Boston Globe Article On Lack Of Massachusetts Teams In March Madness

[auggie22]

Edited to remove duplication.

And he's been writing like that for 60 years.

he hates UConn, and Connecticut in general. Fresh out of college I commented on one of his articles and he sent me an email to essentially say that UConn sucked.

 

[WrenchFan69]

Still think PC and UConn should play a game in Boston Garden every year. Then rotate the home game every other year. It is still a top ten media market in the USA.

Very hard pass

 

[August_West]

All we need is will McDonough waxing poetic about the two handed set shot and how it’s disappearance spelled the end of real basketball and my day will be complete.

 

[SubbaBub]

Boston doesn't deserve us.

 

[Waquoit]

All we need is will McDonough waxing poetic about the two handed set shot and how it’s disappearance spelled the end of real basketball and my day will be complete.

That wasn't Will. Will was the guy saying the Pats will never move to Hartford.

 

[RayIsTheGOAT]

Oh an article written by Dan Shaughnessy about how the 1980s were a better time for sports? Don't mind if I fall asleep mid article.

 

[HCCForever]

Good lord this is why people hate Bostonians

What a bunch of pathetic sour-grapes crap.

I don't hate Bostonians just people like Dan Shaughnessy. Called Hartford "America's file cabinet" back when The Whalers were still in town.

 

[REB1094]

UMass was pretty decent until early December

 

[CL82]

If only there were a solution to their lack of March relevance…

Boston and Massachusetts teams? Try, sucking less.

 

[Rocktheworld]

If only there were a solution to their lack of March relevance…

Boston and Massachusetts teams? Try, sucking less.

I’ve thought about the article and I conclude that cities like Boston and New York, the main metro areas of the northeast, will probably never care about college basketball. You may refer to my exchange with a Creighton fan in another thread as to his indication/claim of city-wide support for a school most people didn’t go to.

The northeast is an unfriendly, cynical place, and massive amounts of people in NY/Boston aren’t from there, or even the region; just there for school and/or to work their high-level job and send their kids to good schools. There isn’t much regional pride. If BC gets into the tournament and even if it becomes some perennially decent team, sure some people might watch. But fans from other schools aren’t going to adopt them for the tournament (just look at us lol), and bars aren’t going to turn into BC bars for a month. To go back to Creighton, there really ain’t much else going on in Nebraska, relatively speaking.

Especially given all the high level pro sports Bostonians can access, I don’t think there will ever be momentum towards them or the region adopting a team. I hope one day I’m wrong.

 

[Madmannsucks]

When you start an article with a Marty Robbins song....where can it go.?
I think all of us lament the breaking up of the BE, just another reason why here. I think every team has struggled since leaving, with flashes of upticks but never really lasting. Thanks ESPN.

 

[BigErnMcCracken]

I don't hate Bostonians just people like Dan Shaughnessy. Called Hartford "America's file cabinet" back when The Whalers were still in town.

In fairness that’s a great line.

 

[HCCForever]

In fairness that’s a great line.

If I were unbiased, I would probably agree. I much prefer Bob Ryan or Jackie MacMullan. Much nicer personalities. Shaughnessy is probably not as bad as he seems. I have seen him at several concerts in the Boston area so he seems like a fairly regular guy.

 

[CL82]

I’ve thought about the article and I conclude that cities like Boston and New York, the main metro areas of the northeast, will probably never care about college basketball. You may refer to my exchange with a Creighton fan in another thread as to his indication/claim of city-wide support for a school most people didn’t go to.

The northeast is an unfriendly, cynical place, and massive amounts of people in NY/Boston aren’t from there, or even the region; just there for school and/or to work their high-level job and send their kids to good schools. There isn’t much regional pride. If BC gets into the tournament and even if it becomes some perennially decent team, sure some people might watch. But fans from other schools aren’t going to adopt them for the tournament (just look at us lol), and bars aren’t going to turn into BC bars for a month. To go back to Creighton, there really ain’t much else going on in Nebraska, relatively speaking.

Especially given all the high level pro sports Bostonians can access, I don’t think there will ever be momentum towards them or the region adopting a team. I hope one day I’m wrong.

Maybe, but to even have a chance at fan interest, not sucking would seem to be a reasonable place to start.

 

[Rocktheworld]

Maybe, but to even have a chance at fan interest, not sucking would seem to be a reasonable place to start.

Is UConn too far? It’s exactly a 90 minute drive… and I get that we haven’t been great so maybe that’s why so few people care about us lately… but that just goes to show how fickle people can be about college sports across the region. When you have the Bruins, Rangers, Yanks, Sox, Celtics, Pats, and the Giants to care about already…

It would be interesting to see what would happen in Boston if BC ever became a consistent contender. Boston is definitely a big enough bar city and certainly a big enough sports-watching city to where if residents consistently saw them on the TVs in bars with a number next to their name, competing for ACC championships (I lol’d typing that out) and making runs in the Tournament, I could see a possibility of people caring a bit more. But no school will ever catch the pro teams as far as fandom goes

 

[BigErnMcCracken]

If I were unbiased, I would probably agree. I much prefer Bob Ryan or Jackie MacMullan. Much nicer personalities. Shaughnessy is probably not as bad as he seems. I have seen him at several concerts in the Boston area so he seems like a fairly regular guy.

