Att'n Bostonians

[Nicky Santoro]

I bumped into some ppl from boston and to my surprise, they told me the Sox were no longer #1 in beantown. that shocked me cuz i always thought it was a Red Sox town. they told me the popularity of the sox has gone down a lot.

They told me pats are now #1, which is easy to see. However, i am very curious.. who is #2 in boston now in terms of popularity? I know celtics are doing good, but man, that bruins team is soooo good and fun to watch and exciting.. and they are so likeable..

Are the B's at least in the top 3? Or are they always going to be #4 cuz it's hockey? what is the order of popularity in boston amongst the 4 major sports?? thx

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[talkinaway]

It depends on what you're measuring in terms of what's #1. If you go by media coverage year-round, which, in theory, should reflect viewer/listener/reader interest, I'd say it still goes baseball, football, basketball, hockey. Part of that may be that football has the fewest events, which only one game per week. But also comparing stuff like pre-season games, where you're trying to attract the die-hards, the order's still the same. We literally have media coverage of the day they pack up the truck that transports the equipment from Fenway to Fenway South in Florida, and there's LOTS of coverage of spring training.

But, of course, when the baseball season dies, football is DEFINITELY #1, and I'd say it's very, very close between those two, and wouldn't argue if you put football over baseball. And, I guess if you're at a bar in September and there's a Sox game and a Patriots game on at the same time, Patriots will be on the big TV because people are starving for football. Plus, as long as Brady is on the Patriots, it will ALWAYS get a huge boost. But when Brady and Belichick leave, I have a feeling there will be a LOT less interest in football. People were still interested in baseball even during that awful beer-and-chicken season we had.

Basketball's probably over hockey - but again, it's fairly close, and dependent on the teams to a degree. There are just more basetball "stars" out there in general. I bet anyone in Boston could name 3 NBA players outside of Boston, but couldn't do the same for hockey.

 

[Fenway]

The Patriots 25 years ago were 4th in Boston when Bob Kraft bought the team and now any entire generation knows them for excellence.

The key here is the Patriots only play 16 times a year plus playoffs and the Red Sox ten times as much. Another factor is football is a 3-hour window and baseball far too many games drag on to close to 4 hours. That said the Red Sox on NESN still are the most watch program most nights in the summer.

Celtics and Bruins are very close but one factor is many people who have relocated to Boston for school and then work were more aware of the NBA growing up but the Bruins have a stronger generational pull.

The bottom line is all 4 major Boston teams are very healthy with no attendance issues.

 

[Fenway]

Look at these TV numbers - In Texas football is king but Boston and Providence had a higher rating than Houston ( or anywhere else)

 

[smithformeragent]

I look forward to this episode of Felger and Mazz yearly.

Felger & Mazz: Results of the Channel Media & Market Research New England Sports Survey (Hour 3)

 

[LSCII]

First off, nobody in Boston, and I mean nobody, calls this place "Beantown". And when others do, it makes everyone from there cringe and get douche chills.

Secondly, and to answer your question, it's Pats first by a lot. Which is logical given their absolute dominance of the NFL for the last 20 seasons. They're followed distantly by the Sox, Bruins, and then Celtics, but the Celtics and Bruins typically flip flop those spots depending on how their season goes. The Sox should be more highly regarded given they've won the world series quite frequently here too, but the ownership group is so arrogant, people tend to like the team despite them.

 

[smithformeragent]

Lonnie nailed it.

 

[Fenway]

First off, nobody in Boston, and I mean nobody, calls this place "Beantown". And when others do, it makes everyone from there cringe and get *****e chills.

Secondly, and to answer your question, it's Pats first by a lot. Which is logical given their absolute dominance of the NFL for the last 20 seasons. They're followed distantly by the Sox, Bruins, and then Celtics, but the Celtics and Bruins typically flip flop those spots depending on how their season goes. The Sox should be more highly regarded given they've won the world series quite frequently here too, but the ownership group is so arrogant, people tend to like the team despite them.

I was so excited 20 years ago when the Red Sox announced they would build a new Fenway but Harrington screwed it up and sold to Henry and Company.

I despise what that park has become.

 

[LSCII]

I was so excited 20 years ago when the Red Sox announced they would build a new Fenway but Harrington screwed it up and sold to Henry and Company.

I despise what that park has become.

The park is simply a physical manifestation of the ownership group's attitude towards the fans. It's nothing more than a very obvious cash grab and fans entering through those turnstiles are simply walking wallets to them. It's why the fans here still dislike Henry and company, despite all the success. They think everyone is too stupid to see through their charade.

 

[Therick67]

I was so excited 20 years ago when the Red Sox announced they would build a new Fenway but Harrington screwed it up and sold to Henry and Company.

I despise what that park has become.

"Americans most beloved ballpark"

 

[Fenway]

The park is simply a physical manifestation of the ownership group's attitude towards the fans. It's nothing more than a very obvious cash grab and fans entering through those turnstiles are simply walking wallets to them. It's why the fans here still dislike Henry and company, despite all the success. They think everyone is too stupid to see through their charade.

Joe O'Donnell should have gotten the team but Harrington was not going to sell to a local Irish guy who went to Harvard - Still Henry was a better choice than the highest bidder

 

[Smitty93]

The Patriots and Red Sox are clearly #1 and 2. As for the Bruins and Celtics, I feel like the Celtics have more casual fans, while the Bruins have more die-hard. I think hockey is a sport that people either love or just don't care about. There's not much in-between.

 

[LSCII]

Joe O'Donnell should have gotten the team but Harrington was not going to sell to a local Irish guy who went to Harvard - Still Henry was a better choice than the highest bidder

While I hate Henry as an owner, he at least seems to get that if the team wins, the fans will pay whatever ridiculous prices you want to charge, while Dolan has just run the Knicks into the ground with garbage decision after garbage decision. Still shady how MLB orchestrated Henry out of FLA and to Boston, but like you said, still better than Dolan.

 

[jgatie]

First off, nobody in Boston, and I mean nobody, calls this place "Beantown". And when others do, it makes everyone from there cringe and get *****e chills.

Reminds me of the reaction Maj. Charles Emerson Winchester gave when some yokel referred to Boston as "Beantown".

"Beantown!!???"

Almost as funny as Radar O'Reilly saying he wants to visit Charles after the war "on the Cape of Cod".

 

[304]

Are the B's at least in the top 3? Or are they always going to be #4 cuz it's hockey? what is the order of popularity in boston amongst the 4 major sports?? thx

Do we never give you the answer you want? This is the third season in a row you've posted this question on this board. I get hints that you are rooting for us to say the Bruins are #4.

 

[Gee Wally]

I bumped into some ppl from boston and to my surprise, they told me the Sox were no longer #1 in beantown. that shocked me cuz i always thought it was a Red Sox town. they told me the popularity of the sox has gone down a lot.

They told me pats are now #1, which is easy to see. However, i am very curious.. who is #2 in boston now in terms of popularity? I know celtics are doing good, but man, that bruins team is soooo good and fun to watch and exciting.. and they are so likeable..

Are the B's at least in the top 3? Or are they always going to be #4 cuz it's hockey? what is the order of popularity in boston amongst the 4 major sports?? thx

You've done this enough now............take a break.

Attn Bostonians