No matter which of the four major professional league one follows, it is clear that Boston has been the city with the most success in those leagues. This book by a popular sports radio host in the city does a very good job of describing why that has happened. Here is my review of "This Is Our City."
Title/Author: “This is Our City: Four Teams, Twelve Championships and how Boston
Became the Most Dominant Sports Citty” by Tony Massarotti
Rating: 4 of
5 stars (very good)
Review: Since the beginning of the 21st century, sports fans
in New England, and specifically Boston, have been blessed with excellence by
the city’s professional sports teams in all four of the major sports. Between the Patriots, Red Sox, Bruins and
Celtics, they have won 12 championships, made an additional six appearances in
their respective sport’s championship game or series, and won over the hearts
and minds of nearly every Bostonian. How
each of these teams achieved this lofty status is covered in this book by
Boston sports radio host Tony Massarotti.
As one might expect, the Patriots are the team that dominate the
book, and it is their improbable victory over the St. Louis Rams in Super Bowl
XXXVI that Massarotti uses as the start of the Boston dominance of professional
sports. While the Patriots would
certainly earn the distinction of getting the most text in this book with their
six Super Bowl wins, each of the other three teams certainly gets a fair share
of coverage as well. Even though the Celtics
and Bruins each won only one title during the time frame covered by the book,
the coverage of those two teams was very fair and complimentary. This is especially true for the Bruins, who,
per the book, have won the fourth most games in the NHL during that time frame
despite taking home only one Stanley Cup.
One surprising aspect of the book, given its title and occasional
smug tone (totally justified with the teams’ records) was that the struggles of
the teams were covered in detail as well as the triumphs. A great example of
this was the implosion of the 2011 Red Sox in missing the postseason amid controversy
over the actions of players in the clubhouse and the subsequent departures of
field manager Terry Francona and general manager Theo Epstein. While most sports fans know the details, Massarotti’s
writing brings a different perspective into the stories. The same goes for other shortcomings such as
when the Bruins blew a 3 games to none lead against the Philadelphia Flyers in
2010, the two Super Bowl losses to the Giants by the Patriots and how the Celtics
went quickly from riches to rags to riches to rags and riches yet again. That is
not uncommon in the NBA, and explaining that is one reason I felt Massarotti
was very fair in his coverage of all four teams when describing the times they
did not win championships.
For fans who want to learn more about the recent accounts of the
teams, here the book falls a little short, at least when comparing them to the
early accounts. For example, there was
surprisingly a shorter write up about the incredible comeback by the Patriots
in Super Bowl LI, at least compared to their earlier wins. Same goes for the Red Sox and their 2018
World Series victory – this section was very short when compared to the 2004
and 2013 wins. This is not to say that a reader won’t learn more about that
time frame for all 4 teams – indeed, there’s a good write up on the 2019 Bruins
when they lost the Stanley Cup Final to the St. Louis Blues – but it just isn’t
quite as complete as the earlier chapters.
Overall, this is a decent book for readers who want to learn more
about the Boston dominance in the last 20 years of professional sports. Be prepared for a little bragging and a
little possible arrogance, but it is a great look at the professional sports
scene in that city.
I wish to thank Abrams Press for providing a copy of the book via
NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
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