Fake Controvery-Boston: Sox Or Patriots Town?

Boston.com columnist Eric Wilbur is catching a lot of undeserved flak for a piece suggesting that Boston is both a Red Sox and Patriots town (with a slight edge right now to the Red Sox). At the core of his argument is that The Carmine Hose have been an angst-ridden part of the city's fabric for 114 years—while the Patriots have only become a "thing" since the arrival of Bob Kraft, Bill Belichick, Tom Brady and those four shiny metallic objects on display at Patriot Place. After Brady departs, argues Wilbur, Boston will revert to being predominantly a baseball city. While we agree with Wilbur's central thesis, we disagree that the Patriots will wither away in the post-Brady Era.

Your humble scribe grew up almost exclusively a Red Sox fan—burdened with The Curse and an endless string of lousy teams. But I was also a huge supporter of the fledgling American Football League Pats. Even as a very young kid, I recall going to sparsely-attended games at Fenway Park and Harvard Stadium. My heroes were Babe Parilli, Gino Capaletti and Jim Colclough. This was—compared to the Goliath NFL—barely AAA football. There were no players of Brady's caliber, but I loved the Pats nonetheless. I will always be—first and foremost—a passionate Red Sox fan. But, I will likely always be a strong Patriots fan as well. Maybe not quite as passionate—but a fan nevertheless. This is a fake controversy—I think the city and the region will always love both teams.