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Re: Celtics Fourth In Boston Sports and Not For Sale
I would like to know what the Sox ever did for Boston that the Celts really
did do. I can see people backing the Sox, but #1, not for those perennial
chokers.
At 07:03 AM 8/28/99 -0400, you wrote:
>
>
> [The Boston Globe Online][Boston.com]
> [Boston Globe Online / Sports]
>
>
> The numbers are in: Local nine still first
>
> By Will McDonough, Globe Columnist,
> 08/28/99
> <snips>
> The Red Sox are still No. 1
> according to local sports fans.
> Asked to name their favorite pro team, the
> latest numbers show Boston's baseball team
> still holding a slim lead over the
> Patriots, with the Bruins a close third
> and the Celtics a distant fourth. On
> behalf of ESPN, Chilton polls fans across
> the country each week on national and
> local issues.
>
> The last time around, in April 1997, the
> numbers were approximately the same, with
> the Red Sox holding a 17.5 to 15 percent
> lead over the Patriots. This time, after a
> year-long poll (July 1998-June '99), the
> Red Sox are still in first (21.2 to 19.8)
> ahead of the Patriots.
>
> According to Chilton, the only time the
> Red Sox have given up the lead came after
> the 1995 baseball player strike, when the
> Patriots held a 19.4 to 18.5 lead over the
> Bruins, with the fans apparently so mad at
> the time, that the Sox finished third
> (13.8).
>
> However, the most interesting aspect of
> this survey is the way the Bruins have
> separated themselves from the Celtics, and
> are closer to the top than ever.
>
> In this opinion, there were several
> surprises in the overall poll. For
> example, one would think local NFL fans
> would probably vote either the New York
> Jets of Bill Parcells and many ex-Patriots
> as their second-favorite NFL team. Wrong.
> How about the New York Giants, who have
> had such a great following here dating
> back to the 1950s, prior to the birth of
> the Patriots, when they were the only show
> in town? Wrong. Local NFL fans chose
> Denver second. The Jets? They didn't make
> the top five. And the Giants slid to
> fifth, after the Green Bay Packers and the
> San Francisco 49ers.
>
> A similar result with local NBA fans.
> After the Celtics, you would almost
> guarantee that Larry Bird and his Indiana
> Pacers, would be the second local
> favorites. Wrong. The Chicago Bulls took
> that spot. The Pacers came in fifth,
> behind the Lakers and Knicks.
>
> How about this - when Boston fans were
> asked to name their favorite overall
> professional athlete, none of our own won.
> Michael Jordan finished first, ahead of
> Drew Bledsoe, Ray Bourque, Doug Flutie,
> and Nomar Garciaparra. No Pedro.
>
> In fact, Martinez didn't get a sniff when
> the local major league baseball fans were
> picking their top five. Nomar finished
> first ahead of Mark McGwire, Mo Vaughn,
> Roger Clemens, and Cal Ripken.
>
> The
> Celtics' Richard Pond says the team is
> definitely not for sale, as reported
> recently in an Atlanta paper. ''There was
> nothing behind the story,'' said Pond.
> ''The guy that wrote it was guessing that
> since we didn't spend the money to sign
> Ron Mercer, we must be trying to trim the
> payroll to set up a sale. Although I think
> that if someone came up to Paul Gaston and
> said they wanted to buy the club for $400
> million, there might be some interest.''
>
>
> Will McDonough is a Globe columnist.
>
> This story ran on page G1 of the Boston
> Globe on 08/28/99.
> © Copyright 1999 Globe Newspaper Company.
>
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