Which Boston Sports Rival Do You Respect Most?

by NESN Staff on Thu, Mar 24, 2011 at 10:48AM

When you’re a Boston sports fan, bitter rivalries just come with the territory. Across the board in all four major sports there are “hated” rivals.

In basketball, you have Celtics-Lakers. Football’s got Patriots-Jets. There’s no denying that Red Sox-Yankees is one of the best rivalries in baseball. But the best of the bunch may be the one being renewed on Thursday night when the Montreal Canadiens come to town to tangle with the Bruins.

Regardless of what sport, the passion runs deep in these rivalries. When it comes to rivalry, there is certainly an immense amount of dislike between the two sides, especially in all four of the aforementioned Boston rivalries, but there is still some level of respect.

Except, maybe, when it comes to Bruins-Habs. The B’s and Canadiens just don’t like each other one bit and neither do the fan bases. For years, the two teams have played contrasting styles of hockey — styles that some may even say reflect the culture and attitude of both cities. Add that up, and you get a ton of vitriol.

While Red Sox fans can respect the fact that the Yankees are one of baseball’s greatest franchises, Celtics fans realize that Kobe Bryant is one of the greatest players of this generation and Patriots fans recognize that the Jets are a force to be reckoned with, does any of that respect carry over to hockey?

Which Boston sports rival do you respect the most? Share your thoughts below.

Tuesday, March 22: Are the Bruins’ current struggles good for their Stanley Cup chances?

Which Boston sports rival do you respect the most?online survey