BOSTON. In the past six years this city has celebrated three Super Bowl victories and two World Series championships, so local fans could be forgiven if they set high standards for their local sports teams. "No, we love 'em all," says Mary McCarthy of Dorchester, "even when they come in second," she adds with a laugh, referring to the 2-1 loss by the New England Revolution, the local professional soccer franchise, in the MLS Cup to the Houston Dynamo.
Boston City Hall: Is it upside down or sideways?
The Revolution have now lost three straight MLS Cup games and four out of the last six, and have become the soccer equivalent of the Buffalo Bills, who lost four straight Super Bowls from 1991 through 1994. Still, the streets of Boston are filled with anticipation today as the Revolution get a chance to celebrate their near-miss in a fashion that has become a Boston tradition--a parade through the Back Bay that culminates with a celebration in City Hall Plaza.
Government Center "T" Stop.
Boston's City Hall is a masterpiece of architecture that has won awards for its striking design, and Bostonians think of it as first in its class world wide. "We have the ugliest municipal building in the world!" shouts Kevin Avery, a rabid soccer fan who has parked his car on the outskirts of town and ridden the MBTA or "T" into Boston to avoid the crush of fans and well-wishers that is expected to number in the mid-two figures.
Riot police outnumber fans.
A group of fans, proud of City Hall's reputation as the pre-eminent American example of the "Brutalist" school of modern architecture, breaks into a chant of "We're Number One! We're Number One!" as Avery passes by, and he gives them a "thumbs up" signal to show his approval.
As the Revolution begin to make their way into the Government Center district, they are met by honking and the shouts of adoring fans. "Get out of the way!" screams Lynette de Fazio, a secretary who is running late to work, as she leans on her horn. "Whatta ya think yer doin'?"
"You guys are great," shouts Revs captain Steve Ralston, and an excited fan screams "We love you!"
"Thanks mom!" Ralston yells back, his face breaking into a smile.
"Yer gonna have to move it," a Boston police officer says to Ralston, who is driving a rented "Zipcar" with three of his teammates. "Yer blockin' traffic."
Taylor Twellman
"We're the New England Revolution," says Taylor Twellman, the high-scoring forward who is affectionately known to the team's public relations department as "Mr. New England Soccer".
"And I'm Batman, pal," the cop growls back. He pulls his walkie-talkie from his belt and calls for backup. "There's some nut down here in Government Center who thinks he's Paul Revere," he says to Boston Police Headquarters just across City Hall Plaza. "You'd better send the Taser Squad."
Khano Smith
As the rally winds down midfielder Khano Smith is signing one last autograph for an adoring fan in a restaurant. "Excuse me," she says as he starts to walk off.
"Yes?" Smith replies, knowing how demanding Boston fans can be.
"You forgot to put your phone number on the check."
Con Chapman is the author of "The Year of the Gerbil: How the Yankees Won (and the Red Sox Lost) the Greatest Pennant Race Ever," a history of the 1978 AL East pennant race, and "CannaCorn", a novel about minor league baseball to be published by Joshua Tree Publishing in 2009. He has written a number of plays, including "Number One Hockey Mom," "Please, Pope," and "What Mickey Belle Isle Told You," a trilogy about hockey (JAC Publishing). His articles and humor have appeared in newspapers and magazines including The Boston Globe, The Boston Herald, and The Atlantic Monthly, among others.
