Bill Simmons is an unabashed Boston sports fan, so he understandably was excited Tuesday night when the Red Sox defeated the New York Yankees in Game 4 of the American League Division Series to secure a date with the defending World Series champion Houston Astros in the AL Championship Series.
But there were some tense moments in the ninth inning of that game, with Red Sox closer Craig Kimbrel nearly blowing a three-run lead before finally closing the door on Boston’s 4-3 win, and Simmons made sure to point that out on Twitter in a way that rubbed at least one ESPN host the wrong way.
Here’s Simmons’ tweet, in which the well-known sports pundit alludes to the Red Sox’s past futility:
The problem with this, according to Jon “Stugotz” Weiner of “The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz” on ESPN Radio, is that Boston sports teams have enjoyed an incredible amount of success over the past two decades, with the Red Sox even winning three World Series titles since 2004. As such, Stugotz called out Simmons on Thursday, pointing to the recent struggles of certain New York sports fans.
Does Stugotz have a point? Have Boston sports fans lost the right to complain by virtue of the city’s recent championship success? Or did Simmons hit the nail on the head in explaining his late-game uneasiness during Game 4 of the ALDS?
Whatever the case, this will only fuel the “they hate us ’cause they ain’t us” mentality many Boston sports fans have adopted in recent years.
