Boston: Sparta of America?

statler

statler

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SI.com said:
Boston spinning with winning, but city has lost charm
By: Frank Deford

Isn't it the most amazing thing, what's happened to Boston?

In sports, the Athens of America has become Sparta.

What a transformation. We used to look at sporting Boston as sort of a quaint, fey, idiosyncratic place, not quite American. Shoot, Boston didn't even much care for football. The Redskins left town for Washington and nobody missed them. When the Patriots arrived a quarter-century later, they were barely tolerated as something of a distraction from the autumn foliage. Never mind trying to win, the Pats spent most of their time just looking for a place to play.

The greatest team of all time, the Celtics of the 1960s, were mostly ignored by the home folk. All that mattered in the winter was hockey -- the Bruins -- and all year round, baseball, the Sawx. Never mind that neither the Bruins nor the Sawx could win. In fact, that was the best part of being a Boston sports fan -- suffering greatly, but doing so with condescension.

There are two elements, I believe, which have set Boston fans apart. First, New England is surely the most distinct area unto itself left in the United States, and Boston, The Hub, is like the capital of a little country within a country -- like Scotland or the Basque region or the Kurdish part of Iraq. Not idly do they call it Red Sox Nation.

Then too, Boston always had Quebec, beloved home of hockey and, especially, the Bruins' arch rivals, the legendary Canadiens, hemming it in on the north, and, on the south, New York, sanctuary city of the brutish Yankees and the crude Yankee dollar. It was only a part of the defeatish charm of the Red Sox that they lost all those years. The pain was all the more exquisite that New York's Yankees forever won. If the Knicks had only been the Yankees of basketball, then the Celtics would have mattered.

But now, look. The Sawx haven't just ended their curse. No. Every day they seem more like, yes, the Yankees. Organized, regal, predatory. Be careful what you wish for. The Red Sox have become a genuine national franchise -- especially as all the college kids who come to Boston, go back to their unwashed hinterlands as fashionable, knowing Red Sox devotees -- as unbearable as displaced Yankee fans ever were.

And the Patriots are certified as America's fee-fi-fo-fum. Actually, the Pats are very reminiscent of the Celtics of lore -- both admired for their cohesion and polish; each with one great leader -- Bill Russell then, Tom Brady now -- but with a coach -- Red Auerbach then, Bill Belichick now -- that opponents and opponents' fans can despise. Only, while Russell's Celtics were prophets without honor, Bostonianna clasps its current heartless juggernaut to its breast.

And not only are the Celtics suddenly back on top -- best record in all the NBA -- but the Bruins, who finished in the cellar last year, are even quite respectable now. So it is that the new cocky, overbearing municipal lords of sport see only victory rampant, everywhere there in the Sparta of America.
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Link
 
Haha. Though he has a point. Here's a better one: an upswing in sports victories as false consciousness distracting Bostonians from the hollowing out of their city's onetime power and uniqueness. Discuss.
 
^^ Counterpoint:

Recent upswing in local sports success bolsters city's self-confidence and inspires residents to do great things in and for their hometown. Local leaders observe and learn the necessary devotion to preparation and will to succeed from winning sports teams.
Also may attract quality newcomers who wish to be part of a 'winning atmosphere'.

But yeah, it's probably more the bread and circus thing going on. :(
 
czsz said:
Haha. Though he has a point. Here's a better one: an upswing in sports victories as false consciousness distracting Bostonians from the hollowing out of their city's onetime power and uniqueness. Discuss.
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Yankee fan
 
My point was that calling someone a Yankee fan in Boston because you disagree with them is like saying someone "hates America" for the same reason.
 
czsz, as correct as you may be about Boston, your pessimistic view of the city is quite unrefreshing.
 
Sports events help bring more people to the city and see different parts of the city. Many suburbanites who might not be interested to go to Boston without the sports teams are and see the different neighborhoods of Boston such as the Fenway and the North End all because of sports. Sports helps Boston, as it gives it some nightlife and hot-spots, and the positive benefit of sports far outweigh the negative benefits (such as distraction) to Boston.

Plus millions of people crammed into Boston to see the Red Sox rolling rally, are you against sports now, czsz? "Onetime power and uniqueness" uh, Boston has more power than ever as it got out of its pre and post WWII depression and became relevant to the world economy, and its still one of the most unique cities of the world, and its only getting better with new development.
 
If your statement is true (that suburbanites wouldn't visit Boston's neighborhoods if not for the Red Sox et al), it's either a sad commentary on the ability of Boston to draw suburbanites on its own merit or on Boston's surburbanites' ability to appreciate the city. Either way, most cities don't depend on a few athletic events to keep their cores humming - and neither does Boston, I imagine, in truth. Beyond the parking lots they fill lucratively (likely prohibiting more creative development) in the Fenway, I'm not sure most of the people who visit the city solely for athletic events are really contributing that much to Boston as a city. At least, when I go out for dinner, it's not mostly people in Bruins jersies packing the restaurants and bars, thank god.

But just because the city can hold its own without the inward trickle of sports fans doesn't mean one should mistake the additional hordes descending for Red Sox rallies for regional vitality. They do the same even in Rust Belt wastelands. Indeed, most of the people who come into Boston for events like the Red Sox parade choose to do so only then because high housing prices are pushing them far out into towns like Bellingham, making it less than worthwhile to visit Boston often. Or because, after college, they weren't able to successfully put down roots here, and were forced to move to another part of the country.

Yet, I guess we can conclude that these, among other serious problems, aren't real issues, so long as the exceptional feat of a Red Sox championship manages to pull people in once or twice a decade. The local papers at least subliminally understand the power of such distraction, which is why the Sox often hold their own all over both the front and sports pages, with more significant - and sobering - news tucked deep inside.
 
