2019 is coming to an end, which means it is near the end of the 2010’s era. This decade was where I first started watching not only professional sports teams, but where I started watching Boston sports teams. The first memory I remember was watching the Boston Celtics fall short the Los Angeles Lakers in the 2010 NBA Finals in seven games. I remember staying up late on the school nights watching every single one of the Celtics games in the playoffs. It was heart breaking watching them come up one game short of winning the NBA title. But ever since then, I have found a love in watching Boston sports teams, and it is a big reason why I am studying to be a sports journalist in college. So in no particular order, these are my top Boston sports moments in this decade.

The Bruins defeating the Canucks in seven games to win the Stanley Cup (2011)

I remember after going to my school’s graduation, we went to a graduation party and watched Game 7 in their basement. We weren’t really sure if they were going to win this game since it was on the road in Vancouver, but the Bruins proved the doubters wrong. They defeated the Canucks 4-0 to pick up their sixth Stanley Cup, the first time in 39 years. Tim Thomas, the Bruins goalie, was named the MVP of that Stanley Cup final. The next day at school, I remember everyone talking about and how there was crazy riots in Vancouver after the game. It was one to remember as it was the first Boston title in the 21st century.

The Boston Red Sox defeating the St.Louis Cardinals in the World Series (2013)

I was in seventh grade when this happened. I remember the Red Sox didn’t have very good luck the two years before with losing to the Orioles on the last day of the regular season in 2011 to get knocked out of the playoffs, and the Red Sox having a terrible 2012 season with lots of drama, and a terrible season. I had no idea that the Red Sox would have such a turnaround in one season. They went from 69 wins to 97 wins in one season under their new manager at the time, John Farrell. People were counting the Red Sox out in the ALDS series vs the Detroit Tigers, because the Tigers had too much power. I remember turning off the TV during Game 2 of that series, thinking the game was over, waking up the next day to see the Red Sox comeback win thanks to David Ortiz hitting a grand slam in the bottom of the 8th, and Jarrod Saltalamacchia hitting a walkoff single in the 9th. I remember going crazy seeing Shane Victorino hit a grand slam in Game 6 to help the Red Sox prevail to the World Series. Seeing the Red Sox win the World Series was a highlight of my junior high years. It was such an amazing way to do it for the city of Boston after the terrible tragedy of the Boston Marathon bombing.

Malcolm Butler’s interception gives the Patriots their 4th Super Bowl title (2015)

This game was crazy, The Seattle Seahawks were the reigning NFL champions, and they made it back to the Super Bowl with hopes of winning back to back titles. The Seahawks were a good all-around team that year, and they were very confident they were going to win the title. Also going into the game was a lot of controversy for the Patriots in their AFC Championship game vs the Indianapolis Colts. There was many footballs from the Patriots that were deflated, making people think the Patriots cheated to get a better grip of the football to throw and catch. The Seahawks were leading for most of the game, but the Patriots came back to take the lead with about 2 minutes to go. The Seahawks fought back and marched all the way up to the 1 yard line with 20 seconds left to go. All they had to do was give the ball to Marshawn Lynch, so he could run it in for a touchdown to win the Super Bowl. I remember thinking it was over, and the Patriots were going to lose another Super Bowl. The Seahawks decided to throw the ball, and all of a sudden, it was intercepted by cornerback Malcolm Butler. It was seriously a miracle, and one of the best football games I have ever watched. This un drafted rookie cornerback, that not many people knew of before the game, made one of the biggest plays in the Super Bowl history. He will forever be remembered as a Boston sports legend, as his interception gave the Patriots a 28-24 victory in Super Bowl XLIX.

Boston Celtics vs Washington Wizards, Eastern Conference Semi Finals (2017)

The Celtics might’ve not had a title in this decade, but they did have some memorable games and series, including this series in 2017. The 4th seeded Washington Wizards, lead by John Wall and Bradley Beal, took on the number one seed Boston Celtics, led by a 5’9 point guard named Isaiah Thomas. Going into the series, it was emotional for Thomas as he came back to the team after attending his sister’s funeral after she was killed in a car crash. This series was full of emotions as there was overtime games, fights, and many others. Who could forget when Isaiah Thomas dropped 52 points on his sister’s birthday in a Game 2 victory at home. Or who could forget when Kelly Olynyk had the game of his life, scoring 26 points in Game 7 to prevail the Celtics to the Eastern Conference Finals. Or how about when Kelly Olynyk got trucked by Kelly Oubre….Oops wasn’t suppose to say that. That series was a crazy series to watch, and it was a good feeling knowing the Celtics were heading back to the Eastern Conference Finals since 2012.

Bruins miracle comeback against the Maple Leafs in Game 7 (2013)

My Dad is a Maple Leafs fan, and my Mom and I are Bruins fans, so this game was a lot of ups and downs. This was a Game 7 of the first round in the NHL playoffs between the Boston Bruins and the Toronto Maple Leafs. The Maple Leafs scored two goals early in the 4th quarter to give the Maple Leafs a 4-1 lead, as the game looked over for the Bruins. My Dad was rubbing it in our faces, as it looked like the Bruins were going to lose. But then the Bruins stormed back to score 3 goals (2 in the final two minutes) to send the game into overtime, and Patrice Bergeron scored the game winning goal in overtime to send the Bruins to the next round. I’ll never forget the look on my dad’s face after that game winning goal, as he immediately put his head down, and walked upstairs to bed. Craziest game of my life until this next game.

