Author's Note: This will be the second of a six-part series focusing on a new feature/collaboration series of articles by Yvette and myself about two cross-country metropolitan sports powers, as well as the authors themselves!
Yvette will discuss and look into this great duel with some modern Los Angeles flavor with her three works, while I'll bring in some "hometown" flavor to my wicked "pissah" friends back in the Boston area.
Fans need not pick sides, but hey, that's what B/R is all about! Enjoy and debate! - Rob
When you think of Boston and Los Angeles, the Celtics and Lakers are often mentioned, and why not?
As previously mentioned in Part One, which detailed the NBA rivalry with the C's and now 15-time champs, these two hard court titans have dueled on the hard court in 11 astonishing contests for the title.
Boston holds the advantage over their cross-country mates, having won nine of those match-ups.
However, the duel between East and West is also strong and prevalent on the diamonds of Major League Baseball.
From spirited playoff epics and blockbuster trades to familiar faces sporting their sworn enemy's colors and apparel, it is quite evident that these two cities have a rich history of competition against each other.
For Red Sox fans, the thought of Los Angeles immediately conjures up their American League West adversaries in the form of the Angels.
This terrific rivalry was especially heightened from a classic, seven-game American League Championship Series in 1986.
Yea, we Boston fans can revel in our sweeps of the 2004 and 2007 American League Division Series, which were sweet triumphs that led to our World Series titles in those years.
And while I may be too young to recall these memories, a little reading and viewing of these games have led me to appreciate these seven games as much as I do with the two World Series championships of the decade.
Those dreams for Red Sox fans some 22 autumns ago seemed more like pipe dreams when Los Angeles, then known as the California Angels, held a 3-1 advantage heading into Game Five of the series.
Simply put, it was a baseball playoff series for both sides to remember, especially for Bostonians who were dreaming of a World Series title.
Were we facing certain defeat yet again?
Was there some higher being causing America's Beloved Losers from tasting victory?
Or were we Boston fans doing what we're best at: panicking before it's even over?
Well, the Red Sox were loaded with aging but still potent talents like pitchers Roger Clemens and Bruce Hurst and sluggers like the Dwight Evans, Bill Buckner, Dave Henderson, and Jim Rice.
Stacked with young pitchers backed by a veteran defense who were nearing the twilight of their careers, it appeared, at least on paper, to be a match made in heaven for Sox fans' hopes of a championship.
We're going to send you the most entertaining Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim articles, videos, and podcasts from around the web.
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