Is there much difference between suburbanites coming to Boston to see the Red Sox, and suburbanites coming to see the MFA, symphony, ballet, or a show in the theatre district? It's all good.
 
czsz said:
If your statement is true (that suburbanites wouldn't visit Boston's neighborhoods if not for the Red Sox et al), it's either a sad commentary on the ability of Boston to draw suburbanites on its own merit or on Boston's surburbanites' ability to appreciate the city. Either way, most cities don't depend on a few athletic events to keep their cores humming - and neither does Boston, I imagine, in truth. Beyond the parking lots they fill lucratively (likely prohibiting more creative development) in the Fenway, I'm not sure most of the people who visit the city solely for athletic events are really contributing that much to Boston as a city. At least, when I go out for dinner, it's not mostly people in Bruins jersies packing the restaurants and bars, thank god.

But just because the city can hold its own without the inward trickle of sports fans doesn't mean one should mistake the additional hordes descending for Red Sox rallies for regional vitality. They do the same even in Rust Belt wastelands. Indeed, most of the people who come into Boston for events like the Red Sox parade choose to do so only then because high housing prices are pushing them far out into towns like Bellingham, making it less than worthwhile to visit Boston often. Or because, after college, they weren't able to successfully put down roots here, and were forced to move to another part of the country.

Yet, I guess we can conclude that these, among other serious problems, aren't real issues, so long as the exceptional feat of a Red Sox championship manages to pull people in once or twice a decade. The local papers at least subliminally understand the power of such distraction, which is why the Sox often hold their own all over both the front and sports pages, with more significant - and sobering - news tucked deep inside.
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First of all, I never said suburbanites won't visit Boston's neighborhoods if not for the Red Sox et al. I said some suburbanites who might not be interested to see Boston without the sports teams are and while visiting the city and enjoying the game or bar, they see Boston's neighborhoods and help contribute to the vitality of the city. I'm not sure you'd like a lot less people in Boston just to not see "mostly people in Bruins jersies packing the restaurants and bars". Like it or not, sports help contribute to the vitality of Boston (and any city with an urban stadium, including Rust Belt cities like you said), and I really doubt having the parking lots full in the Fenway blocks "more creative development". Full parking lots are routinely built on with development and the Fenway is building some new highrises in part because of the interest sports generates in the Fenway. Sports helps Boston, and has almost no negative effects.

"Indeed, most of the people who come into Boston for events like the Red Sox parade choose to do so only then because high housing prices are pushing them far out into towns like Bellingham, making it less than worthwhile to visit Boston often."

I doubt people who live in Bellingham will live in downtown Boston with lower prices, and plus, Boston neighborhoods have lower prices then Bellingham. If prices were lower, I'd think they'd choose Lexington. Totally nonsensical comment, just trying to be pessimistic with nothing to back it up.

"Yet, I guess we can conclude that these, among other serious problems, aren't real issues, so long as the exceptional feat of a Red Sox championship manages to pull people in once or twice a decade. The local papers at least subliminally understand the power of such distraction, which is why the Sox often hold their own all over both the front and sports pages, with more significant - and sobering - news tucked deep inside."

Ok, the Red Sox championship had front page news for about 5 days. For the other 360 days, it's mostly "sobering news" on the front page, and most people want a break from the constantly negative news by basking in the glory of a championship. Having a Red Sox championship once or twice a decade doesn't stop the newspaper from reporting sobering news, it's just that people pay less attention to them, WHETHER THEY LIVE IN THE CITY OR THE SUBURBS. While I agree that the Globe doesn't have great articles like the New York Times, you have to realize it is a regional newspaper and most people in the area love the Red Sox. It seems like you love urbanity in spite of the Red Sox and sports. Sports helps urbanity in Boston's case, and it makes Boston even more special and unique.
 
Arizona here we come baby..... super bowl just isn't the same w/o them anymore.
 
I'm having trouble staying interested in the Patriots because the quest for a 19-0 season lacks any kind of dramatic arc. We've seen the Pats win three Super Bowls in recent memory, so this will be "just one more".

By contrast, last year's Red Sox were trying to win their first division title since 1995, keep the Yankees out of first place for the first time since 1997, and avoid entirely squandering what had once been a 14-game lead over those same Yankees. And then they had to come back from being down 1-3 against the Indians. Just a better story all around.
 
Ron Newman said:
I'm having trouble staying interested in the Patriots because the quest for a 19-0 season lacks any kind of dramatic arc. We've seen the Pats win three Super Bowls in recent memory, so this will be "just one more".

By contrast, last year's Red Sox were trying to win their first division title since 1995, keep the Yankees out of first place for the first time since 1997, and avoid entirely squandering what had once been a 14-game lead over those same Yankees. And then they had to come back from being down 1-3 against the Indians. Just a better story all around.
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For me, the only thing pushing me to watch the Pats besides the records, history making, and as a regular Pats fan, is seeing all those Patriots hater eating their own words after we crush their team.
 
i think its because deep down inside we all love the sox and the pats are a distant second... to most anyway.
 
Last year the Pats lost the AFC championship game to the Colts in what might be called a very Sox-like way, coughing up the lead in the fourth quarter after at one point leading 21-3. But nobody much agonized about it. After a few days people seemed to forget it entirely.
 
^^That mostly because the Pat's already have 3 SB rings.

I don't remember a lot of hand wringing over the the Sox '05 & '06 seasons either.
Fact is, we are spoiled right now. We don't get too high ('we won again? ok') or too low ('oh well, we just won the x championship last year')
But don't worry, these things go in cycles. We'll be back to loserville in a few years. Then people will start caring again.
 
people still care, i think even more people care (see bandwagon fans and women) but its not life or death at the moment. I guess I'm alright with that, you can actually enjoy watching sports again.
 
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