Welcome Back to the City of Champions

The sabbatical has run its course. The last time I blogged about a story in the Boston sports world, it was a full week before the B's hoisted their first Stanley Cup in 39 years. It was a hateful post directed toward the grossly aggravating hockey team based out of Vancouver. It may have even been a bit of a worrisome post, given that the Bruins trailed the series 2-1 and faced a huge hole had they failed to emerge victorious from the game that night. Of course, it all ended up working out for the best. I'll get back to that in just a moment.

The point is, it has been a long time. It has been two and a half months. You may have thought I retired. You may have thought Ultimate Boston was headed down the drain. Well, to be honest, I can't guarantee that won't happen at some point. But it isn't happening now. Not today. We're back for the time being, and it's time to recap what we've missed in the past two months.

Back to the B's. As you can see, I made a pretty permanent decision when I got this tattoo inked onto my back between my shoulder blades. I said I would get tatted up if the B's won the Cup, and I'm a man of my word. A simple tattoo, though, can't explain how much the Cup finally meant to myself, my family, my friends who are diehard fans, and all of the Bruins faithful who have tuned in for every game since the days of Orr, Neely, Bourque, and all the way up through Zdeno Chara and Tim Thomas. To all of the people mentioned, it truly meant the world. And to see Chara hoist the cup above his shoulders, it sent a feeling of goosebumps through every fan's body. Well, at least the fans who have endured through the ugliest days of the past 20 years.

My memory hardly spans through all of those years, and that was only half the period of agony. Still, this year's Stanley Cup victory helped put to rest so many of the demons that have haunted the Bruins in my own lifetime. Failing to get Ray Bourque the Cup. Tim Taylor's toe in the crease. The days of standout goaltender Byron Dafoe, never amounting to the grand prize. The relatively failed project that was Joe Thornton. The days when tickets were so easy to come by and games weren't selling out. The nights when Dave Shea broadcasted road games on UPN 38 and Dale Arnold did the home games on NESN. The crushing Game 7 losses against Montreal and then against Carolina the following season. All leading up to the moment -- unquestionably the most heart-wrenching moment in our recent memory -- in which the B's blew a 3-0 lead and let the Flyers soar past them to the conference finals in a season that had seemed destined to finally work out for the black and gold.

It was all erased on June 15th, 2011. Personally, I'll never forget the date. It was the single greatest moment of my life, when it comes to the Boston sports scene. The Pats championships, the Sox titles, the Celtics victory -- they were all amazing. But none of them truly measured up to the sentimental value that the Bruins accomplishment did this June. For me, it was the pinnacle of all the titles in title town. Now, of course, I'm greedy. I want more of them.

Fortunately, we're in Boston. Some of you may now refer to it as the City of Champions. Having garnered titles in each of the four major sports within the last 7 years, it is by no means unreasonable to expect more in the near future. Hell, even the Boston Cannons of Major League Lacrosse took home a championship this weekend. Things really are starting to look like we're the best at everything we do.

The Red Sox continue to edge the Yankees in the AL East with a huge series against the arch rivals looming. Despite their share of injuries to the pitching staff, the Sox look poised once again to contend for their third championship in seven years. It has been four years since their last glory days. Oh, the horror!

Meanwhile, the Patriots (despite a 34-10 shellacking from the Detroit Lions this weekend) look sharp and ready to dominate the NFL as usual. With an impressive set of receivers, a newly revamped defensive line, an improving secondary, and -- of course -- Tom Brady, the team with the longest drought in this city may be ready to finally end this heart-wrenching seven-year drought.

Yup. It goes for you too. We're all greedy and spoiled here in Boston in the 21st century. A seven-year drought? That's the longest active drought in our city? Tell that to the Cubs fans who are approaching the 100-year mark in their drought. Mention it to Buffalo (who knows when they last won). Mention it to Philadelphia, who has a fantastic sports city, but still hasn't seen their Flyers win the Cup in nearly 40 years. The Eagles have never won the Super Bowl. And it has been 28 years since the 76ers brought home the NBA title.

We have it made here in Boston. That's all there is to it. I'm not guaranteeing another championship for the Sox or the Pats this season. I'm not saying the Bruins have undoubtedly kicked off a dynasty at the Garden. I'm not saying the Celtics will compete yet again if the NBA even has a season. Truth be told, all of our teams could drop into 100-year slumps starting today. We may be miserable sports fans for the rest of our lives, reliving the heartache of the Red Sox, Bruins, and Patriots days of old. Reliving the Celtics days just before the Big Three. Maybe that is what destiny has prepared for us. Even still, it won't change the golden age of sports we have experienced. If you're reading this right now, you have lived during an amazing era. Whether or not another parade goes rolling through Beantown in the coming months, years, or decades, the name is irrefutable for this moment. Enjoy it. Remember it. Because right now, Boston is unquestionably the City of Champions.