Hated by many, but loved by its fans, Boston has become the mecca of professional sports over the last decade.
The city’s major professional teams—Bruins, Celtics, Patriots, Red Sox, and Revolution—have won more combined championships over the past ten years than the teams of any other city. This, in part, is what makes our city “Boston Strong.”
After winning a spectacular outing against the St. Louis Cardinals in the World Series, the Red Sox stormed the streets of Boston in duck boats, celebrating their victory in a city-wide parade. Red Sox fans, old and new, flooded the streets of Boston in red, white, and blue. Red Sox apparel was uniform throughout the city.
The next day, these Red Sox were honored and acknowledged at Gillette Stadium, where the Patriots played a home game against their AFC rivals, the Pittsburgh Steelers. These two teams have had classic battles in the past, but the Red Sox championship may have given the Pats a little bit more inspiration than the Steelers were hoping for.
The Patriots have lost half of their starting defense to season-ending injuries and many major offensive players were listed as questionable to play in the game. However, the Pats had their most amazing offensive performance so far this season, thanks to the return of Rob Gronkowski and Danny Amendola to the lineup.
The Steelers’ defense allowed the most points in a single game in franchise history. The Patriots were the third team in NFL history to have three different players (Amendola, Gronkowski, and Aaron Dobson) catch over 120 yards each and individually score a touchdown in one game. Running back Steven Ridley had more than 100 yards rushing with two touchdowns. Quarterback Tom Brady had his third highest passing yard game ever, throwing for over 430 yards and 4 touchdowns.
Even after a sluggish start to the season, the Patriots still hold one of the best records in the NFL (7-2) and are in first place in their division.
It wouldn’t be surprising if the Boston streets become flooded yet again in red, white, and blue after this year’s Super Bowl festivities in February.