The Heart of a Champion

Boston: The City of Champions.

Four major sports teams – each one a playoff contender year in and year out. Seven championships in the last 10 years. The most storied venue in all of sports and another that is the home to the greatest NBA franchise in history.

Needless to say, Boston has become the center for all things sports in the past ten years. And even before that, with the Celtics in the ‘60s and ‘70s and the Bruins of the ‘80s; Boston has been crawling with the league’s best athletes, - no, teams – for decades now.

So, how does a citizen of such a city become a part of this sports greatness?

Well, naturally, there’s the option of purchasing tickets. Being at the ballpark is obviously the best option there is - but at this point, it costs nearly an arm and a leg to see the Red Sox, the price is climbing in that direction for the Celtics and Bruins and lord knows it’s already there for the Patriots.

Now, for the average fan, the next option would be watching the game on TV. Well, you might as well be in a different state. What’s the difference? Sure, the view happens to be better than most inside the arena, but the magic of Fenway tends to get lost over the airwaves, the thundering of the Garden fades before it hits the speakers and the game just isn’t the same.

So what is a fan to do? The wallets run thin, and a ticket is just too costly – especially in this economy. Is there any way to capture the raw emotion of the Fens, combined with the slim price of take-out Chinese and the comfort of a couch pillow?

Well, yes, actually. And it’s called a sports bar.

With great power comes great responsibility. Similarly, with great sports teams comes a great need for a tremendous sports scene. And Boston delivers wholeheartedly on both fronts.

From Fenway to the Garden, all the way to the North End, the city of Boston is full of sports bars - absolutely full of them - that stride to meet every fans need for glory, camaraderie and most importantly, beer. Of course, you could argue, this is all part of the problem. With so many bars and only so many hours of game time, where does one go?

Well, that’s where I come in. My quest over the next few weeks is to find the top venues to watch Boston’s teams exert their dominance, and whittle it down to the best three in the city. A daunting task for sure, but one I feel well equipped to handle.

So from Cask ‘N’ Flagon to Champions, to Kitty O’Shea’s, I’ll be tackling a score in the Boston sports scene that has yet to be settled – and find the best Boston hot-spot to watch the Sox, Celts, B’s and Pats take down their opponents.

TOP 10 POWER RANKINGS

THE BIG THREE