The Red Sox are in the World Series again. The Patriots are 7-0. They tell me the Celtics look good this year. I don't follow college football at all, but I know Boston College is rocking because people keep telling me so. (Hell, I live in the armpit of BC.)
In New England, we've had an underdog quality. It's ingrained in the culture for me. Growing up, the Sox were always favorites, but "the Curse" became something that I think folks who weren't baseball fans were aware of.
In 1986, the Patriots got creamed in Superbowl XX. Because they lost, the fact that they actually were there seems to not matter to many.
In 1996, The Figgs recorded a song called Bad Luck Sammie. It's about a guy who's the perennial loser. Amongst the things that make him such a loser is "Football favorites have always been the Patriots. Losing ticket to the Lotto, bought one every time."
This makes me think of several articles I've read on lottery winners dealing with their newly acquired riches. They often are unable to deal with the sudden wealth.
Since 2002, when the Patriots won Superbowl XXXVI, we've won plenty here in Boston. (The notable exception being the 2004 presidential race. That one's debatable of course and still a sore point for me.) Three Superbowls and one World series win seem like the beginning of a new era. We'll see in two weeks of course.
What's my point? Perhaps we're more than underdogs in this city. Maybe Manny Ramirez is right when he talks about next year. “… “It doesn't happen, so who cares? There’s always next year. It’s not like it’s the end of the world.'’ Maybe the playing is the point and we hang a lot of our pride and our dreams on our teams. I know I do.
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