Get the latest Boston sports news
Receive updates on your favorite Boston teams, straight from our newsroom to your inbox.
Bill Burr lists some of his favorite Boston athletes with Julian Edelman
"There's two different lists. There's the people that I liked, and then the best ever."
Stand-up comic and Canton native Bill Burr has long been a fan of Boston sports.
Be it playing a “real Patriots fan” on Saturday Night Live, mocking Maple Leafs fans on social media, or throwing out the first pitch at Fenway Park, Burr has never been one to hide his sports fandom.
As such, Burr was asked by Julian Edelman on the Patriots legend’s “Games With Names” podcast to run through some of his favorite athletes in Boston sports.
Rather than opt for the usual “Mount Rushmore” structure when it comes to ranking sports legends, Burr instead opted to run through a list of the players he cheered for growing up in the area — an undertaking that quickly went off the rails as he sparred with Edelman.
Advertisement:
“You got to go Bill Russell as far as the Celtics hierarchy,” Burr said. “Bill Russell, that’s the foundation.”
“Probably Larry Bird in there,” Edelman added.
“Are you gonna let me answer, or are you just gonna do it?” Burr replied. “‘Probably Larry Bird.’ You probably lived in Southie, you stole cars, you were good at math, and you said, ‘How do you like them apples?’ … Everybody’s gonna say Bird, there’s other — ‘Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, [expletive] Mark Wahlberg, … All right, Bird. Will that get you to stop?”
Advertisement:
In Burr’s opinion, there is a clear difference between ranking the greatest Boston sports stars of all time — and rolling through an individual’s own favorite players.
“There’s two different lists. There’s the people that I liked, and then the best ever, OK. Some of them are on the same list. So like, the best ever, you got to go Bill Russell, Bird. I’m going Celtics right now — and that’s it. I’m kidding. I’m too old to remember anybody past the [expletive] ‘90s.
“Then you got Bobby Orr, who even Wayne Gretzky said, ‘That’s the greatest of all time’. Cam Neely — you want 50 goals, and I beat the [expletive] out of your team? And he owned the Canadiens when we couldn’t beat the Canadiens and we were all, ‘Oh my god, we’ll go into the [Montreal] Forum and we’re gonna lose.’ He would get a hat trick on Patrick Roy, who changed the game.”
Burr had no shortage of Patriots to run through, especially when it comes to the multiple players who contributed to the franchise’s two-decade dynasty. But Burr decided to keep focus more on the players he grew up watching in the ’70s and ’80s in Foxborough.
Advertisement:
“As far as Patriots, I mean John Hannah, Andre Tippett, you gotta go Steve Grogan — one of, toughest [expletive] guys …. Grogan played the last five years of his career wearing a neck brace,” Burr said. “He looked like he just got into a car accident, and he played on AstroTurf … Stanley Morgan, Mike Haynes.
“Ben Coates — Russ Francis … Steve Nelson, Bill Lenkaitis, Leon Gray. Raymond Clayborn, Tim Fox, Ohio State — Oh my God, that guy used to [expletive] hit people. Sam Cunningham, Now we’re into Drew Bledsoe, Curtis Martin, …. Tedy Bruschi, Willie McGinest. … Tom Brady.
As expected, Burr — who spent most of the segment trading barbs with Edelman — ended his spiel on Boston sports by throwing a dig at the three-time Super Bowl champion.
“Then I can only pick one white wide receiver, so I’ll go with Wes Welker,” Burr told Edelman.
To comment, please create a screen name in your profile
To comment, please verify your email address
Conversation
This discussion has ended. Please join elsewhere on Boston.com