He’s absolutely the worst but still a good line.

 

[CL82]

Is UConn too far? It’s exactly a 90 minute drive… and I get that we haven’t been great so maybe that’s why so few people care about us lately… but that just goes to show how fickle people can be about college sports across the region. When you have the Bruins, Rangers, Yanks, Sox, Celtics, Pats, and the Giants to care about already…

It would be interesting to see what would happen in Boston if BC ever became a consistent contender. Boston is definitely a big enough bar city and certainly a big enough sports-watching city to where if residents consistently saw them on the TVs in bars with a number next to their name, competing for ACC championships (I lol’d typing that out) and making runs in the Tournament, I could see a possibility of people caring a bit more. But no school will ever catch the pro teams as far as fandom goes

Agree that it’s not going to rival the fan base for the Boston sports teams, but it could be relevant. That’s the benefit of a big city, you don’t need 100% interest to be able to generate decent attendance.

I feel that since I returned to the big east, there has been a lot more interest in Connecticut in certainly this season, particularly before the January slide.

I am on record and saying UMass becoming relevant is good for UConn. Having a state team that is successful would build up a fan base. Having a regional rival would be good for Connecticut. BCU on the other hand can die in a hole.

 

[CTFAN4LIFE]

I’ve thought about the article and I conclude that cities like Boston and New York, the main metro areas of the northeast, will probably never care about college basketball. You may refer to my exchange with a Creighton fan in another thread as to his indication/claim of city-wide support for a school most people didn’t go to.

The northeast is an unfriendly, cynical place, and massive amounts of people in NY/Boston aren’t from there, or even the region; just there for school and/or to work their high-level job and send their kids to good schools. There isn’t much regional pride. If BC gets into the tournament and even if it becomes some perennially decent team, sure some people might watch. But fans from other schools aren’t going to adopt them for the tournament (just look at us lol), and bars aren’t going to turn into BC bars for a month. To go back to Creighton, there really ain’t much else going on in Nebraska, relatively speaking.

Especially given all the high level pro sports Bostonians can access, I don’t think there will ever be momentum towards them or the region adopting a team. I hope one day I’m wrong.

I think Boston and New York are different. Boston has historically been a pro-focused town Red Sox, Bruins, Celtics, and obviously recently the Pats. Even though there are dozens of schools, they are smaller, private schools that aren't D1 basketball programs. UMass doesn't move the needle in Boston. Grassroots sports were focused on hockey and baseball over the decades. Pretty sure CT has produced far more NBA players than metro Boston (both 3 million+ populations) over the past 50 years.

NYC is more of a basketball town than Boston - high school, college, and pros. Legendary high schoolers, playground players right on through to D1 college programs and I think all of that transfers to the people that live in NYC. Walking around the bars/restaurants in Manhattan during March Madness is a good indicator.

 

[superjohn]

Dan Shaughnessy looks like Boston.

 

[HCCForever]

Dan Shaughnessy looks like Boston.

or the second coming of the Rat.

 

[Husky25]

In March 2014 I was on my way from work in Ledyard to New Haven to meet my friend, claim my $400 ticket, and catch the train to NYC for the Sweet 16. The topic Du Jour on WEEI by Michael Holley on the midday show was why Boston area schools (Specifically BC) can't do as well or as consistently as UConn.

For roughly 364 days (or more) of a given year, the programing of every show on EEI was/is dominated by professional sports. Sure, BC is in the ACC and makes a pile of money through that affiliation, but what do they do with it? The ACC benefits through the carriage fees paid by Charter and Spectrum, but what is BC's benefit? The last improvement they made to their facilities that I know of was to Alumni Stadium in 1993 after they upset ND.

Exposure is huge for college athletes. Is the ACC network a premium channel in Boston? Who's paying to watch BC sports in a pro city? IMO, the beginning of the end for BC basketball was in 1996 when admission was denied to Jonathan DePina and Elton Tyler.

 

[Fairfield_1st]

He's an idiot.
He writes "But none of those schools move the needle here in the circulation region of the Boston Globe. And neither does college basketball"
If college basketball doesn't move the circulation needle, then why does it matter and why would he care that MA isn't represented? Pointless article.

 

[Richmondhsky]

Shaunessy is such a sad sack, parochial, lazy "journalist" that is soooo stuck in the past. Time to retire grumpy old man.

Slow your roll, some of us here are retired and grumpy! We‘re your grumpy old men!