Fans more passionate about Sox

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I was trying to figure out why we have a different emotional attachment to the Red Sox than we do to the Patriots.

Specifically, why we are just mildly upset that the Patriots aren’t going to the Super Bowl but we get perturbed when the Red Sox underachieve.

Shouldn’t it be the other way around?

The Patriots won three Super Bowls in five years and, if they had been able to convert on a third-and-four in the waning minutes of Sunday’s 38-34 loss to the Indianapolis Colts, they would be gunning for a fourth title in six years.

Just one play away. Four stinking yards.

In 2004, the Red Sox won their first World Series in 86 years.

We will get over the Patriots’ second-half collapse against Indy because spring training gets under way on Feb. 18.

So why are we more passionate about the Red Sox than the much more successful Patriots?

First of all, the Red Sox have been a franchise since 1901. The Boston Patriots became a reality in the old American Football League in 1960.

Secondly, when you go 86 years between championships, the fans develop a special bond. You know the adage “Misery loves company.” You can accrue a ton of misery in 86 years and it is passed down from generation to generation.

So the company grows and grows and grows and it becomes like a fraternity: Sigma No Titles.

The Red Sox bridge the cultural gap. A lobster fisherman and a district court judge with virtually nothing in common could carry on a long conversation about the Red Sox and their history.

Another reason: just about everybody has been to Fenway Park. There are 81 chances to go to Fenway during a season, although getting tickets without having to mortgage your house is getting more difficult every year.

Not everyone has been to Gillette Stadium where you have just eight opportunities to see a regular-season game each year.

Another point: baseball is in the news year-round.

There is a vibrant offseason known as the hot stove league which encompasses trades and acquisitions, rumors about possible trades and acquisitions, and discussion about them.

There aren’t many trades in the NFL.

If there is a trade, it usually involves swapping draft positions or trading a player for draft choices.

It’s rare to have a player-for-player swap.

So, with the exception of the draft, football is pretty much out-of-sight and out-of-mind between the Super Bowl and the start of training camp.

Baseball has many more characters and legends than football.

Some baseball players are as well known for their off-field exploits as their on-field accomplishments.

Every professional baseball player can tell you some entertaining yarns about life in the minors and those long bus trips and seedy hotels.

Movies like “Bull Durham” paint a humorous picture of those colorful experiences.

There is also something to be said for our outlook on life, which is better in the spring, summer, and early fall.

That’s when we have good weather and baseball.

Baseball is clearly America’s pastime.

The Patriots, with their injuries, certainly overachieved in coming as close to reaching another Super Bowl as they did.

They are one of the top franchises in sports. We are very fortunate to have them.

But they aren’t the Red Sox.

Larry Mahoney can be reached at 990-8231, 1-800-310-8600 or by email at lmahoney@bangordailynews.net.