By William Yeomans
Growing up in the New England area in the 2010s as Boston sports fans, we did not face much adversity at all. This decade in terms of sports may be the most dominated decade by one city than ever before. In the four major sports, there have been six league championships within Boston. Not to mention the Patriots have been a top team every year of the decade, making it to the AFC championship nine years straight and winning it five times while also winning three Super Bowls.
2010-2011
According to HockeyReference.com, the 2010-2011 Boston Bruins were led by the NHL’s goaltender of the year Tim Thomas and defenseman Zdeno Chara, two veterans who helped the team win the divisional title finishing the regular season with the second-most points of any team in the league. This playoff run by the Bruins created NHL superstars such as Brad Marchand and Tyler Seguin as they were able to create offense as rookies. Today they are known as two of the most prolific scorers in the game. This season was highlighted with a Stanley Cup victory against the Vancouver Canucks. This series gets brought up in the argument for the most controversial series of all Stanley Cup finals.
As a ten-year-old, I still remember to this day when Alex Burrows bit Patrice Bergeron’s finger in the first game. After that, there were fights in every game and the Bruins ended up winning the series in seven games. After the series, Vancouver burned everything from cars to stores down. According to the VancouverSun.com, there was an estimated $4.2 million in damages to the city.
2013
Just two years later, the 2013 Red Sox finished the season at 97-65 and went on to beat the St. Louis Cardinals in the World Series. They were led by pitcher Koji Uehara whose World Series performance was considered to be one of the best performances by a Red Sox pitcher. Dustin Pedroia was in his prime for the Sox as he was the fastest player on the team and led the team at hitting. The team took the Cardinals to the sixth game and beat them 6-1 to capture the World Series title.
2015
The next championship team was the New England Patriots in the midst of one of the best football dynasties to play. The Patriots won three super bowls in the 2000s and made the divisional championship almost every year leading up to this Super Bowl. According to NFL.com, the Pats won the super against the Seattle Seahawks 28-23 after Pete Carroll decided to throw the ball instead of running the ball with Marshawn Lynch who carried them down the field. The Patriots’ secondary picked off the throw and ended the game to win it and the play is shown multiple times a year because of its significance.
I asked NAHS football player, Ethan Friberg if he had any hope of a Patriots victory at halftime and he responded, “I almost turned the TV off at halftime because I’ve never seen a comeback like that before.”
2017
Just two seasons later, the Patriots made it to the Super Bowl once again, playing the Atlanta Falcons. This game is also a popular game brought up all the time by fans across the country. According to ESPN.com, trailing 28-3 in the third quarter the Patriots were counted out of winning Super Bowl LI. However, the Patriots were able to score 25 points unanswered by the Falcons to bring the game to overtime. The Patriots won the coin toss in overtime and marched to end zone, winning with a James White touchdown. The Patriots came back from the largest deficit in Super Bowl history to win the game.
2018
After the 2013 World Series win, the Red Sox continued their dominance in the MLB to win yet another World Series in 2018. Steve Pearce won the MVP of the World Series and carried the team to the win in just five games. This win was the Red Sox fourth World Series in just 15 years, making them one of the most dominant teams of these two decades in baseball. NAHS student Todd Robinson followed this run very closely and claimed this Red Sox team is the best he’s seen in his lifetime.
2019
Finally, the Patriots capped off the decade with a win in Super Bowl LIII over the Los Angeles Rams. They won 13-3, giving quarterback Tom Brady and head coach Bill Belichick their sixth Super Bowl ring. This makes them one of the most accomplished player/coach duos in sports history and puts the Patriots dynasty in running for best ever in sports. I asked NAHS teacher, Mr. Charron, what was his favorite part of this Super Bowl and he answered, “I liked how Brady was able to shut down the haters and show his longevity.”
The First Launch 