Boston's Black Sunday

Black Sunday has come and gone.

What is Black Sunday you ask?

Gary Tanguay of Mohegan Sun Sports Tonight and 985 the Sports Hub dubbed this day.

Black Sunday is October 11^th, 2009.

This is the day that the Boston Red Sox season came to a crashing halt as Jonathan Papelbon blew a 6-4 lead in the ninth against the Angels.

The Sox got swept by the upstart Angels of Los Angeles-Anaheim-Disney Land in the ALDS.

No Red Sox-Yankees ALCS as we all wished. This teaches you that you just can’t look too far ahead.

Red Sox Nation was licking their wounds before the Patriots and Broncos even kicked off.

Could the Pats save Boston Sports from the chasm of sports depression and letdown?

Drum Roll please…..

Nope.

The Patriots came out like gang busters and resembled the team of the dynasty era.

They marched up and down the field. They had Denver on their hooves and had a 17-7 lead at the half.

The Patriots must have had some bad Gatorade at the half because they didn’t do anything in the second half.

They couldn’t convert first downs.

Brady couldn’t hit open receivers.

The Pats couldn’t capitalize on Broncos mistakes.

Before you could take your “Boston Depression Cocktail”, which is Tums, Rolaids, and a bottle of Sam Adams, Mike Prater of the Broncos was thrusting a dagger in the Patriots hearts with his game winning kick.

A game they coulda and shoulda won, but they did not.

In recap, our baseball team was eliminated and our football team was very inconsistent and looking like a shell of the “Glory Years.”

Oh yeah and then there is our hockey team, my beloved Boston Bruins. The only team in Boston that has NOT won a championship in the new millennium, you guessed it the B's. 

They have looked like a mite team from Chelsea rather than a NHL cup contender. They went 2-3 at HOME! They had to stage a miraculous comeback versus the lowly Islanders to get two points on Saturday.

They rounded out their failure of a homestand with a pathetic effort against the Colorado Avalanche. By the way, the Avs no longer have Sakic, Bourque, Roy, or Forsberg.

I know its only five games into the season but they look like a burning bag of bear poop.

I am greedy.

Yes everyone in Boston is greedy. We want more.

Can you blame us?

Since I have been on this earth prior to 2001, only the Celts won championships. The Sox blew the World Series in 1986 before my young eyes. The Patriots got to two Super Bowls and got thrashed. The Bruins made it to two cup finals but got skinned by the Edmonton Oilers.

So Black Sunday brought all those old time doldrums back. We were not invincible and became human again.

Who put Kryptonite in my chip dip?

The Sox will be competitive in 2010. The Patriots should be at least 5-3 before they face Manning and the Colts. The Bruins who the #$%^ knows and the Celts will be back with KG.

All hope is not lost Beantown!

Joe Gill is a featured blogger for Boston Sports Then and Now, Rootzoo.com and Trufan.com