Another championship. Another duck boat parade through the streets of Boston Tuesday, the 12th in 18 years, if you lost count.
Will we New Englanders ever tire of this 21st-century phenomenon? I don’t think so.
Thirty-six hours after their 13-3 triumph over the Los Angeles Rams in Super Bowl LIII, the New England Patriots will board the boats, roll through the Back Bay and downtown and savor the cheers of tens of thousands of their adoring fans.
As was the case Sunday in Atlanta, the Patriots have been down this road before. Six times, in fact, more than any NFL team except the Pittsburgh Steelers. They started these postseason parades in 2002 after they upset the St. Louis Rams. They returned in 2004 thanks to a victory over Carolina and in 2005 after defeating Philadelphia. A nine-year dry spell followed – can’t forget those two Super Bowl losses to the Giants – but the boats rolled again in 2015 after Malcolm Butler’s goal-line interception saved the win over Seattle and in 2017 after that miraculous second-half rally from 25 points down against Atlanta.
The Red Sox, Celtics and Bruins saw how much fun these parades are and finally earned celebrations of their own. We’ll always remember 2004, when the Red Sox came back from a 3-0 deficit to the Yankees, beat the Cardinals in the World Series and ended their famous 86-year championship drought. They rolled again in 2007 after sweeping the Colorado Rockies, in 2013 after taking down the Cardinals and in 2018 after defeating the Dodgers.
The Celtics, who defined dynasty from the late 1950s to the late 1960s with 11 NBA titles in 13 seasons, got in on the parade action in 2008 after defeating the Lakers behind the New Big Three of Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen and Paul Pierce.
And the Bruins got their parade in 2011 after they beat Vancouver in seven games.
Impressed? You should be. Since 2000, New England’s major-league teams have won a dozen championships. The Patriots have six titles, Red Sox four, Celtics one and Bruins one. The Pats have finished second three times, Celtics once and Bruins once. The Red Sox have not lost a World Series this century.
That’s 17 trips to the championship round since the turn of the century, folks.
The Patriots latest victory was a thing of beauty. Defensive beauty. They held a team that averaged 32 points a game to a field goal. The defense sacked quarterback Jared Goff four times, hit him 12 times and knocked down eight passes. Linebackers Dont’a Hightower and Kyle Van Noy slammed Goff six times. Hightower sacked him twice and Van Noy once on a super sprint and arm tackle that left Goff on his knees. Does anyone remember the famous shot of Giants quarterback Y.A. Tittle on his knees, helmet gone, blood trickling from his head?
Cornerback Jason McCourty made the defensive play of the game when he dashed halfway across the field, leaped, deflected a pass to the wide-open Brandin Cooks and then caromed off the goal post. Cornerback Stephon Gilmore put an exclamation point on the evening when he picked off an underthrown pass to Cooks at the New England 4-yard line. That turnover launched the Pats on their final drive, which ended with Stephen Gostkowski’s 41-yard field goal with 1:16 to play that clinched the title.
Speaking of drives, the Patriots mounted one vintage march. Tom Brady took them 67 yards for the only touchdown of the game. He found Rob Gronkowski on the right sideline, MVP Julian Edelman over the middle, Rex Burkhead on the left sideline and then Gronk again on the left sideline with a highlight play. Brady lobbed a perfect pass over two Ram defenders. Gronk looked over his right shoulder, reached to his right in front of a third defender and made the catch while falling at the 2-yard line. Rookie Sony Michel ran behind fullback James Develin’s block for the only touchdown of the game with 7:00 on the game clock.
Drama. Tension. Big plays. Sacks. Hurries. Interceptions. This game had plenty. But the Patriots won thanks to their crushing defense instead of a brilliant Tom Brady. That’s why the duck boats were ready to roll. Again.
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