Patriots Wishes and Caviar Dreams

It’s that time of year again; the stockings are hung by the chimney with care, in hopes that my sports wishes, soon will be here.

This year I've had to think long and hard about what I want, because last year my wish came true. As 2012 came to a close, my wish was that the Red Sox would climb out of the AL East cellar. At the time, I just hoped for them to battle for playoff contention. My wish came true times 1,000, with Boston taking the 2013 World Series title. From worst to first, it was a season of the ages.

 This year, my wishes are of the football variety. My Patriots are playing pretty well, and despite some major season-ending injuries, they are winning. But despite the record, something is missing. Primarily, there’s the absence of two 250-lb+ game-changing tight ends. One of them I can hope to see back next season. The other? Well I think right now he’s just hoping he’ll see the outside world sometime before he dies.

For my 265-lb freak, I wish a healthy 2014; one free of surgeries and full of catches, touchdowns and fiestas. Because we all know Rob Gronkowski es un fiesta. I hope his back, knee, forearm and whatever else ails him are good to go next year, and we are graced with a season full of Gronk.

My second request is for tall guys who catch good, and Gronk would say. For Tom Brady’s sake, I wish for a decent received corps. I don’t mean a mish-mash of average talent who are elevated by the play of a great play-calling qb; I mean 2007-esque talent, when The Freak was out there breaking all-time records with Tom Terrific. He deserves to end his career with some great receivers, instead of the mish-mash of talent he’s dealt with since Moss left. I mean a true receiver, not some little slot guy like Welker. Though great at what he did, I want to see someone who can make spectacular grabs like Calvin Johnson or Brandon Marshall.

 Speaking of ending his career, I wish for a Fountain of Youth. At 36, I know that the end is drawing near for the Patriots with Tom Brady at the helm. I can’t imagine he has more than a couple seasons left in his arm, and I’m already freaking out. But my biggest fear? That Bill Belichick will decide to leave at the same time as his muse. Then I really don’t know what I’ll do. If Tom leaves but New England still has Bill, I feel like we can make it; without him, the dreaded “rebuilding” will begin. We've been a bit spoiled in the last 12 years, and I don’t think I can take a season of renovation. Every year since 2001, my football team has been a playoff and Super Bowl contender. I can’t remember a time when I “couldn't watch” the Patriots, or that each game didn't mean something. So I need Tom to drink some H2O from Ponce de Leon’s legendary spring and continue to be an active Patriot for life. Since I know this isn't logical, I hope that Belichick doesn't retire at the same time as the best quarterback ever (I’m not biased at all).

 A guy who can run 100 yards a game… without dropping the ball. I am so tired of the Patriots’ non-existent running game. They have spurts here and there over the years, but they haven’t had a consistent runner since Corey Dillon. I trust Belichick, but his incapability to draft a decent running back is killing me. I know he thinks other positions are more important, which is obvious since the Pats never draft a game-changing WR or RB, but for once I’d love to have a guy on the field who I knew could just run up the gut and score some TDs. As Tom gets up there in years, having a reliable runner to take some of the pressure off would be a God send.

A new hip for Aqib Talib. One of my favorite Patriots, I fear Talib is going to play the rest of his career on one leg. A legitimate option for Defensive Player of the Year before he got hurt Oct. 13, Talib was completely shutting it down in the backfield – in consecutive weeks, he held Julio Jones, A.J. Green and Jimmy Graham to a COMBINED six catches and 62 yards. Through the first six games of the season, with a healthy Talib, the Patriots defense allowed just 16 points per game. Having a guy who can shut down the opposing team’s best player can’t be understated. Then Talib hurt his hip flexor, missed three games, and hasn’t been the same since he returned. That said, Talib on one leg is still better than ¾ of the other corners in the league. But imagine if he was 100%? That is my wish.

So, Eight Pound, Six Ounce, Newborn Baby Jesus, in your golden fleece diapers, with your curled-up, fat, balled-up little fists pawing at the air … don’t even know a word yet, just a little infant and so cuddly, but still omnipotent… please hear my prayers for Tom, Bill, Gronk, Aqib and the rest.

