Boston sports can be a controversial topic when you live outside of New England. I grew up as a military kid, so I lived all over the Pacific Northwest. When it came down to watching sports games and cheering for specific teams, my family rooted for Boston – and that wasn’t very popular.
Both my parents grew up in New England, so we were big Boston fans. My sisters and I were raised to say, “BOOOOOO Yankees!!” or “Touchdown Patriots!” and a few, “It’s Bergeron, it’s Patrice!”
I remember sitting in my living room, watching hockey games with my dad. We would sneak my dog on the couch and sit there rooting for our favorite team, the Boston Bruins, – number 37 putting the puck in the back of the net. During the game, ice cream or chocolate chip cookies were a must-have and I asked questions about each play. It was a great bonding experience.
When I would go to school in a Patriot red jersey, it made me stick out like a sore thumb. It was rare to find people who cheered for Boston teams. I would always get comments from my kindergarten peers saying that my home team ‘sucks’. I would cleverly reply, “Then, why are they winning?”
Looking back, it’s really stupid how I let my classmates get to me. We were just in kindergarten. Nobody knew anything anyway. It didn’t matter, but that is how loyal I was to my Boston teams.
It was 2017 and the New England Patriots were in the Super Bowl. Normally, my family would just watch these events alone because no one on the West Coast likes the Patriots. That year the Patriots were playing the Atlanta Falcons, and we had invited people over to watch the game, with one condition . . . they root for the Patriots.
On this Super Bowl Sunday, something amazing happened. It snowed in Astoria, Oregon. During the game, my friends and I ventured out to have a snowball fight. I was so sad to come in from the snow to watch Lady Gaga sing at halftime and see the Patriots losing 28-3. In the last quarter, we had pulled out the most impressive win of 34-28, so my friends and I decided to go out in the snow and make some victory snow angels.
The next day I was so proud to strut down the hall, showing off my Patriots jersey, with my head held high, knowing nobody could say anything bad about the Patriots.
A few years later we visited Boston, to see my family members, which was always special. We would arrive at the airport after a long flight and get some munchkins from Dunkin’ Donuts. I remember going to Red Sox games and staring at the towering Green Monster.
My first Red Sox game was super special. I was never a big fan of baseball but being at Fenway Park, with almost everyone cheering for the same team, changed my mind. The community of people rooting for one team was crazy! Then during a hard-fought game, you would hear the nostalgic song, “SWEET CAROLINE, BUM BUM BUM!!” the whole crowd would sing.
Whether it was watching Boston sports on a screen or in person, I was able to make so many great memories with the people I loved. Boston sports bring people together through one similarity, rooting for the same team. Although I would have liked to celebrate Boston sports teams’ wins with my friends, now that I live in Massachusetts I can celebrate with literally anyone.
