Sorry, New York fans — if you clicked on this article expecting validation, you’re in the wrong place. Even rocking your A24 Marty Supreme hats, the Big Apple doesn’t come close to the town I’m talking about. And, no, this isn’t about Los Angeles and the L.A. Dodgers’ billion-dollar payroll either. I’m talking about the real city of champions: Boston.
Hey, Super Bowl, did you miss us? We only lost the greatest player and coach of all time and still found our way back before 2024 MVP Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills could make an appearance or before the Miami Dolphins could win a playoff game. Yeah, that’s right. Don’t lie to yourself. You thought that the Evil Empire had finally crumbled? Two consecutive 4–13 seasons, missing on countless draft picks and firing head coach Jerod Mayo after just a year? It looked like the New England Patriots we knew and loved were finally gone after 20 straight years of remarkable success.
But that wouldn’t really fit the 21st century Boston sports narrative, would it? Lose a Hall of Fame quarterback and become forever miserable? That would be way too Jets-esque of us.
Enter Drake Maye, with head coach and three-time Patriots Super Bowl champion Mike Vrabel. Suddenly, the narrative wasn’t about how far the Patriots had fallen but how quickly they had made it to the top. Sure, it would be great to win Super Bowl 60 and sit atop the NFL throne once again, but in Boston it’s just another chapter in a much bigger story. There are 12 NFL teams who have yet to hoist a Lombardi Trophy, but for the Patriots, a win two Sundays from now would give them their seventh Super Bowl in the last 25 years.
Since 2001, Boston has won 13 championships, with all four of their major teams (the Patriots, Celtics, Bruins and Red Sox) celebrating their way down Tremont Street on the duck boats in that period. Los Angeles has won 13 titles in that same timespan, tying Boston for most recent athletic dominance, although that number comes with an asterisk when you remember that the city fields two teams in nearly every league.
And, if championships alone weren’t enough to separate Boston from L.A., the culture certainly does. In 2022, the L.A. Rams celebrated their Super Bowl victory with a parade that drew around 20,000 fans. When the Celtics captured their 18th (and NBA record-holding) championship in 2024, the city responded with an estimated over one million people flooding the parade route. It isn’t that the Rams don’t have a lot of fan support — it is just that things are different in Boston. Here, winning isn’t a novelty, it’s part of the city’s DNA. In comparison, L.A.’s relationship with its teams feels like pure entertainment, not an investment in a community. And, if the Clippers ever manage to win a championship, they’d be fortunate to see a crowd that even scratches the surface of what Boston considers routine.
New York may have once laid claim to the title of sports capital of the world, thanks largely to the New York Yankees winning 22 World Series titles before 1980, but the last half century has knocked them out of this conversation entirely. Yes, the Yankees and Giants have enjoyed some success in the 21st century, and yes, some of that came at Boston’s expense (thanks again, Eli Manning and Derek Jeter). But, zoom out, and the picture isn’t flattering. Since the Red Sox broke the Curse of the Bambino in 2004, New York has only brought home three championships. To make matters worse, the New York Jets, Mets, Knicks, Nets, Islanders and Rangers haven’t won a championship in over 30 years. Most people weren’t even alive when the 1973 Knicks brought home the title. All time, the Celtics are a staggering 309–191 in games against the Knicks and 28–13 over the past 10 years, leaving them utterly dominant over their Atlantic Division rivals. Spike Lee, it’s been over 50 years since your beloved Knicks have won anything, but I’m glad you enjoy your courtside seats to mediocrity every year.
Even today, the gap remains clear. The Knicks entered this season with sky-high expectations, their supposed best chance in decades, with the Eastern Conference wide open following Achilles injuries to Tyrese Haliburton and Jayson Tatum. And yet, even without Tatum, their four-time All-NBA superstar, the Celtics still sit ahead of New York in the standings.
What Bill Russell, a former Celtics center, is believed to have once said perfectly captures what it means to wear green: “I always said that when I left the Celtics, I could not go to Heaven, because that would be a step down.” His head coach and close friend Red Auerbach echoed that sentiment, tying the franchise directly to the city itself. “The Boston Celtics are not a basketball team. They are a way of life,” he said. And that quite clearly illustrates the difference between Boston and other sports towns. Are the Memphis Grizzlies a way of life? The New Orleans Pelicans? How about the Charlotte Hornets? Of course not.
Being a Celtic doesn’t mean you put on the jersey and play in the game. Being a Celtic is a commitment to an identity of success and hard work which leaves Celtics synonymous with Boston.
So, if Los Angeles lacks the culture and New York lacks the recent success, is this really even a debate? Some might point to the Bay Area or Chicago. Sorry, Athletics fans, but losing your MLB team to Las Vegas after struggling to draw more than 3,000 fans per game doesn’t exactly scream diehard support, and the Celtics outnumber the Warriors’ championships by 11. Chicago fans are undeniably passionate, but passion without results can only take you so far. The Chicago Bears haven’t really been relevant in three decades and haven’t come close to winning a Super Bowl. The Chicago Bulls have lived in Michael Jordan’s shadow since he left for Washington. And the Chicago Cubs? One championship in the last 120 years despite playing in one of America’s most historic ballparks.
And, while Boston’s success over the last 25 years has been nothing short of absurd, this isn’t some newly discovered sports haven. This city is built on tradition. How many families across America can bond over decades of NBA dominance, connecting generations through Bill Russell, Larry Bird, Paul Pierce and, now, Jayson Tatum? How many cities can say they are home to greats like Ted Williams, Bobby Orr and Tom Brady? How many fans would complain about the ownership group that reversed “the Curse of the Bambino” and brought four championships in the last 22 years? How many cultures can be traced along a long line of continued sports success, without ever losing relevance?
“We want to win a championship every single year. That’s the goal, that’s the standard, that’s the expectation,” current Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla said. When success becomes a standard rather than a luxury, that’s when you know you are in a special place.
Greatness in this town isn’t hoped for. It's assumed, it’s necessary, and it’s Boston.
