Christmas has come and gone and New Years Day is just around the corner. During the 8 days spanning from Christmas morning to New Years morning Go, Titletown will add daily updates to an 8 part series remembering the highs lows and all around heartwarming moments of 2013 in Boston Sports as well as a look ahead to what we might see in 2014. This is not a statistical analysis of these 298 professional sporting events that took place in Boston in 2013, this is a written rehashing and a reminder that we are the greatest sports town on the planet.
Complete Schedule
December 25th- A Year of Leaders
December 26th - Best Patriots Moments
December 27th - Best Red Sox Moments
December 28th - Best Bruins Moments
December 29th - Top Plays
December 30th - Top Games
December 31st - [To be determined] Is the Boston Athlete of 2013
January 1st - The Promise of 2014
They told us we would run again and so we will.
They told us our city would pick itself up and it already has and yet through this all, the conclusion of 2013 in Boston sports can be fairly described by just 1 word and 1 word only: merciful.
While 2013 sure gave us moments of joy and relent the horrors it brought about via the Marathon Bombing and the greatly lesser but still saddening Game Six collapse in the Stanley Cup Finals seemed to punctuate this year and the 298 major Boston sports games that took place during it. Mercifully, it has all ended giving way to the promise and list of possibilities for greatness that 2014 holds for our Boston sports teams.
First and foremost we might already know when the emotional high water mark of 2014 will occur, 1 year after the low point of 2013 did. 1 year later, the 2014 edition of the Boston Marathon will be more important than any other in the cities history. There will be more people running this time around as the BAA has amplified its resources so that it will be possible to not only allow for the normal field of 27,000 runners but also allow all who did not finish last year to join as well as adding 3,200 spots for those who have been inspired by the attacks and want to take part in this inspiring renewal of Boston's greatest athletic tradition. 117 years after it began the Boston Marathon has always been a city wide event fixating not only on the elites but on the thousands of armatures just like us. Every year the sight of tens of thousands of tee shirted weekend warriors is an uplifting one that makes even those who are not running feel strong. But 2014 will be different. By that point strength will have been a quality repeated and re-proven for 365 days in Boston and yet there will be emotion and there will be remembrance of those we lost the year before. The 2014 Boston Marathon will be special and a must see for not only Bostonians but all Americans as the pure bravery of our returning to the scene of such horror will surely be powerful but it will not be the only great story that 2014 might produce.
When we try to predict next season what we must first do is look to what has happened of late. One of the most impending stories we might see is the NFL postseason. In an AFC playoff bracket that is weak to say the least it is not much of a stretch to say that a Patriots trip to NY this February could become a reality. Between the Bengals and their terrible-in-the-playoffs QB in Andy Dalton, the so so Colts and the running game oriented Chargers, it seems that the only threat to a New England win in the AFC Title Game would be the Broncos. And yet even that obstacle is weak when you take into account that while they are evenly matched statistically, Tom Brady is one of the greatest postseason QB's in NFL history while Peyton Manning has gone one and done 8 times in his NFL career. As we look forwards Boston fans could get and early treat this February as their team's resiliency and late game refusal to quit might likely be cause for a serious postseason run.
But as the year drags on, it might not be championships but rather individual performance that dominates the Boston sports headlines.
As the NHL season’s draws to a close Tuukka Rask once again will be a huge part of the Bruins competitiveness in the Stanley Cup Playoffs and the Bruins regular season seeding in them. Additionally, Rask in coalition with many of his teammates will likely be named to their respective Olympic teams in the coming days possibly intensifying the calls of overuse of these players in games this time out of the jurisdiction of the Bruins coaching staff. On the other hand, a great run in the Olympic Mens Ice Hockey Tournament cold possibly spark an offensive landslide especially in the cases of guys like Milan Lucic or Patrice Bergeron. There is excitement regarding the Olympics and frankly while more playing time might logically hinder some of Boston's best players, some decent Olympic play by Rask in particular might actually help him rebound from some recent struggles and give Boston that Vesna goaltender that they need to win a Cup.
Tuukka Rask's brilliance is no secret or unspoken truth however by the end of 2014 he might be joined in that state of recognition by Boston Red Sox rookie, Xander Bogaerts. At age 22, Bogaerts has been ranked by many as one of baseball’s best prospect right now and the best Red Sox prospect since Nomar Garciapara. He will likely log some considerable time with the Sox this season possibly playing shortstop for the club while hitting in the core of the lineup and using his considerable speed combined with his precise batting to possibly become an RBI threat of near all-star qualities.
Alas, the 2013 that seemed bent to destroy the longevity of our fingernails, the 2013 that saw Boston's sports teams give new meaning to the word comeback has come to a close only to be replaced by a new year full of talent, possibility and hopefully some more conventional severing of our fingernails. All we know for sure is that while 2013 and 2014 will both be punctuated by events that transpire on April 15th, the 2014 edition of this all will be of a different emotion.
They told us we would run again and so, we will. We will heal and in 2014 we will prove once again that we are Boston Strong.
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