But until then, I want to focus on what this decade has meant to all those living in New England. This isn't a sports blog, and I'm by no means an expert on everything sports.... but this is just what's gone on this past decade, and it's one of the best for the New England teams in awhile.
The New England Patriots started it all in 2002, winning Superbowl XXXVI. My mom knew we had it right from the start. As soon as the Pats came out of the tunnel as a team, forgoing the usual individual introductions, Mom was like, "How can they lose?" And it's true.... the team that did it as a team, won it all. Who's ever going to forget that epic image of Adam Vinatieri leaping into the air after kicking the game winning field goal? Or Tedy Bruschi doing a snow angel in the turf after the game? For a 12-year old, I thought it couldn't get any better than to partake in this.... Until they won it again in 2004, then 2005. The win in 2005 capped everything off.... Being the middle of the decade, and coming only months after probably the greatest win in MLB history....
The Boston Red Sox. 2004. Curse Reversed. Bloody Sock. 86 Years. Dave Roberts. Johnny Damon. Big Papi. Manny, Pedro, Millar. And a World Series win....
How do you talk about the year when the Sox won the World Series? What words describe the sensation that rippled through Red Sox nation that night in 2004? It wasn't just that they won it all.... it was that they faced the brink of elimination, with almost no hope.... Down 3-0 to the Yankees, until Dave Roberts steals second base in extra innings, as the Sox stave on elimination.... He gets driven home, and the Sox find themselves battling, against all odds, to win. And Terry Francona's merry band of "Idiots" makes history, becoming one of only a handful of teams in all of professional sports to battle back from a 3-0 deficit, and he did it against the Yankees no less!
I can remember huddling under my sheets with my alarm clock, listening to Johnny Damon smack a Grand Slam out of Yankee Stadium.... In the second inning! I went to bed with a smile on my face like you couldn't believe.... Only to make it to the World Series.... AND SWEEP!
Every Sox fan will tell you, watching Foulke flip to Mientkiewicz, they couldn't help but feel the chill of Bill Buckner pass through them... Or maybe that was just his soul finding peace.
Not only did they do it in '04, but 2007 was just as good. Remember that time the Colorado Rockies thought they stood a chance? True, we had been battled pretty hard by the Indians... but we managed to take Colorado and run with it. Another World Series sweep! It was unbelievable.... Red Sox Nation felt so good coming into this season! Only to miss the playoff hunt entirely.... It's fine, us Sox fans are used to waiting for next season.
The streets of Boston had hardly been cleared before the Celtics hit the hardwood for their regular season in November '07, but yet this season would be unlike any in years for the hardcore Celts fans. With the acquisition of Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen, coupled with the Celts's mainstay in Paul Pierce, the C's now had the new "Big Three," or "Boston Three-Party" to capture their 17th Championship win in franchise history. For the Celts, this represented the fastest turnaround in NBA history, going from one of the sorriest teams in the NBA to the very top of the world.
"Anything is Possible."
And New England sports prove it: Whether it's a upset win over a heavily favored St. Louis Rams team, or an epic battle from the very brink of elimination, or turning around a losing team, Kevin Garnett described all of New England sports this decade in that little, three letter phrase. "Anything is Possible," and in New England, anything can always happen.
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