And finally, my wish for all of you is that you have a very Merry Christmas, a belated Happy Chanukah, and a very happy and healthy new year. Here’s hoping for some great Bowl games, some kick-ass NFL playoff matchups, and, hopefully, Tom hoisting the Vince Lombardi Trophy at the end. Amen.

Hey Bill Maher - F* You

To say I've never been a fan of Bill Maher is a gross understatement. I've always found him self-righteous, smug and pompous. And that has very little to do with my, for the most part, disagreeing with his political opinions. But I've always found it best to just ignore people I find irritating.

That is until you piss me off. And Maher did just that when he degraded the city of Boston.

On his show "Real Time with Bill Maher," he basically criticized the Red Sox and the city of Boston for stopping at the marathon finish line and placing the World Series Trophy on it, along with a "617" Sox jersey (Boston's area code for those who don't know).

"So the parade, they go to the place where the marathon bombing took place, they put the World Series statue there and they sing 'God Bless America' and they say 'Boston strong' and they chant 'U-S-A,' you know. It was again, a bad day, three people died, that's terrible. More were maimed, that's horrible, but unfortunately that happens every day, in car accidents and everything else. I mean, your city was not leveled by Godzilla," he said

Yes, Bill. Every day three people die in car accidents. But you know what? Those are accidents, not acts of terror - big difference.

I think there are those who share his opinion, those who aren't from Boston who think that maybe we're "going overboard on Boston Strong." But they don't get it. This is how we are - we're loud, brash and we unapologetically support all things Boston. So when tragedy hits us at home, you can bet your ass we're going to band together and be as loud as we can. You know why? Because f* those guys who terrorized our city. They didn't break us - they brought us closer together than ever before. They made us stronger and prouder than ever to be from Boston. And we want them to know it.

Maher is known for shooting his mouth at inappropriate times. About a week after the most deadly terrorist attack on U.S. soil, Maher, a native New Yorker, sat down with a panel on his show, "Politically Incorrect" and said this about the men who flew the planes into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon on 9/11 :

“We have been the cowards, lobbing cruise missiles from 2,000 miles away. That’s cowardly. Staying in the airplane when it hits the building, say what you want about it, it’s not cowardly.”

You don't agree with drones, Bill? OK, many people don't. But there is a time and place, and that was the wrong time. The mastermind behind 9/11? He was basically "lobbing" those planes from 7,000 miles away. And being willing to die doesn't mean you aren't a coward.

Those comments lost Maher his show - and rightfully so. Because that isn't what the people of New York, Washington D.C. and the rest of the U.S. needed to hear so soon after such a tragedy. "Politically Incorrect" is a gross understatement when describing his post-9/11 comments.

Not an attack of the same magnitude, death-toll wise, but a terrorist attack nonetheless, Maher's comments regarding the way the city of Boston celebrated were insensitive, rude and, frankly, offensive.

"We needed this," Mark Porcaro, of Boston, told The Associated Press after the Sox clinched the Series. "They were an easy team to get behind because they stood up for us when we needed them most."

That's how every Bostonian felt. So Bill Maher - f* you.

Guest blog: The Argument for the 'Bandwagon Fan'

This week we have a special guest blog. My good friend Susan wants to weigh in on her opinion about the so-called "Bandwagon fan." She makes some good, really solid points. Let's not throw around the phrase "Bandwagon fan" so freely in the future, mmmm kay?

The Argument for the 'Bandwagon Fan'

Last night was the first time I witnessed the Boston Red Sox win the World Series. In 2004, I was backpacking around France and in 2007, I watched the entire series only to get really sick on the last night and fall asleep due to an overdose of cold meds.

Finally 2013 was the year I got to witness the magic firsthand. When that last out was made, I was excited and proud, not just for the players, but for the entire city of Boston. After posting a photo of a me and a few of my friends in our Red Sox hats, the “bandwagon fan” comments started. Not just on my page, but in general; the Facebook newsfeed was littered with comments from both Boston fans and non-Boston fans alike, hating on the so-called  “bandwagon fans.”

 

A bandwagon fan by definition is anyone who claims they are a "fan" of a particular sports team, even though they had no prior support for/interest in the team until that team started winning.  By this definition, I don’t qualify.  I grew up 20 miles outside Boston and was raised as a Red Sox fan; my dad did field maintenance at Fenway Park when I was a kid; I went to my first game when I was in sixth grade; I’ve celebrated birthday’s in those stands, and some of my favorite college memories involve the Red Sox.

