The Day After

The thing that surprised me the most is how magnanimous Patriots fans were in defeat, which is amazing, because the entire New England area/Red Sox nation has become insufferable over the past year or so. This is exemplified best in Bill Simmons' Super Bowl article, but I also found that with a couple of Patriots fans that I know through work. They seemed legitimately depressed that their team failed, but also offered heartfelt congratulations to the Giants and their fans.

This kind of stunned me, where the hell was the Boston vs. New York vitrol? Where was the rioting and borderline warfare I saw in the two Yankees/Red Sox series in 2003 and 2004?

I thought about it, and honestly, it's probably because the Patriots and Giants aren't natural rivals. But also, because in the last decade, collectively, we've seen basically every sports scenario a fan can dream about. Patriots fans were in the same boat that Giants fans are in now in 2002, their team completing a monumental upset. Patriots, Yankees and Mets fans know what a historic collapse is like. Red Sox and Rangers fans know what it's like to exorcise long standing demons. Yankees and Patriots fans know what it's like to root for Goliath, the unstoppable machine. Yankees and Patriots fans know what it's like for Goliath to fall.

We're the two most hated cities in the sports nation, and if you look at politics, maybe the nation in general. Boston and New York has had a complete embarassment of riches over the last decade. Strangely, New Yorkers and Bostonites have come to understand each other, even if they don't like each other's teams one bit. Even though I'm not a Pats fan, I know what it's like to be a hardcore Patriots fan right now. I think most New Englanders feel the same way about the Giants. It's weird how it works.

There's a guy from work, that I don't work with but I see everyday, who has newspaper covers taped up outside his wall. He started the collection with basically each Patriots victory in the march to 16-0. Then 17-0 and 18-0 in the playoffs. Unfortunately, he didn't get to put his Super Bowl newspapers up. Fortunately, I was able too, because I started doing the same thing when the Giants made their run. And that's a snapshot of the rivalry right there. Two cities, two fans, more alike than different, for better or worse.

And on that note, Fuck the Red Sox. Let's Go Yankees!