A New Kind of Team

By Asa Gallagher

For those of us who live in New England, especially the true fans of local sports, there is really only one thing on our minds this week, and that of course is our beloved baseball team – the Boston Red Sox. In watching their rise from last place in 2012 to World Series champions in 2013, I am starting to look at all other teams with a bit of skepticism. This year’s version of the Red Sox was a group that won the right way.They enjoyed being with each other, and often referred to the team on the whole as a family instead of a baseball team. Relatively speaking, they spent very little money on big superstar contracts, and instead filled the clubhouse with men of great character that would run through a wall for one another. They didn’t fight or bicker. They stood up for their new coach. They were good to the fans. They knew their role in the region, especially in the aftermath of the Boston Marathon bombing, as a source of enjoyment and distraction for the people. The Red Sox were not a typical professional team this year. In many ways they were bigger than the sport, bigger than the legend of Fenway Park, bigger than the mystique that follows such a renowned franchise.

I have been watching the opening games of the basketball season lately, and of course I am an avid football fan. I see Dez Bryant screaming at his quarterback on the sideline of the Dallas Cowboys game, and Carmelo Anthony flexing his muscles and swearing into the crowd after dropping a three pointer for the Knicks. All I can do is compare them now to the great Red Sox of 2013, the group that exemplified team chemistry and community values, and I know without a doubt those teams will never win the championship.