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A New Chapter in New York-Boston Rivalry
February 11, 2008 12:30 PM
by
findingDulcinea Staff
The Giants’ recent Super Bowl victory promises to fan the flames of a New York-Boston sporting feud that has thrilled spectators for generations.
30-Second Summary
Going into Super Bowl XLII, Boston fans had plenty to be excited about. The Red Sox had won two World Series in a row, the Celtics had become one of the best teams in basketball, and the Patriots were one victory away from the perfect season.
But the Giants, thanks to Eli Manning, Plaxico Burress, Michael Strahan and David Tyree, stopped the Patriots' from joining in their home town's complacency. New York enjoyed one of the biggest upsets in Super Bowl history.
The Giants and the Patriots, however, were hardly considered rivals before Feb. 3, 2008. When it came to football, the Jets were the Patriots’ foes from New York.
The football season began in September with the “spygate” affair, during which Coach Eric Mangini and the Jets organization accused Bill Belichick of illegally taping New York’s signals during a game.
Still, football is only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to New York-Boston antipathy. The Yankees-Red Sox rivalry is probably the most famous in sports, from the Bambino’s curse and Bucky Dent’s three-run home run, to the Red Sox’s playoff victory from three games behind in 2004.
Like the Giants, the 1986 New York Mets would not leave all the attention for the two “main” rivals. That year the Mets spoiled Boston’s championship hopes in one of the most infamous World Series of all times.
In this sense, the Giants are simply the most recent chapter in a decades-long competition between the two cities. Whether it is the Knicks and the Celtics, the Rangers and the Bruins, or even Seinfeld and Cheers, there is always a sense of competition between New Yorkers and Bostonians.
But the Giants, thanks to Eli Manning, Plaxico Burress, Michael Strahan and David Tyree, stopped the Patriots' from joining in their home town's complacency. New York enjoyed one of the biggest upsets in Super Bowl history.
The Giants and the Patriots, however, were hardly considered rivals before Feb. 3, 2008. When it came to football, the Jets were the Patriots’ foes from New York.
The football season began in September with the “spygate” affair, during which Coach Eric Mangini and the Jets organization accused Bill Belichick of illegally taping New York’s signals during a game.
Still, football is only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to New York-Boston antipathy. The Yankees-Red Sox rivalry is probably the most famous in sports, from the Bambino’s curse and Bucky Dent’s three-run home run, to the Red Sox’s playoff victory from three games behind in 2004.
Like the Giants, the 1986 New York Mets would not leave all the attention for the two “main” rivals. That year the Mets spoiled Boston’s championship hopes in one of the most infamous World Series of all times.
In this sense, the Giants are simply the most recent chapter in a decades-long competition between the two cities. Whether it is the Knicks and the Celtics, the Rangers and the Bruins, or even Seinfeld and Cheers, there is always a sense of competition between New Yorkers and Bostonians.
Headline Link: ‘Boston’s Marathon is over, as NYC Revs up Rivalry’
Peter Schrager of FOX Sports puts the rivalry in perspective after the big game. “Boston sports fans had plans, too. Plans to celebrate their fourth Super Bowl victory in seven years; plans to kick-start into a four-season swing that could have seen the Patriots, Celtics, Bruins, and Red Sox all lock up championships in their respective sports,” says Schrager. But David Tyree’s fourth quarter circus catch changed everything for the Patriots, the Giants, and the future of the rivalry.
Source: FOX Sports
Background: Before the Super Bowl
Two weeks before the Super Bowl, Dan Wetzel of Yahoo! Sports stressed the monumental meaning the game would have on the New York-Boston rivalry. Ever since the Red Sox came from three games behind and beat the Yankees in October 2004, Wetzel writes, the city of Boston has reigned supreme in terms of sports. “But there is a simple way for New York to return the favor,” he says. “The Giants just have to ruin the Patriots' perfect season.”
Source: Yahoo! Sports
The Washington Post interviewed fans from New York and Boston before the game in Arizona, asking them for thoughts about the rivalry. “But you don’t think about it [the rivalry] with … the Patriots and the Giants,” said interviewer Dan Steinberg. The Red Sox fan responded: “It overflows … of course it does.”
Source: The Washington Post
Opinion & Analysis: Which city is better?
Mark Sandritter of Web site Cold, Hard Football Facts examines the multi-sport rivalry between New York and Boston, deciding which city has the edge on a number of match-ups. For example, New York beat out Boston for ”Best Non-Football Athlete,” with Babe Ruth over Bill Russell, and Boston handily topped New York for best chowder, with New England Clam Chowder beating its Manhattan-based counterpart.
Source: Cold, Hard Football Facts
Newsday presents a compilation of 11 photographs with excerpts representing the “Great moments in New York-Boston rivalry.” These moments include Yankee Bucky Dent hitting a game-winning, three-run homerun in 1978 against the Red Sox, Bruin’s player Mike Millbury beating a Ranger’s fan with their own shoe, and the recent “spygate” scandal involving the Patriots and Jets.
Source: Newsday
Ryan Parker explores the New York-Boston rivalry through song, beginning with the Babe’s trade and covering baseball, basketball, football and hockey: “It's a rivalry that runs deeper than a simple sports debate,/ It's only a distance of 200 miles that separates the hate,/ It's several generations that kept it true to form,/ It pits Jerry, George, and Kramer against Woody, Cliff, and Norm.”
Source: Big Blue View
Related Topic: Spygate
An article from USA Today reports on how the “spygate” scandal involving the Patriots and the Jets has strained the already tense relationship between Coaches Bill Belichick and Eric Mangini. Belichick was fined $500,000 and the team was fined $250,000 and lost a 2008 first round draft pick. Mangini had left a position as Belichick’s “protégé” in New England to take the head-coaching job in New York.
Source: USA Today
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