The Patriots overcoming a 28-3 lead by the Falcons to win Super Bowl LI (2017)

Ok this is probably my favorite sports memory EVER. This game was going awful for the Patriots, as they were trailing by 25 in the third quarter. We were hosting a Super Bowl party and a lot of people at our house left, as they did not want to see the ending of the game, including me. I went upstairs and I started to work on my homework. After about twenty minutes of working on homework, my dad texted me to comeback downstairs as the Patriots were a touchdown and a two point conversion away from tying the game. Julian Edelman had that crazy catch, in which he was surrounded by three defenders. James White scoring the touchdown to send the game into overtime, and then White again scoring a touchdown in overtime to complete the amazing comeback. No one ever thought that the Patriots would win that game, and seeing that amazing comeback motivated many people and athletes in the world to never give up.

The Brooklyn Nets and Boston Celtics trade (2013)

This trade turned out to be one of the best trades in Celtics history. We can all admit at first that trading away the franchise’s stars Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett was tough, but it was all worth it in the end. The Celtics traded away Pierce, Garnett, and former sixth man of the year Jason Terry to the Brooklyn Nets for these guys…..

Keith Bogans, Marshon Brooks, Kris Humphries, Gerald Wallace, and three first round draft picks. This was a terrible trade at the time, but who would’ve thought it would turn out in the long run. The Brooklyn Nets were hoping to be at the top of the Eastern Conference when they got Pierce and Garnett, but they lost in the second round of the playoffs to the Heat, while finishing the sixth seed in the East. Pierce left the Nets after one year, Garnett was traded away two years later, and the Nets ending up losing a lot of their good players and turned out to be one of the worst teams in the NBA. But the thing that didn’t help was they didn’t have draft picks to get those young players to be the face of the franchise. The Celtics had their top draft picks that ended up with drafting Jaylen Brown with the 3rd pick in 2016, receiving Jayson Tatum after trading the first pick down to the third pick in the 2017 NBA draft, and trading away the 2018 pick in a deal that brought All-Star Kyrie Irving to the team. Even though things didn’t work out with Kyrie Irving in Boston, we received two rising stars in Brown and Tatum that will be possibly the top players in the NBA down the line in the future. This will forever be the greatest trade in Celtics history.

Red Sox capping off historic season winning the World Series (2018)

The Red Sox came off a disappointing season the year after losing the Astros 3-1 in the ALDS in 2017. The Red Sox fired manager John Farrell, hired Alex Cora as the new manager, and signed power hitter J.D. Martinez in the offseason. The Red Sox had an incredible regular season by winning a total of 108 games, which was a new franchise record. Went as the first seed in the American League, defeated the Yankees 3-1 in the ALDS, got revenge by defeating the Astros in the ALCS 4-1, and capping off a World Series championship against the LA Dodgers 4-1. Seeing Steven Pearce go off in the World Series, David Price resurrection story of rising from the dead and proving the people wrong, and seeing Chris Sale strike out Manny Machado two get secure the championship was absolutely amazing. It honestly felt like a revenge tour in the playoffs and every night watching the Red Sox that year was always so fun to see . A historic season for the books.

Tom Brady and the Patriots wins their sixth Super Bowl (2019)

After losing the Philadelphia Eagles in the Super Bowl in 2018, lots of people were saying that the Patriots were done. People saying that Tom Brady is “too old” or the Patriots were “washed” fueled this championship for the Patriots. The Patriots finished with a 11-5 record that year, defeating the Chargers in their first round game, going to Kansas City and upsetting the Chiefs in the AFC Championship game, and reaching the Super Bowl to play against the Los Angeles Rams. This game honestly turned out to be one of the most boring games I have watched the Patriots play in the Super Bowl, but the Patriots defense got the job done by defeating the Rams 13-3. Winning the Super Bowl shut everyone up who doubted them in that season, and it made Tom Brady to be considered as one of the Greatest NFL players of all time by winning his sixth ring.

The Patriots signing Antonio Brown (2019)

Lol I’m just joking, but can all of us Patriots fans say how much we want this guy back on our team right now heading into the playoffs? LOL

All in all this decade was one of the best in Boston sports, it included three titles for the Boston Red Sox, three titles for the New England Patriots, one ring for the Boston Bruins, a trip to the NBA Finals by the Boston Celtics including four trips to the Eastern Conference Finals; eight trips to the AFC Championship for the Patriots including five trips to the Super Bowl; three conference championships for the Bruins; and so many historic records. As we can go into the next decade let’s hope that we will see more championships brought to the city of Boston and so many more memories.

Also, never count the Patriots out after the loss to the Dolphins, NEVER! The Patriots are in still in the playoffs!

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