Welcome to Boston.com’s Sports Q, our daily conversation, initiated by you and moderated by Chad Finn, about a compelling topic in Boston sports. Here’s how it works: You submit questions to Chad through Twitter, Facebook, email, his Friday chat, and any other outlet you prefer. He’ll pick one each weekday to answer, then we’ll take the discussion to the comments. Chad will stop by several times per day to navigate. But you drive the conversation.

The ’70s Bruins led to the ’80s Celtics. The ’80s Celtics made way for the Clemens-to-Nomar-Manny/Ortiz era Red Sox. The tail end of these Sox overlapped with the Bledsoe-Brady era Patriots.


I find it interesting that all four teams have had their day in the sun in the past four-plus decades. And man, have we been lucky to follow such great and interesting teams, from both national and local perspectives.

If you had to choose one to keep and eliminate the other three, which one would you hold onto? – Creepeth (via Reddit)

Love this question. Has to be the Patriots, right? Just because it has been such a long and fulfilling run, and so you get the most bang for your buck as a fan. There’s just so much there to savor.

I mean, for most franchises, the win over the Panthers in the Super Bowl would be the most memorable and cherished game in franchise history. A last-seconds field goal to win the Super Bowl! Amazing! Yet during this era, it’s probably no higher than the Patriots’ fourth-best Super Bowl win (Falcons, Rams, Seahawks are top three in some order. And then there’s the Snow Bowl …).

If you’re an equal-opportunity Boston sports fan – meaning you love all of the professional teams fairly equally – I think you have to pick the Patriots no matter how much you loved Larry Bird and the ’86 Celtics or Bobby Orr and the early ‘70s Bruins.


We sure do look like jerks choosing among dynasties, memorable champions, and iconic players, don’t we?

What do you guys say? Which team-specific era in Boston sports would you keep if you could keep just one? I’ll hear you in the comments.