Haters Gonna Hate (Our Duckboats)

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Another year, another championship, another parade for the people of Boston - and for those of us who have sadly left the friendly confines of New England, but always keep our hometown teams in our hearts.

The turn of the millennium signaled a shift change for the once-beleaguered fans of the Patriots and Red Sox (and for the less unfortunate Bruins and Celtics fans). Since 2000, New England sports fans have enjoyed an unprecedented run of success, with nine major sports championships in fifteen years.

Boston hasn't gone more than three years without witnessing a duckboat parade in that span. Sure, Boston has a competitive advantage over some cities simply by virtue of having a team each in the NBA, MLB, NHL, and NFL... but New York has two of each, and Chicago has two MLB teams and one of each of the rest, yet Boston still has the edge.

So we're spoiled. And having moved to the New York metro area recently, I've witnessed firsthand that people are jealous.

But can I admit something? The jealousy of other city's fans (and particularly that of New York's fans) is absolutely delicious. I relish in their protestations about Spygate and Deflategate, and there's nothing I enjoy more than laughing in their faces when they spout absurd conspiracy theories about Curt Schilling's apparent affinity for ketchup.

Boston fans were once known for our inferiority complex, though whoever came up with that was obviously more focused on the "cursed" Red Sox and the previously-hapless Patriots than the winningest team in NBA history, the Boston Celtics.

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Every championship won by a Boston team is another nail in the coffin of the lovable loser reputation we endured for so long. Sure, there are benefits to being the perennial underdog, but I'll take jealousy and bitterness from other fans over their pity any day of the week.

So congratulations, Patriots! You've enhanced my pride at hailing from New England - even if many of my coworkers and friends could do without the smug smile I've been wearing all week. But as Taylor Swift recently put into song, haters gonna hate, and I'll happily enjoy their chagrin.