With 10 championships since 2001, it’s safe to say there has never been a better time to be a Boston sports fan than today. Flynn and I were discussing the different titles and their significance a few weeks back and realized ranking the championships would be a great Boston Week topic. And here we are.

Before we start I want to get into how I ranked these. With a lot of rankings, there’s a criteria for determining the order. There might be weighed categories, each given a score, and totaled to get the final rank. Well, I didn’t do that. In fact, there’s nothing scientific about this list. No rubrik. Minimal research.

So, how did I come up with this order? Well, there were two main things I considered:

1. How good was game(s)? Not all title matches are that exciting.
2. Was there a greater significance behind the win? Some history can elevate the title. Whether it’s ending an 86 year drought or overcoming a key injury, backstory matters.

With that out of the way, here is the order, going worst to first:

10. 2007 Red Sox

Not much to report here. It was a good team but, while a sweep is nice, it doesn’t make for the most exciting World Series. There’s not much backstory here either.

9. 2004 Patriots

It was a good Super Bowl that came down to the wire. It also sparked the first real talk of dynasty after winning three in four years.

8. 2003 Patriots

The game got off to a slow start but it ended up a high scoring affair. It came down to the wire and, yet again, we saw Vinatieri finish off another Super Bowl. Not much backstory here either but I do think it really started to show people the Patriots were a legitimate franchise after not making the playoffs in 2002.

I wanted to embed this video but Goodell’s the NFL’s youtube account disabled it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WX6vioW7SZc

 

7. 2011 Bruins

First title in 39 years. It was an excellent 7 game series. Tim Thomas had some incredible moments. Also, Vancouver was an easy team to hate which made it even better.

6. 2013 Red Sox

This was a really fun group to follow. There weren’t a lot of high profile players but everyone came together and had career years. John Lackey, whose career seemed over, stepped up and became a legitimate number 2 behind Lester. Shane Victorino, Jonny Gomes, David Ross. There were a lot of new faces, who weren’t high profile players, and they were all likable. This was a team that had no business winning the World Series but they played great together and got it done.

5. 2008 Celtics

This was an insane season. It started back in June when the Celtics traded the fifth overall pick for Ray Allen. It wasn’t long before we shipped off a lot of younger players for Kevin Garnett. There was a lot of hype behind this super team and they didn’t disappoint. By the end of the regular season, they were the most improved team in history of the NBA and they capped off the season with an excellent six game series against their old time rivals, the LA Lakers.

4. 2001 Patriots

This is the team that started the dynasty. Who knew who Tom Brady was before Mo Lewis killed Drew Bledsoe? Some Michigan hardos. That’s who. Even after all the success, the Patriots still went into the Super Bowl as massive underdogs (I could be wrong but I think Vegas had them as 14 point underdogs) It was such an improbable season.

The game was good too. A little low scoring but it came down to the wire. Brady marched the team down the field (against the advice of John Madden, who wanted the Patriots to take a knee and play for OT). Vinatieri sealed the win as time expired.

3. 2015 Patriots

This game was insane. Brady wasn’t perfect but he stepped up when it counted and carved up the best defense in the league. Then, it seemed like we were going to lose, Malcolm Butler stepped up and saved the game. On top of that, Brady tied Montana for the most Super Bowl wins by a QB.

2. 2004 Red Sox

We all know the story here.

P.S. Am I the only one who felt like the ALCS win here was sweeter than the actual WS win?

1. 2017 Patriots

The best championship game of all time. The biggest comeback of all time. Tom and Bill got that 5th ring.

Alright, that’s all I’ve got. Let me know if you’ve got a different order in the comments.