As the calendar flips from the chilly November to the frigid December, New Englanders know what time it is: It’s time to get the shovels ready, put holiday decorations up and settle in for another championship run. With the Patriots atop the NFL’s standings as we enter the Thanksgiving holiday, Super Bowl fever is starting to engulf New England once again.
New Englanders know how lucky they are- after all, these teams have won more championships than those of any other sports region in the 2000’s. Let’s take a look back at the three Super Bowls, three World Series rings, the green team’s 17th banner and the sixth banner in the history of the team that most represents the region.
This ranking will attempt to place an order on how important each championship was to Boston, New England and the team’s fans. It encapsulates the season, the playoffs and the championship game/round.
8. 2003 New England Patriots
The 2003 Patriots created the notion that a potential dynasty was coming into its own in Foxborough. For the second time in three years, the Patriots were able to hoist the Lombardi Trophy.
These Pats had the same poor early start that had fans concerned as the 2014 team: they were 2-2 after Week Four, and Tom Brady was not playing at his best. Yet, they turned it around and were able to win 12 games in a row in the regular season. Come playoff time, they edged out a tight win against Tennessee in the Divisional Round, setting up an AFC Championship game with MVP Peyton Manning and the Colts.
In the AFC Title Game, the Patriots defense made Manning look helpless, establishing the “This [Gillette Stadium] isn’t Peyton’s Place” theme that is still present today. They picked him off four times and won 24-14.
Against the Panthers in the Super Bowl, the defense allowed 29 points. But with 1:08 left with the game tied in the fourth quarter, Brady led his second Super Bowl winning drive in three seasons, which culminated in another Adam Vinatieri game-winning field goal.
7. 2007 Boston Red Sox
Of the three World Series rings the Red Sox won in a span of ten years, this one ranks lowest on the list, simply because the other two meant so much more to so many different people.
If skeptics believed that the 2004 Sox team won with too much luck on its side, the ’07 team proved them wrong, sweeping the under-matched Colorado Rockies in the Fall Classic.
And if the ’04 team was for the people that had suffered for so many years through the perennial losers that were the pre-2004 Red Sox, this team was for the next generation, the core of the fan base that had inherited the team after the first of the three rings.
6. 2004 New England Patriots
This team was able to solidify the Patriots dynasty. This championship was the team’s third in four years, and the whole NFL world acknowledged the true dominance of Belichick’s squad.
Unlike the previous year’s version of the team, these Patriots did not get off to a slow start, but also finished 14-2 like their 2003 counterparts. In the Divisional Round, they thrashed Manning and the Colts once again, limiting the league’s best offense to three measly points.
In the Super Bowl, they had were able to edge out the high-powered Philadelphia Eagles, winning 24-21. The margin of victory? An Adam Vinatieri field goal.
5. 2011 Boston Bruins
At its core, Boston is a blue collar town, and this has been the case dating back to its origins. The city’s hockey team most represents this hard-working attitude.
The year before, the Bruins had led their second round series against the Philadelphia Flyers 3-0, until the orange team won the next four games to win the series.
These Bruins defeated the Canadiens in the first round of the playoffs, which culminated in a dramatic overtime goal from Nathan Horton that many from around New England will claim is one of the greatest moments in the history of Boston’s sports.
Then, they vanquished their demons by sweeping the Flyers. Their third round series finished with a Game 7 for the ages, one that saw only one goal scored with no penalties taken by either side and dominant goal-tending from both ends.
The Stanley Cup Final was something else- the Bruins were down 2-0 in a series for the second time in the playoffs (the other occasion was the first round) and again found a way to win the series. There were bites (Alex Burrows) and cheap shots (Aaron Rome), but when Bruins captain Zdeno Chara held the Stanley Cup at Rogers Arena in Vancouver, fans finally felt the weight of 39 years fall off of their backs.
Make sure to check back for Part II of rankings Boston’s 21st century championships.
[Photo Credit: Reuters]
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
