But as we're just now getting started in a new decade, there's still time to look back at an incredible decade in New England sports.
NESN.com unveiled the top 10 moments of the decade from each Boston team as well as each sport's team of the decade, and you can check them out below.
Red Sox
Top 10 Defining Moments
Team of the Decade
Patriots
Top 10 Defining Moments
Team of the Decade
Bruins
Top 10 Defining Moments
Team of the Decade
Celtics
Top 10 Defining Moments
Team of the Decade
And to all the folks who have been outraged in the comments section, let's try to put an end to the "decade" debate here.
For starters, a decade is simply "a period of 10 years," according to Merriam-Webster. In that sense, there could be a decade retrospective every year.
But that's not the point. People are fighting (with some personal insults, CAPS LOCK DISSES and gratuitous use of exclamation points!), telling each other that the decade ends at the conclusion of next year. That's just wrong. 1970 was not a part of the '60s. 1980 was not a part of the '70s. The 1990s began in 1990 and ended in 1999. When you turn 40 years old, you can no longer say you are in your 30s.
Others argue that when a teacher tells his or her students to count to 10, they don't start counting at zero. That's true, and it would probably get that teacher fired. But when you're born into this world, you are zero years old until your first birthday. Shortly thereafter, you will engage in your first Internet fight regarding how to keep track of decades.
So with that settled (seriously, stop arguing), here are some of the better comments from the past week from NESN.com's decade retrospective stories. If you didn't make the cut, this may be your last chance.
"Hey S..where did youb get ur math adgree from ? Kmart–inthe next few days the decade will be over dum a s s"
–Sox_Guy
"Sorry Kevin but the moron from NY is right. Here's a lesson to all of you who think this is the last year of the decade. When they began using the current Roman calender they started with the year one not zero. There are ten years in a decade so figure it out. Starts on one ends on ten. So just like the millenium didn't start in 2000 but in 2001, this decade ends next year. And please don't try to use the public opinion crap. Some 500 years ago public opinion said the world was flat. That didn't make it flat people. Fact is fact and not open to public debate."
–Jill
And, without further ado, the grand finale:
"The writer of this article is a stupid moron. The decade ends at the end of next year…can't you count? 1 to 10…meaning 2001 to 2010 is a decade. At the end of 10 is the decade…that's next year. I'm sure there will be many good events that come this year to put in this decade. It's surprising that a college educated person wrote this article and didn't realize that the decade ends next year. Shame on you."
–Gregg
Happy New Year, sports fans, and may the next decade be as exciting as the last.
