NatchiQ

February 28, 2008

And so it begins again

Filed under: Baseball, Basketball, Boston, Football, Hockey, Sports — Noah W. Smith @ 9:12 am

Despite the fact that another two inches of snow fell on Boston last night, the Red Sox play their first Spring Training game tonight!

I’m not sure exactly where I stand as a sports fan these days — the Patriots and Sox have brought about an expectation of winning that I’m not wholeheartedly enjoying, and the Celtics seem to be joining the club. The Bruins, on the other hand, are still underdogs, and cultivated as I am by years of mediocre Sox teams, I am enjoying their struggle to make the playoffs immensely.

While I do enjoy it when my teams win, I think it is the most gratifying when they win unexpectedly.

February 5, 2008

“The Loss” given a few days reflection

Filed under: Boston, Editorials, Football — Noah W. Smith @ 1:33 pm

So here’s my background concerning the Patriots: I started caring when I was in High School, during the Bledsoe/Parcells era. I then go off to college in 2001 and (miraculously) end up with three Superbowls and a World Series victory in my “prime-sports-fan-years.” Meanwhile my roommate, a diehard Giants fan, suffers through the whole thing relatively quietly. At least the Eagles didn’t win, right?

Obviously the only thing to do, given this year’s Super Bowl matchup, was to drive to southern Connecticut and put him through yet another successful celebration. Except it didn’t quite happen that way.

The problem is, I just can’t get worked up about it. Maybe it’s because this endless winning has made me complacent, but I thought my Bruins were a sure-fire cure for that. And people around here keep saying “Pitchers and Catchers next Friday”  - have we all moved on that fast?

February 2, 2008

Adventures in Targeted Advertising

Filed under: Football, Humorous, Marketing — Noah W. Smith @ 6:34 pm

They can’t possibly have targeted that hair-replacement ad to Belichick’s photo, right?

Hair Ad

Source: SportsIllustrated.com

October 29, 2007

Another one, just like the other one

Filed under: Baseball, Basketball, Boston, Football, Hockey, Soccer — Noah W. Smith @ 10:13 am

No, this title isn’t as sweet as 2004, but then again it would be pretty hard to compete with all the angst behind that series. This year’s playoffs played out almost identically to those three years ago (except, perhaps, for the dancing): a tough come-from-behind victory in the ALCS followed by an easy sweep in the World Series. This time we knew how it was going to end, we’d seen this movie before. Curt Schilling, devout Christian, has posted a theological exploration of the events on his blog. Taking a few liberties, I believe the argument boils down to “the Red Sox were a runaway train.” It also sounds like he is seriously considering retiring on a high note.

Back to the 86 years thing. As Parker points out, railing against the “new Sox fan” is the new black, so I’ll throw in my two cents. If there is one thing that I cannot stand in this world it is an overbearing sense of entitlement. Having attended two New England liberal arts colleges, I’ve seen my share. It’s what spawned 80 years of Yankee hating: fans with a reasonable expectation of averaging about 3 championships every decade. The Sox and Patriots have both hit that milestone in this decade, and the Patriots seem to have taken it as far as winning every other year. The Celtics are currently in the midst of a resurrection attempt, and pretty soon the only underdog team from Boston could be the perennially sorry Bruins. Even the Revolution are in the MLS finals every other year. Is a “city of champions” what we really want?

October 16, 2007

Down by two

Filed under: Baseball, Football — Noah W. Smith @ 10:39 pm

While all of New England has been delighted by the Patriots’ recent success, the Sox are really trying our patience. After winning Game 1 handily and losing Game 2 crushingly, Game 3 slipped away far too easily and a single 7-run inning doomed Game 4. Did you know that tonight is the 4 year anniversary of Aaron Boone’s blast? At least Kevin Youkilis isn’t panicking.

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