Well, it’s that time of year again. No, not the World Series, but something close, and this time around, it’s more familiar than ever for the fans in LA and Boston.
It’s chilly in Boston. Fans are crowding the streets wearing jerseys and cheering as loud as their voices will let them. Players hoist a trophy and take in the support and admiration of the city.
This time, it’s not Tom Brady holding the Lombardi Trophy, it’s Red Sox Manager Alex Cora holding the Commissioners Trophy.
Three short months ago, Boston found themselves celebrating a professional sports championship and, on Sunday, they could potentially be celebrating another one.
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One team stands in their way, however, and like the World Series, Boston will face a familiar foe.
For the second time in less than four months, Boston and Los Angeles will face off in a championship game, and it may not be the matchup that many want (see; missed PI play in the NFC title game), but it is the matchup we need.
Boston and Los Angeles are two ferociously passionate sports cities with phenomenal teams. No matter where you stand on the controversy that accompanied the Rams’ win on the 20th of January, you can’t argue with the fact that the Rams are a great football team, and are a worthy opponent to the dynasty that is the New England Patriots.
So, you must be wondering, why are we talking about football on a site that is dedicated to the best possible baseball coverage?
We’re talking about it because no matter what sports you follow, this is matchup people are going to pay attention to.
When the Dodgers lost to the Houston Astros in the 2017 World Series, it was a very hard pill for LA fans to swallow. I, for one, am still not over it, and their loss to Boston in 2018 was just salt in a wound that had barely begun to heal. 2018 was the Dodgers’ hard-fought and a well-deserved second chance, but they couldn’t turn it into a championship.
This is their shot at redemption.
Though the Rams play an entirely different sport, they have the chance to bring an NFL championship back to LA, and it is something the city has been longing for since the Rams left in 1995. The Dodgers last won in 1988.
Like a multitude of teams in recent years, the Rams will face the New England Patriots in the Super Bowl, and as I said before, it’s the matchup that we need right now.
The Patriots are a team that has been steady basically my entire life. When Tom Brady was drafted in 2000, I wasn’t even a year old. Since then, they’ve won five Super Bowls, and have been the undisputed superpower in the NFL in the 21st century. The Patriots are great, but they cannot stay great forever and, eventually, Tom Brady is going to retire.
Until then, he is going to play like the superstar he has repeatedly proven he is.
Like the Patriots in the early day’s of Brady’s career, the Rams are a team on the rise. They are led by a coach that is just four months older than Julian Edelman, elite wide receiver and New England great.
Baseball fans should pay close attention to this year’s Super Bowl. Not only does it resemble the World Series, but it is also a three-hour break from a slow free-agent market, and is the professional sports version of a bridge, ending with Spring Training, which is just a few short weeks away.
Super Bowl LIII unites a young quarterback, on the verge of a potentially brilliant career, and a seasoned vet, who will undoubtedly go down in the books as one of the best QBs in history. It’s a coast-to-coast matchup, unlike anything we’ve seen since, well since the World Series.
Whether you root for the Rams or the Dodgers, the Red Sox or the Patriots, this is a Super Bowl that is not to be ignored. When a game showcases teams as good as these we, as sports fans, are simply forced to pay attention.