In Beantown, winning has become a way of life – The Buffalo News

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BOSTON – Keep it for us.

Buffalo is not the only city that could send this message to people here as the Bruins opened the Stanley Cup final on Monday night against the St. Louis Blues.

Forget Green Bay. Boston became Titletown and reached the height of absurdity.

No city has had three defending champions in the four major sports in 83 years. A Bruins victory in this series will give Boston this honor as the Bruins will reign at the same time as the Red Sox and Patriots.

The last time this happened was in Detroit in 1935-1936 with the Tigers, Lions and Red Wings. And that was before the NBA exists.

Spread the wealth around? As they like to say here, fuhgettaboutit.

"Nope, no way, that's it," said Tony Costa, a smiling restaurant manager at The Fours, a Boston sports bar just across the street from TD Garden and owned by TD Garden. who has been in his job since 1976. "We have not been able to beat him, few people have done so recently."

He does not laugh. For decades really, Boston was Loserville. The Patriots, remember, were the Bills' cannon fodder at the Super Bowl. The Bruins went from 1972 to 2011 without Stanley Cup and the Red Sox had 86 years without a World Series title, before breaking through in 2004.

You wanted a title in Boston and your only hope was the Celtics. Things finally changed when Adam Vinatieri's last goal won the Super Bowl XXXVI for the Patriots in 2002 and the Red Sox beat their 3-0 deficit to defeat the Yankees at the 2004 ALCS, then swept the Cardinals of the World Series.

It's the 18th time – the 18th! – One of Boston's four teams has been playing for a league championship since 2002. Among the first 17 teams, Beantown has recorded 12 championships (six by the Patriots, four by the Red Sox and one by the Celtics and Bruins).

The Patriots won the 2001, 2003, 2004, 2014, 2016 and 2018 seasons (with the Super Bowl actually played over the next calendar year). The Red Sox won in 2004, 2007, 2013 and 2018, the Celtics in 2008 and the Bruins in 2011.

"I always remember being in college when the Patriots started winning and the Red Sox started to win and you go to school the next day and wear the clothes that day," said Charlie Coyle from the Bruins Center, a native of nearby Weymouth. played at Boston University.

"I was going on parade, I was very lucky to have these excellent teams here, to encourage them and to experience that in Boston." Every time that happens, it's easy to get up – baseball, football, basketball, whatever – we've been very lucky to have these great teams, and now, being here, it'll be fun to finally play in one team. "

When the Red Sox won in 2013, a few months after the bombing of the Boston Marathon, they had many non-Bostonians. It was real life. It was perseverance and a team representing his city like few people have ever been.

Boston overcomes the horror of bombing with the rise of the Red Sox at the World Series

But now, it has become a sport in Boston to taunt everyone.

A billboard near TD Garden installed last week by the company Ace Ticket announced the slogan "END OF DROUGHT" highlighting that it had run out "104 days since the last title in Boston".

When the Patriots won the Super Bowl LIII in February against the Los Angeles Rams, the Red Sox did not hesitate to tweet about "Ending the drought that lasted three months at the Boston Championship." Congratulations, @ patriots!

Imagine waiting for a title since, oh, 1965.

"It's great to be Bostonian," said Bruins captain Zdeno Chara. "I'm sure fans really appreciate those years, I would be too, I'm a fan of the Pats, the Red Sox and the Celtics, so it's good to see the teams do it. It's cool to have four major sports, not all cities have it and it's great to build on each other and fans can enjoy it. . "

"We do not want to be the group left behind," added defender Torey Krug. "When you want to stay relevant in your own city, when other teams win championships, you do not want to be the only one wondering what's going on, you want to go further. the teams move you forward. "

The Bruins are now in the center of the city, they will match the victory of the Red Sox in the World Series on the Los Angeles Dodgers and the last triumph of the Super Bowl of the Pats.

"It would be pretty special, these teams did their job and had a great year," said Coyle. "It's great to look at these teams and encourage them, we're looking for our turn now to complete this project, we have a long way to go here, but that's what we want to bring to the city. people from here are tired of championships ".

Down at The Fours, named in honor of a defenseman who scored the winner of the Cup 49 years ago, at the last Bruins-Blues meet in the final, Costa tells the story of the game. a classic Boston fan.

"My grandfather would not watch the seventh game (World Series 1986) after the ball went through Bill Buckner's legs, he knew it," said Costa. "Then, we had to face Aaron Boone in the seventh game in 2003 (to win the ALCS for the Yankees)." They finally won in 2004 – and he had died two weeks ago.

"But then you win one and you win one, and another, and it goes on." Bruins goaltender Tuukka Rask has a great year, everyone in the city talks about it all year long Tuukka can not do it – you'll say he wins – we still have a great opportunity with this team. "

Who is the biggest seller on the menu at The Fours? A long-standing base of steak and cheese on a braid roll known simply as "Bobby Orr".

"We will have a thousand people here on Monday, maybe a little more," Costa said over the weekend. "And it's the best sandwich on the menu, we'll sell 500. I'll bet it's a winner too."

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