BRIGHTON, Mass. – The Bruins are no different than everybody else around New England. They’re getting caught up in the Red Sox playoff run while attending games at Fenway Park, filling up their social media accounts with selfies from the Lyric Little Bandbox, and rooting on the Sox and Patriots after a couple of big wins on Sunday night.
No doubt the Bruins will be expecting the same from their buddies at the Fens and in Foxboro when the Stanley Cup playoffs begin this spring, but now, they’re every bit the Boston sports fanboys just like the rest of us.
Bruce Cassidy attended ALCS Game 2 at Fenway with his son on Sunday night, and Zdeno Chara admitted that he was glued to his TV watching all the action on Sunday after he’d made it out to the Fens for Saturday night’s series-opener.
“It’s a privilege. It’s special that we have all four major pro sports, and they are consistently in the playoffs and competing for trophies and championships,” said Bruins captain Zdeno Chara. “It’s nice to be following and being a fan. They do the same for us as we do for them. It’s very special. We wear the hats, we wear the T-shirts and we go to the games if we can.
“We are athletes, but at the same time we’re just like any other kid watching them on TV and screaming when they score. We celebrate when they win, so it’s nice.”
Cassidy went as far a couple of weeks ago to openly laud the Bruins crowd at TD Garden for breaking into a “Yankees Suck!” chant in the third period of a blowout win, and it’s clear those who have been around Boston for a while have turned into diehard fans. So, when the Sox evened the series against Houston on Sunday night, everybody has a spring in their step at a regular Monday morning practice.
“I’ve been here for a while and you’re drawn to it,” Chara said. “The fans and the people of Boston are so passionate about sports that you kind of have to get on the wagon and cheer for the Sox, Pats and Celtics and so on. It’s great and it seems like they’re always going great as well, so it’s fun to watch. It’s fun to follow.
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“We’ve said it often that Boston is a great sports town and all of the teams have been good basically since I got here. It’s been a lot of fun to be part of a great challenge as an athlete to always be at your best.”
The challenge right now is for the Red Sox to topple the favored Astros for a chance at their fourth World Series berth in the past 14 years. It’s clear the members of the Bruins will be cheering them all the way.