-great-great grandfathers was the biggest turncoat of them all, General Benedict Arnold.