Which individual Boston sports opponent have you most respected through the years?
Debate the answer with Chad Finn and Boston sports fans at The Sports Q.
Welcome to Boston.com’s Sports Q, our daily conversation, initiated by you and moderated by Chad Finn, about a compelling topic in Boston sports. Here’s how it works: You submit questions to Chad through Twitter, Facebook, email, his Friday chat, and any other outlet you prefer. He’ll pick one each day (except for Saturday) to answer, then we’ll take the discussion to the comments. Chad will stop by several times per day to navigate. But you drive the conversation.Which individual Boston sports opponent have you most respected through the years?
I’m chucking out a question of my own here, because I want to follow up on Sunday’s query, which in case you missed it was this: Who is the most annoying Boston sports opponent of all time?
My choice there was Derek Jeter. I feel no need to further explain, even though we got some catharsis when the 2004 Red Sox did make him swallow his smirk. I’d say Bill Laimbeer got the most votes among you guys, a fine punchable-faced choice that would make Johnny Most proud. Ulf Samuelsson was up there, too, and Bernard Pollard – pretty much the football version of Ulf — didn’t get nearly enough votes.
We’ve been doing the Sports Q for about a month now, and Sunday’s might have been my favorite yet. So asking about the most respected opponent seems the natural follow-up. Maybe it’s even an easy choice.
Isn’t it Mariano Rivera? He was an exhausting, practically unbeatable nemesis for so many years. The Red Sox had to overcome him in 2004 when they had to overcome everything, and that seemed exactly how it should have been. His grace and good humor in the aftermath, especially on Opening Day 2005 at Fenway, in a small way enhanced the moment. For so many years, his appearance on the mound meant imminent defeat. Turns out, as great as he was, he was also the most gracious loser of all.
Other candidates for most respected opponent? I suppose some of you will say Jeter. I will not. Relatedly, I will also hear arguments that Nomar is always and forever better. Andy Pettitte, maybe? P.K. Subban drove Bruins fans nuts, but they’d have loved him on their own team, and he’s extraordinarily charitable even by good-dude NHL player standards.
Who else? Dr. J? Magic Johnson? Patrick Roy? Jonathan Toews? I feel like I’m missing an obvious one.
Let’s talk about it in the comments. And I’ll dive back into your pool of questions for Tuesday’s Sports Q, Thanks, as always, for participating.
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