We moved to Maine in the summer of 2001. Before leaving Massachusetts the local teams hadn't won anything since '86. Since coming here...well, you see what's happened.
Yep, I get it. I was literally at the point of rewriting key moments in history. Denny Doyle turns the f'g DP in 1975. Roughing the passer doesn't get called. Lafleur's shot hits the post during the Too Many Men penalty. Hagler doesn't start out lefty against Leonard (or the fight is scheduled for 15 rather than 12). Etc.
Then, 2001 happened, and the floodgates opened.
I still remember walking around the block that night - I watched the game in a local bar, started to come home, got as far as the front steps, said - out loud - "The New England Patriots are the Super Bowl Champions" - and cracked up so much I had to walk around the block, because I would have made way too much noise inside. But after my trip around, the same thing happened at the front door, so off I went around the block again, and then a third time...
There was a time when Boston sports fans were defensive. I remember my doctor - the Blue Jays team doctor, and a guy with his own WS ring - scoffing at the Sox - "what have they won?" And Habs fans, and MFY fans. And then 2001, and the next 19 years.
What IS is, this team set a standard for excellence that was so incredible that it literally pulled the rest of the city/nation - fans, and the other pro teams - along for a ride. Even in this shittiest of years, that's still worth celebrating.