The 360
The Sparta of America.
I'd like to be able to say that I came up with that...the Sparta of America.
It is a great description. But I have to give credit where credit is due. Thank you for that one Frank Deford.
As for the number?
53 players on the Pats 
25 players on the Sox (not going with the 40 man roster)
15 players on the Celtics
22 players on the Revolution
24 players on the Bruins
25 players on the Cannons (Major League Lacrosse)
99 players on Boston College Football
97 players on Harvard University Football
Of the above, only the Cannons (5-7) have been unsuccessful during the most recent season. Others might have fallen short of expectations, but this is what each of the following has done in its most recent or current season -
Patriots - Season in progress, 12-0 with a chance at an undefeated season.
Red Sox - Won the World Series for the second time in four seasons, sweeping the National League Champion Colorado Rockies.
Celtics - Season in progress. With a newly minted "Big Three," the C's are 15-2 and on a blazing 72 win pace. Paul Pierce, rejoice.
Revolution - Four the fourth time in six seasons, the New England entry to Major League Soccer ended their season in frustration on the pitch in the league's championship game.
Bruins - After a down season, the Bruins are in sixth place in the East, a respectable 14-9, and only three games behind first place Ottawa in the win column. If they keep up their current pace, they will finish 50-32 and in the playoffs.
Cannons - See above.
BC Football - The Eagles finished up a solid season with a 10-3 record, including a loss in the ACC Championship game against Virginia Tech. While knocked out of contention for the national title, they still have a chance to bring home a bowl trophy and run the 2007 record to 11-3 if they can beat Michigan on December 28.
Harvard Football - The 8-2 Crimson went 7-0 in the Ivy League and handed 9-1 Yale their only loss of the season while bringing home the IL Title.
Of the teams that have pretty much wrapped their seasons - Sox, Cannons, Revolution, Eagles and Crimson - Boston area teams have appeared in league championship games four times (out of five), and brought home two titles. Of the remaining teams playing - the Patriots, Celtics, and Bruins, all are likely to at the very least make the playoffs in their respective sports.
The combined record of these teams for the 2007, 2007-08 seasons is 176-96,with 7 ties, which translates to a .631 winning percentage...even with the Cannons losing record thrown in.
Has any other city experienced this sort of success in the athletic arena? Ever?
Say it with me Boston sports fans...
WE
ARE
SPAHTA!
Stumble It!
2 comments:
This is truly fascinating. Great summary.
I'll have to keep my eye on those teams who are still in season, and, if all goes well, I may have to use this post in a future post of mine. (I'll be sure to cite my sources.) It's too good not to share with those non-Boston fans.
On a similar note, I'm not sure which sporting news outlet always does it, but they always compile an annual list of the best sports cities. With New England's/Boston's domination in the sports arena this year, I've think Boston's a lock for #1.
I knew it had been a good area for fans of the region, but the Frank Deford piece had me wondering how good. He really only touched on the big boys of Boston sports - but there seems to have been a bit of a trickle down effect.
When I looked at it, I was really amazed that there was only one major team (pro sport, major college conference) in the area that got locked out of the playoffs.
I view it as Boston Sports Nation's own little "bite me" to the rest of the sporting world.
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