Is Red Sox' 2004 World Series Win or Bruins' 2011 Stanley Cup Victory a Bigger Boston Sports Moment?

Is Red Sox’ 2004 World Series Win or Bruins’ 2011 Stanley Cup Victory a Bigger Boston Sports Moment?

by NESN Staff on Sun, Sep 18, 2011 at 7:00PM

The Red Sox' 2004 World Series win squares off against the Bruins' 2011 Stanley Cup victory in the semifinal round of Boston's Greatest Sports Moment tournament.

1. Red Sox win 2004 World SeriesBy now, every Red Sox fan probably has replayed Joe Castiglione’s call of the final out of the 2004 World Series in his or her head hundreds, maybe even thousands of times: "[Keith] Foulke to the set, the 1-0 pitch, here it is … swing and a ground ball, stabbed by Foulke. He has it. He underhands to first. And the Boston Red Sox are the world champions. For the first time in 86 years, the Red Sox have won baseball's world championship. Can you believe it?" For Red Sox fans — whether they had been followers for 10, 20, 50 or even 86 years – the moment was surreal. With a full moon over Busch Stadium in St. Louis, Boston’s beloved Red Sox were finally champs for the first time since 1918. Their sweep over the Cardinals ended that infamous curse and sparked one of the largest championship celebrations Boston has ever seen.

2. Bruins win 2011 Stanley CupThe Boston Bruins entered the 2011 Stanley Cup Final with the second-longest championship drought in Boston sports history. Matched up against the Vancouver Canucks, who finished the season with the best regular-season record, the B's found themselves having to overcome hardships immediately. Boston lost the first two games of the series after being bullied (and bitten) in Vancouver. Additionally, the B's lost postseason hero Nathan Horton early in Game 3 on a late hit by Aaron Rome. The questionable check awoke the bear, though, as the Bruins exploded for 12 goals combined in Games 3 and 4. After dropping Game 5, goalie Tim Thomas carried Boston in the final two wins, including a shutout in Game 7, to give the Boston Bruins their first championship in 39 years.