October 13, 2013. Quite the Day for a Boston Sports Fan

Wow. I’ve been alive for many spectacular Boston sports days but I think October 13, 2013 takes the cake.

In both the Patriots and Red Sox games I had accepted defeat. However, as a loyal Boston fan, I should’ve kept the faith.

The Patriots had suffered two injuries to key defensive players Jerod Mayo the anchor of the linebacking corps (out for the year) and Aquib Talib the anchor of the secondary. We had no pass rush all game and Drew Brees was in perfect position to put together a scoring drive to take the lead.  And to no one’s surprise, he did. However, what happened next was surprising. Tom Brady had plenty of time on the clock and failed twice in a row to create a scoring drive. I was about to call a search team for Tom Brady’s mojo when he made one of the best throws I’ve ever seen to date to win the game with just seconds remaining. That’s the Tom I know and love. Boy, did I miss him. I was pleasantly surprised (jumping up and down screaming) and barring the Red Sox getting no-hit my day was going to be a good one.

Of course they had to go until the 6^th inning before they finally got a hit. I’m going to cut right to the chase here though. If Larry Bird is the Basketball Jesus, then David Ortiz is the Baseball Jesus.  That first pitch grand slam off of Benoit brought me back to 2004. He is apparently the only player still left from that 2004 team that won the World Series. And almost ten years after breaking the Curse of the Bambino, this guy is leading the team in batting average, home runs, RBI, and OBP. That’s incredible! I can only hope he’s done without any steroids ehem Manny Ramirez.

I’m hoping October 13^th isn’t the only highlight of Boston sports this fall as the Red Sox chase another World Series ring and the Patriots chase another Super Bowl victory.

Yellow Cheese's Inaugural Address / My Summer Woes

Thank God for the Red Sox!  After the bottoming out of the Celtics and the Hernandez fiasco, my faith in Boston sports teams is being questioned.  Now, that’s not to say that the Celtics handled their off-season poorly, the Patriots don’t have a shot at winning it all this year, or the Red Sox aren’t having the most pleasantly surprising season of my life, but I, lucky enough, have been born in an era where Boston teams are dominant.  And the thought of anything else is a little bit worrisome and all too nearby.

Here are my concerns.

1.. Who is Tom Brady going to throw to?

Now I know Tom is notorious for making the receivers around him better, but during his three Super Bowl campaigns it was a combination of that AND having a good defense that resulted in the Patriots’ success.  And I certainly don’t think we have the latter.  The Patriots defense will improve from last season’s primarily because it’s hard to have a secondary as bad as ours was last year two years in a row, but I don’t see it being anything above adequate.

You know it’s bad when I have to google “Patriots receivers.”   But seriously, who the hell do we have? I’ll admit I am encouraged that we signed Danny Amendola as a possible Welker replacement (RIP my flawless Madden strategy of going Brady to Welker every down), but do we have one reliable deep threat on the roster?  No one that I’ve heard of at least.  I like what I’ve seen from Julian Edelman in recent years, and I expect to see a lot more out of him this year but he’s another Welker-esque player.  Man, do I hope these rookie receivers are ready to play though because we’re definitely going to need them. 

But remember, Tom Brady is on the Patriots and I’m not going to count out the possibility of Brady pulling off the impossible and making undrafted Kenbrell Thompkins a potential rookie of the year.  Who had heard of Wes Welker before he was catching passes from Tom Brady? Not me. Who had heard of Riley Jameson before he was writing for Yellow Cheese? Well, not anyone.  But Welker is now a household name for New England sports fans as could be Jameson if he refines his skills at Yellow Cheese and develops a post game ßPun, ha.

Lastly, if Gronk stays healthy you can disregard 80% of my first and third worries.  The dude is a beast at full strength.  Tom Brady is going to throw to Gronk and the Patriots offense will keep rolling.  To the top of the AFC East? Yes. To the AFC Championship Game? Quite possibly.  To a Super Bowl victory? (I hate clichés but this is too fitting) N/A,  defense wins championships. But again, this paragraph began with “if Gronk stays healthy.” 

That “if” is the King Kong of “ifs.” 

2. The Celtics are going to be too good. 

With a starting five of Rondo, Bradley, Green, Humphries, and Olynyk/Melo/Wilcox, and a great, albeit rookie, coach, I don’t see the Celtics getting a lottery pick next year.  Personally I’m not a fan of the Riggin’ for Wiggins strategy, but I will graciously take a couple years of trash over an era of losing in the first round.  That’s why I like the Garnett, Pierce, Terry trade.  Yeah I said it.  Don’t get me wrong, it irks my heart to see Pierce and Garnett in another uniform, but that team was getting old and I don’t think anyone saw another Boston championship in the illustrious careers of either Boston legend (I know most think Garnett belongs to Minnesota, but I respectfully disagree primarily because I think I over-value championships and the “Anything is possible” speech. But I digress).

So we move on.  Granted Garnett and Pierce have been my favorite NBA players for as long as I can remember, I think I took it pretty well.  Or at least better than when I heard Nomar got traded and proceeded to throw away all the Nomar gear I owned (bobbleheads, jerseys, etc.) in what was quite the hissy fit, even for an 8 year old. But professional sports teams are businesses and the rationality of this Celtics trade along with 9 more years of being alive (I’m 17 years old) has helped me see this whole situation through an optimistic lens.  In fact, I’ll take my optimism to the next level and mention the fact that the Red Sox won the World Series for the first time in 86 years the year Nomar was traded. Too much? I’ll balance it out with pessimism in just a bit.

My solution? Trade Rondo. If we can find the right deal, I’m all for it.  Bottom out and cash in.

3. The 2013/2014 sports season is going to be a Boston fan’s nightmare (especially if they are my age)

Think about it.

We know the Celtics are going to be garbage by Boston standards. That’s easy. 

I don’t know about you but this is the shakiest I’ve ever felt during a Patriots pre-season during the Tom Brady era.  Even before we found out Hernandez was a disgusting psychopath, I was worried about our receiving corps.  And our defense this year, barring a huge improvement, is not going to be anything special.  Add into that Gronk’s inability to stay healthy and we’re well on our way to a disastrous season. Again, and I have to stress this because otherwise disastrous is way too extreme of a word, this is by our standards as Boston fans.

And ahh the Red Sox.  How could I possibly believe they are going to let us down this year? Well the truth is, I don’t.  But doesn’t that make it all the worse if it does happen?  Before this season, if I were told that the Red Sox would lose in the first round of the playoffs I would’ve said “Oh alright that’s a little bit better than I expected actually,” but now if I were told that I’d say, “You have to be kidding me.”  My expectations are high and I think Red Sox nation is starting to believe too.  As of right now, the Red Sox are tied for the best record in baseball.  If they choke come October it could be a long year for Boston fans.

Now I’m well aware that I sound like Johnny, the pessimistic fan from Major League, that persistently says lines like, "They'll blow it in the playoffs... they will, they will." But that’s not what I’m going for. I’m spoiled. I’m not used to waiting 86 years for a championship. And, frankly, that scares me.  So when I see what could be the worst year in my life as a Boston sports fan, I panic a little bit.

I can’t even imagine the wreck I’d be if I were a Jaguars fan.

Yours truly,
Riley Jameson