Allen: Red Sox Town or Patriots Town? Who cares?

One of the Boston sports debates that has been making the rounds of TV shows, newspapers articles and websites recently is the question of whether or not this is a Red Sox or Patriots Town. This is not a new debate — some variation of this theme has been going around ever since the Patriots became a top-tier team. With the Sox about to start postseason play and the Patriots off to a terrific start, some feel that it is time for people to take a stand and declare their allegiance.

I find the whole debate to be incredibly dumb, not to mention a little insulting. Why in the world should I have to pick one local team over the other? Is the implication that we simply aren't capable of being fans of both teams? They don't play the same sport, which would make the argument a little more sensible. For instance, Chicago can have the debate about whether it is a Cubs town or a White Sox town. (It’s clearly a Cubs town) The Chicago example has a little more merit because people probably aren't likely to be both a Cubs fan and a White Sox fan. It's either or. These reasons are obvious — the teams both play during the same season, they play almost every day, and it would be tough to follow each team's every game closely. Not to mention the two clubs play one another during interleague play. Chicago fans who attend those games aren't sitting there rooting happily for both teams. They pick a side.

It's totally different with this Red Sox/Patriots argument. They never play each other. Sure, there are some days in which their games overlap. Those are the times when people trying to make this argument usually bring it up. They'll point to the Patriots TV ratings superiority and argue it up against "Red Sox Nation" and the whole pink-hat cult following that the team has. They'll match up the three Super Bowl titles against the World Series championship and thousands of books that that event inspired.

But why do we have to choose? Just because I'm watching the Patriots/Chargers game on a Sunday night doesn't mean I'm not switching back over to Red Sox/Yankees at every break in the action ... or is it the other way around? The TV is switching back and forth so much that one game really isn't getting too much more play over the other.

The thing is, I'm a BOSTON fan. I'm not a Red Sox fan, or a Patriots fan, or a Celtics fan. I'm a Boston sports fan. The teams are like my children — I love them all equally. (The Bruins might be the red-headed stepchild in the family) Whichever team is playing, that's the one I'm watching. If they're both playing, I'm doing my best to watch them both at the same time. I'm not choosing. Neither should you. It isn't a valid debate.

Many of us who grew up here in New England are fans of all the teams. However, if you happen to be a Red Sox fan, but not much of a Patriots, fan, it's likely because you like baseball more than football ... not because you're more of a Red Sox fan than a Patriots fan, you happen to like the sport that the Red Sox play better than the sport that the Patriots play. If you're a fan of the Yankees and also claim to be a Patriots fan, (I know a few of those, actually) then there you're just weird. Debate over.

Bruce Allen is the creator of Boston Sports Media Watch.