A Championship City
The Boston Red Sox won the World Series in 2004 and 2007; the New England Patriots won the Super Bowl three times in the last decade; and the Boston Celtics won the NBA Championship in 2008. That's six titles for Boston sports teams in the past decade, a great run for any city. That's six parades through the streets of Boston.
Absent from the championship party are the Boston Bruins. The Bruins haven't won the Stanley Cup since 1972, when they defeated the New York Rangers.
Past Failures
Making matters worse is the number of near misses suffered by the Bruins and their fans. The Bruins have made five Stanley Cup Finals since 1972, including a loss in 1974 to the Philadelphia Flyers, back-to-back losses to the hated Montreal Canadiens in 1977 and 1978, and losses to the Edmonton Oilers in 1988 and 1990. In the 1979 conference finals, the Bruins were called for a too many men on the ice penalty late in Game 7 in Montreal. The Canadiens tied the game on the ensuing power play and then won the game and the series in overtime. They went on to win the Stanley Cup that year.
Recent history doesn't offer much help, either. The Bruins were eliminated by Philadelphia last year after taking a 3-0 lead in the series, blowing that with three straight losses, taking a 3-0 lead in Game 7 at home, and then losing that game as well as the series 4-3. Their last four trips to the playoffs have ended in Game 7 defeats. In the 2008-09 regular season, the Bruins finished first in the Eastern Conference and then swept Montreal in the first round, only to lose to an underdog Carolina Hurricanes team in overtime of Game 7, at home.
The 2010-11 Boston Bruins
Things look different this time. The Bruins faced Montreal in the first round and after losing the first two at home, came back to win the series on a Game 7 overtime goal by Nathan Horton. Horton also scored a double-overtime winner in Game 5. The Bruins took a 3-0 lead on Philadelphia in the second round, just like last year, except they finished off the series at home in Game 4 with a convincing 5-1 win. They are 4-0 in overtime games, showing a clutch nature that most Bruins teams haven't had.
Most Bruins fans support the other Boston teams, and were happy and celebrated when those teams won championships. But for those that consider themselves Bruins fans first, the success of the other Boston teams has only made the Bruins' failures harder to swallow. When the other Boston teams win, the question always creeps in: why can't the Bruins do that?
The Bruins' fanbase is a beaten and battered bunch. Winning the Cup this year would mean validation. Validation that their faith and patience was worth the wait. Validation that their time and money meant something.
Bruins Fans Hope To Taste What Blackhawks Fans Did Last Year
Last year, the Chicago Blackhawks won the Stanley Cup for the first time since 1961. They promptly lost half the team over the summer to salary cap constraints. This year, they made the playoffs on the last day of the season, and though they made a valiant comeback from 3-0 down, they lost in seven games to the Vancouver Canucks.
But I bet if you asked any Blackhawks fan if they would trade winning the Cup last year in exchange for keeping the team intact, you wouldn't find one person willing to do it. They went for it last year, and they won. It was worth having to dismantle the team. That's how much winning the Cup means. The Bruins are one of the last four teams standing. Bruins fans hope their hearts won't be broken again, and they will be able to have their own parade through the streets of Boston.
