Top Ten moments in Chicago / Boston sports history

Chi-Town vs. Beantown is more than just sports. It’s deep dish vs. clam chowder, the El vs. the T, Kanye vs. Aersosmith, Magnificent Mile vs. Freedom Trail, Daley’s vs. Kennedy’s, Midwestern values vs. Northeastern arrogance and oh so much more.

Here at TTCS though, we just focus on sports. So in honor of the current Bulls vs. Celtics series going on, here are the top ten moments these two great cities have shared in sports.

10: MLS Rivalry

Fire versus Revolution is about as intense of a rivalry as there is in soccer…American soccer that is. The two teams have met in the MLS Cup Playoffs four seasons in a row, with New England advancing in ’05, ’06 and ’07 before Chicago finally got revenge last season. Here in 2009, the Fire and Revolution are sitting in first and second in the Eastern Conference, potentially to meet again in the post-season.

9: McDonalds commercial

For his next attempt, MJ is going to shoot from the 18th green at Pebble Beach, off a blackjack table and over his glowing scouting reports of Kwame Brown and Adam Morrison. Nothin’ but net.

8: Phil Esposito trade

In a 1967 swap between two of the original six NHL franchises, the Blackhawks sent Esposito and two other players to Boston for the trio of Pit Martin, Jack Norris and Gilles Marotte. The deal is considered one of the most lopsided in hockey history, as Esposito went on to play in the All-Star Game every year he was a Bruin, won two Hart Trophy’s (NHL MVP) and is now a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame.

7: Career of Bill Buckner

Everybody remembers his time in Boston, or rather, everybody remembers one play from his time in Boston. But people forget that while a Cub, Buckner was one of the top first basemen in the National League. He led the NL in batting average in 1980, was tops in doubles in ’81 and ’83 and drove in 105 runs during the ’82 season. Still, his legacy will always be that one little ground ball.

6: Nomar Trade

In July of ’04, with both the Red Sox and Cubs needing to make moves to bolster their post-season chances, they anchored a four-team deal that moved Nomar Garciaparra to the North Side of Chicago. His career in Cubby Blue was an injury-filled disappointment, but considering what they gave up (Alex Gonzalez and two minor leaguers), the trade for Mr. Mia Hamn (and Matt Murton) can’t be deemed a failure for Chicago. And since the Red Sox won the World Series in 2004, it’s didn’t hurt them either.

5: Bulls vs. Celtics, 2009 Eastern Conference Quarterfinals

The first two games of this series featured a record-setting rookie performance, an overtime thriller, a pair of jaw-dropping shooting displays and a game-winning three with two seconds left. Game three featured nothing worth mentioning, but if the series reverts to its previous form, it has a chance to be a playoff classic.

4: Carlton Fisk

Fisk played his first nine seasons with the Red Sox, including the ’75 World Series, which included one of the most famous home runs in baseball history. Then in 1981 he went to the White Sox, playing his final 13 seasons on the South Side winning three Silver Sluggers as the league’s best hitting catcher. Fisk has a B on his cap in Cooperstown but there is a statue of him at the Cell, and his number (27 with Boston, 72 with Chicago) has been retired by both teams.

3: White Sox vs. Red Sox, 2005 ALDS

On their way to winning the 2005 World Series, the ChiSox knocked off the defending champion BoSox in a three-game sweep. The key play of the series occurred in game two, when in typical Red Sox fashion, a Juan Uribe ground ball that would’ve been an inning-ending DP went through the five hole of Tony Graffanino, extending the inning. Very next batter for Chicago, Tadahito Iguchi, hit a three-run bomb that gave the White Sox command of the game.

2: #23 goes for 63 in ‘86

I’d like to take this time to remind fans in Boston that the 72-10 Bulls squad from 1996, the real greatest NBA team ever, never allowed 63 points in a single game to a second-year player with an injured leg. Yes I know, the Jordan and the Bulls wound up losing this game. But you can be sure that if the roles were reversed, and Chicago was the team stacked with four future Hall-of-Famers, Larry Bird or any other man in green wouldn’t have come close to 63.

1: Super Bowl XX

The greatest game in Chicago sports history would be #1 on basically any list it applies for, and since it just happened to be against New England, it’s sits atop this one as well. So many amazing stats were the result of this 46-10 Bears beat down, my favorites being that the Patriots had -19 total yards at the end of the first half and that New England QB Tony Eason finished the game zero for six on passing attempts, the only Super Bowl starting signal-caller to not complete a pass.