 

I will admit, like many of you, I don’t watch every game, in fact I rarely tune in for a regular season game. I love going to the ball park, but don’t find regular season play to be all that exciting on TV. Playoff baseball is different. There’s passion behind it that doesn’t shine through in quite the same way on warm day in July that it does on a cool night in October. The players are different and the fans are different – because it’s finally so close we can taste it, and we want to be part of the magic. 

 

I often wonder how full Fenway Park would be if you were only allowed to come in if you had watched every game that season? For most of us, a trip to Fenway is a once-, maybe twice-a-year treat. On any given night, the park is made up of people that the hardcore fans would consider “bandwagon fans,” but really we’re just regular folks who feel connected to a team and want to support them when we can, and however we can – even if that only means catching a handful of games a year.

 

We need to remember so-called "bandwagon fans" contribute to revenue - they buy hats, tickets, and beers at the stadium. That revenue helps the team continue to scout top players and invest in and develop young talent. The bandwagon or fair-weather fans play a role in the success of the Red Sox, or any team for that matter, whether the hardcore fans like it or not.
 

On April 15, 2013, the Red Sox played their annual Boston Marathon day game. No one could have predicted the horror that would happen that day, but what could be predicted was how the Red Sox reacted.  They carried the Boston Strong message and spirit with them throughout the season, honoring those who lost their lives or were injured at the marathon finish line, and giving strength to a city that already was one of the strongest in the world.

 

Last night when the Boston Red Sox won the World Series, they weren’t "Red Sox Strong;" they were Boston Strong, and whether you watched every game all season, or if you only tuned in for the last 10 minutes of the game, if you’re from Boston, you’re a fan - and no one should be able to take that away from you.

Susan, right, and two other Red Sox supporters living in Washington D.C.,
the night the Red Sox won the 2013 World Series.

Boston Strong

I am from Boston. It’s where I grew up, where my family and most of my friends live. It is where my heart is, where my soul is, and it made me who I am. No matter how long I am away, Boston will always be “home.” I am, and have always been, proud to hail from Beantown.

Bostonians don’t have the reputation for being particularly modest. We are tough, mostly blue collar people, who work hard and play harder. We are a proud people – lest anyone ever go into a Boston bar and say something as sinful as “Go Yankees.” We support our sports teams and our politicians with unabashed loyalty, and we are proud of our heritage.

Being from Boston is like a fraternity; no matter where you go, you undoubtedly find someone else from Boston, and are instant buddies. You may have never met, but you share a past. 

Saying that Monday’s events shook me is a gross understatement. Seeing the terror at the Boston Marathon, happening in my hometown, shook me to my core. I’ve been right where the bombs went off, hundreds of times. I knew people who were right there when it happened. Luckily, no one I knew was gravely injured, but in a town like Boston, the loss of Martin Richard, Krystle Campbell and Lingzi Lu, who was in Boston studying at my alma mater, hurts us all on a personal level.

When I was a student at Boston University, we referred to Marathon Monday as “the happiest day of the year.” Every Patriot’s Day the town of Boston shuts down to all except sports; the Red Sox play a day game, the marathon takes place in the streets from Hopkinton, up Heartbreak Hill, and down to Boylston St., and the Bruins play a game that night. It’s our Mardi Gras, our New Years Eve. It’s a day everyone in Boston looks forward to each year; it’s a day that we celebrate being from Boston.

What happened Monday does not change that. The Marathon will forever have the scar of the lives lost and the bodies maimed, but we will not let it take away our spirit. We are Boston and we are proud – forever.
 

With tears in our eyes, we will sing the National Anthem louder than ever before; we will honor an 8-year-old by hanging his hockey jersey over the statue of Bobby Orr; we will never forget those lost, and we will not let those who did this get away with it.

Because if I know one thing for sure about Bostonians, it's that we are tough and we will overcome. Like everyone from Boston, I believe in my town – we always have, and we always will. Boston is a tough and resilient town, and so are its people. We are Boston, and we are strong.