The Perfect Sports Storm

By: Frank Carpano

I don’t think this has ever happened before. It might have happened before my time, but not since the 70’s when I really started to follow New England professional sports.

This is the first time that 3 of the big 4 New England professional sports teams are considered title contenders at the same time.

The Red Sox are obviously cruising towards the playoffs and with the recent addition of reliever Eric Gagne, many people believe that they have the best pitching staff in the majors. And we all know that pitching is the key to winning in October. Right?

The Patriots are considered the team to beat in the Super Bowl. Look at their lineup, from the new group of wide receivers to the addition of Adalius Thomas on defense. It’s hard not to get excited about their chances.

And last but not least, the Celtics. I’m told that the day before they completed the trade for Kevin Garnett, oddsmakers listed them as 90-1 to win the NBA title this coming season. On the day after the trade, they were on the board as 9-1 favorites.

So what gives? How come this is all happening now? I believe it comes down to 2 reasons.

First, I believe that each of those teams has an owner committed to winning and willing to spend money. The Patriots Robert Kraft has set the standard. He’s spent money on players and spent wisely.

The Red Sox ownership group led by John Henry has also shown a willingness to bring in players. You can question some of the player moves, but you can’t fault the effort to improve the team.

The Celtics group led by managing partner Wcy Grousbeck claimed on the day they bought the team that they were big fans of the franchise. The move this week to bring 10 time all-star Garnett to Boston is certainly proof of that.

The second factor is the 3 above teams now have the scent of a winner. And given a choice, players like playing for a winner. Hey, who doesn’t. Wouldn’t you?

I can remember a time when you couldn’t give away Celtic tickets, the Patriots were giving away tickets and the Red Sox were a team that suffered from the stigma of: “25 guys, 25 cabs”.  It’s all good now.

Only problem is expectations. Now we know they’ve got the guys who are capable of winning. But will they? Stay tuned.