Finally, the finish line. Here are all the posts in case you missed them: #'s 00-10, 11-20, 21-30, 31-40, 41-50, 51-60, 61-82 and 83-99.
Looking back on this project, one thing I can tell for sure is that football teams have an inherent advantage since they use the majority of the numbers from 1-99, whereas other sports mostly stop in the high 50's. To wit:
#'s 00-99, Favorite Players, By Team:
Patriots: 34
Red Sox: 18
Celtics: 13
BU Hockey: 7
Bruins: 5
General: 4
Rockies: 3
But when you knock out #'s 61-99, it's a far different story:
#'s 00-60, Favorite Players, By Team:
Red Sox: 17
Patriots: 15
Celtics: 13
BU Hockey: 6
Bruins: 4
General: 4
Rockies: 3
That Patriots number is more than halved. However, I am surprised to see that even in this scenario, the Pats sneak in ahead of the Celtics, whom I consider my second favorite team after the Red Sox (with the Pats being third). Although I suppose it shouldn't be that big of a surprise since there are only 12 players on a basketball team and 53 on a football team...
The Runner-Up, or "Apologies To" players were also in line with the second graph:
Runner-Up Players, By Team:
Red Sox: 45
Patriots: 31
Celtics: 29
BU Hockey: 21
Bruins: 15
Rockies: 13
General: 2
This seems to fit a lot better. The Sox are my first love, and I had a winner or runner-up for them for every number from 1-53, with the exception of #33 (I just couldn't bring myself to include Jason Varitek. I truly can't stand him, and he is going to further tarnish any legacy he once had with another season of back-breakingly bad performance in 2010, which will be his third straight such season and fourth in the last five years. One of the biggest mistakes of the Theo Epstein regime was his four year, $40 million contract after the '04 season. It would be THE biggest if not for the words "Edgar Renteria." But I digress.). The Patriots once again rank high due to the combination of sheer numbers as well as a decade-long dynasty, and the C's and Terriers finish strong. Though to be truthful, the Terriers would have probably done better had I not finished so many nights after a BU game at T's Pub or The Dugout. Looking through my old Images of Sports: Boston University Hockey book, there were several players who I knew I liked, but couldn't remember how much I liked them. And as many of my friends will tell you, I have a poor memory to begin with, and that's before you add $2 Bud Lights to the mix.
The most difficult numbers were definitely #24, #4, #8, #14, #15, #17 and #38. Comparing those players, and remembering others like Willie McGinest, Jason Allison, Troy O'Leary and Sherman Douglas were definitely a fun trip down memory lane. I would recommend it highly if you have a few hours to kill. And let's face it, after the Super Bowl this Sunday and the Beanpot final next Monday, with the Bruins and Celtics fading, the Patriots never talking about their draft/free agency plans and the Sox still a month or so from Spring Training games, every New England sports fan is going to have some time to kill this month.
Looking back on this project, one thing I can tell for sure is that football teams have an inherent advantage since they use the majority of the numbers from 1-99, whereas other sports mostly stop in the high 50's. To wit:
#'s 00-99, Favorite Players, By Team:
Patriots: 34
Red Sox: 18
Celtics: 13
BU Hockey: 7
Bruins: 5
General: 4
Rockies: 3
But when you knock out #'s 61-99, it's a far different story:
#'s 00-60, Favorite Players, By Team:
Red Sox: 17
Patriots: 15
Celtics: 13
BU Hockey: 6
Bruins: 4
General: 4
Rockies: 3
That Patriots number is more than halved. However, I am surprised to see that even in this scenario, the Pats sneak in ahead of the Celtics, whom I consider my second favorite team after the Red Sox (with the Pats being third). Although I suppose it shouldn't be that big of a surprise since there are only 12 players on a basketball team and 53 on a football team...
The Runner-Up, or "Apologies To" players were also in line with the second graph:
Runner-Up Players, By Team:
Red Sox: 45
Patriots: 31
Celtics: 29
BU Hockey: 21
Bruins: 15
Rockies: 13
General: 2
This seems to fit a lot better. The Sox are my first love, and I had a winner or runner-up for them for every number from 1-53, with the exception of #33 (I just couldn't bring myself to include Jason Varitek. I truly can't stand him, and he is going to further tarnish any legacy he once had with another season of back-breakingly bad performance in 2010, which will be his third straight such season and fourth in the last five years. One of the biggest mistakes of the Theo Epstein regime was his four year, $40 million contract after the '04 season. It would be THE biggest if not for the words "Edgar Renteria." But I digress.). The Patriots once again rank high due to the combination of sheer numbers as well as a decade-long dynasty, and the C's and Terriers finish strong. Though to be truthful, the Terriers would have probably done better had I not finished so many nights after a BU game at T's Pub or The Dugout. Looking through my old Images of Sports: Boston University Hockey book, there were several players who I knew I liked, but couldn't remember how much I liked them. And as many of my friends will tell you, I have a poor memory to begin with, and that's before you add $2 Bud Lights to the mix.
The most difficult numbers were definitely #24, #4, #8, #14, #15, #17 and #38. Comparing those players, and remembering others like Willie McGinest, Jason Allison, Troy O'Leary and Sherman Douglas were definitely a fun trip down memory lane. I would recommend it highly if you have a few hours to kill. And let's face it, after the Super Bowl this Sunday and the Beanpot final next Monday, with the Bruins and Celtics fading, the Patriots never talking about their draft/free agency plans and the Sox still a month or so from Spring Training games, every New England sports fan is going to have some time to kill this month.
1 comment:
Your blog lost all credibility when you claimed that the Varitek deal was one of Theo's worst. Grow up!
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