Sometimes, winning is contagious. Just ask Boston sports fans, whose teams have experienced plenty of championship success over the last two decades.
No franchise embodies this golden age of New England sports quite like the Patriots, winners of five Super Bowls in the last 16 years. But the Red Sox have done their part, winning three World Series titles since 2004, and it appears the success of their Boston sports brethren continues to be a source of motivation as they eye another trip to the Fall Classic in 2017.
“If you’re going to describe a successful sports franchise now and talk about success, I think you’d start with the New England Patriots in any sport,” Red Sox president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowkski recently told the Boston Herald’s Jason Mastrodonato. “That’s what you would ultimately love to do. It’s not that easy to do in any sport. If we could do that, anywhere near that, you’d be thrilled.”
Sure, there have been a few bumps along the way, especially for the Red Sox, who finished in last place three times (2012, 2014 and 2015) around their 2013 World Series win. But ask most sports fans around the country and they’ll probably say New Englanders have been spoiled in recent years. With the Celtics winning the NBA Finals in 2008 and the Bruins winning the Stanley Cup in 2011, each of Boston’s four major sports teams has at least one championship since 2002.
Along with that success obviously comes huge expectations. And you could argue that one team’s glory only increases the pressure for the city’s other franchises. But Dombrowski doesn’t see it that way. The Patriots have been a model of consistency, and the Red Sox (and everyone else) are striving to match that level of dominance rather than worrying about whether they’re playing second fiddle in the Boston sports landscape.
“I don’t find that difficult,” Dombrowski told Mastrodonato. “In fact I think it’s good for the city. Ultimately that’s what you want to do anyway to win world championships. That’s what your goal is, whether they’re here or not here. I think it’s great for the city.
“It’s not like their success takes away from the Red Sox. We sell out all the time and have a lot of interest. It’s apparent there’s room for successful franchises. The Bruins are in the playoffs, the Celtics same way. It’s a passionate city with sports. It’s great to have that.”
In other words, in Boston, winning really can be contagious. And no one is immune.
Thumbnail photo via Mark J. Rebilas/USA TODAY Sports Images
