Boston is the home to a number of major sports teams and a major hub for all professional New England sports. The Boston Red Sox is one of the most legendary baseball teams in Major League Baseball history and Fenway Park, its home playing field, is the oldest in the nation. The Boston Celtics (basketball) is another historic and well known professional team, although less popular than baseball. The New England Patriots (American football) are another nationally revered and widely popular team hailing from the Boston area and representing the people of Boston. Currently another of these highly esteemed professional sports teams is once again trying to make history by winning another Stanley Cup (the international championship) title- The Boston Bruins hockey team. When the Bruins reached the 2011 Stanley Cup Finals, the city of Boston became the first city in the 21st Century to have all four of its major professional league teams win a league championship, and it is the only city in the nation to ever to have championships in all four major professional leagues within a ten-year span. Because of this and an already extremely high level of hometown pride, Boston fans have become nationally infamous for their fanatical following of the Bruins and the other Boston professional sports teams.
Click map to enlarge map and see the most popular sports by country
Although ice hockey is not the most popular sport in the U.S., in fact both baseball and American football overwhelmingly outnumber the sport in fan following, it has become fanatically popular in this northeastern region of the country. Considered a Canadian sport by many of the southern U.S. states who solely have eyes for American football, the cold weather climate and historic importance of the Boston Bruins (the first professional American hockey team) and rink, known as the TD Garden (or the Garden to Boston natives) has made fan participation in this sport almost as common as American football in Boston. This is exacerbated as the Bruins enter the second round of play-offs facing longtime Canadian rivals, the Montreal Canadiens. So far the series is 1-1. This means both teams have won one game. The two teams will continue to play games against each other with the winner of the best out of seven (the team to first reach 4 wins against the other) will advance in the playoffs and compete to win the Stanley Cup title and national recognition as the 2014 ice hockey champions.
So with excitement brewing in the professional ice hockey, whether you are one of these Bruin fanatics or simply enjoy watching local professional sports, watching the Bruins playoffs is a great way to engage an international student. In many countries the most popular sport is soccer (football in the map above) which dominates the sports channels and news sections. Learning about new and regional sports such as ice hockey and Boston teams is a great way to teach and learn about new cultures. If you or a student is interested in watching the games, they are aired on most major sports channels such as NESN or NBCS and are currently happening much more frequently due to the nature of National Hockey League (NHL) playoffs. To see a schedule of upcoming games click here. To learn more about these Boston sports teams, the Boston Bruins, and the Stanley cup click the links provided. And go Bs!
Are you a Boston sports fan? What is your favorite type of sports? Have you ever watched hockey before? We want to know!
Sources: http://i.imgur.com/gLJZbix.jpg http://www.boston.com/sports/hockey/bruins/
