It's Never Been Clearer That The Boston Celtics Are The City Of Champions' Only Hope

Brian Babineau. Getty Images.

Sunday while watching the Patriots get dog-walked by the Jacksonville Jaguars I couldn't help but notice all the dialog around how far the mighty Patriots Dynasty had fallen. You don't need me to tell you that, we all have eyes. Then my brain started to wander and when you take a step back and look at where all 4 of the major sports are at the moment, I couldn't help but come to the following conclusion.

The Defending NBA Champion Boston Celtics are not only the true kings of the city, but they are potentially all we have left.

For the last 24 years, an entire era of fans have primarily experienced winning and championships. Shit, the very website I'm writing on right now has benefitted more than anyone from a run we'll probably never see again in our lifetimes. Sure there may have been a down year here and there, but those were immediately followed by a title, so in a way, it helped dull the pain of previous failures.

But for older stoolies reading this blog, we know life wasn't always like this. Pre-2001, Boston wasn't exactly the City Of Champions we know today. In fact, I would argue it was the opposite. My entire life growing up, I knew nothing other than sports pain after sports pain. Year after year we went into seasons with zero to little hope. I remember dreaming of a day I would see the Celtics win 35 games. 35! While I know that nobody is going to cry for Boston or their fans, I do think what we're seeing is a potential situation where those dark days of the past are suddenly very much our new reality.

Think about it. The Sox are a disaster and look to be years away. The Patriots as we saw yesterday, are arguably the worst team in the NFL not named the Panthers, and I'm not convinced they'd beat CAR given what we've seen to start the year. Do they look close to anyone? Drake Maye showing promise is cool and all, but do they look like a well-run/put-together franchise at the moment? The Bruins, while always seemingly competitive, haven't been past the 2nd round since 2018-19. Do any of these teams feel like they are 

A) Headed in the right direction

B) On the verge of being championship contenders

It sure doesn't feel that way right?

Then, of course, we have the Celtics. Perhaps this is all because tonight is their banner/ring night, a moment that has been 16 years in the making, but to me, it's now on them to carry this entire city for the foreseeable future. We argue all the time if Boston is a Patriots, Sox, Celtics, or Bruins town. Well, I think it's pretty clear that the Celtics are now the top dog. Homegrown superstars, a coach from RI who understands what it means to be a part of this franchise, the way they play, we saw signs of it during their championship parade, but looking around the Boston sports landscape and seeing how dogshit everyone else is right now, this truly is their moment.

You could make the case that the 2024-25 Celtics are the only thing standing in the way of us all living in that pre-2001 world again. While everyone loves nostalgia, I can't say I've been longing to go back to a time when all the teams I care about were the jokes of their respective leagues. Even if that's not the case with the Bruins and the NHL, their postseason issues have essentially made them the Sixers, and that is basically the same thing. 

The beauty of sports is that of course, things can turn around in an instant. The Sox can actually spend money and bring in legitimate talent to address their holes, hockey is weird where the Bruins can get hot at the right time and go on a run, and the Pats, well, they might be screwed. 

Which brings me back to tonight. Watching Banner 18 go up to the rafters and watching all the players get their rings is going to be extremely emotional. Not just because it finally happened after 16 long years, but also because they might be the only ones for the foreseeable future that has a chance to raise another one. They had an opportunity to take over the city, and they capitalized on it

Boston Globe. Getty Images.

As we enter the new NBA season, this is just another added layer of pressure. Things were already pretty damn high in terms of going for back to back titles, but now the Celts also have the pressure of being the saviors for an entire region. Tom Brady isn't walking through that door, David Ortiz isn't walking through that door. Fortunately, the city is in good hands

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Brian Babineau. Getty Images.