Fans of Boston-based sports teams are spoiled. The Celtics have the most championships in NBA history, the Red Sox have won three very recent titles, the Bruins are a historic Original Six team with six Stanley Cup victories, and the Patriots have completely reversed their losing ways of the 20th century. Still, in the eyes of your average Bostonian, it’s just not good enough.

Despite the widely-held opinion that the Bay State is the hub of professional sports, Boston aficionados still cannot help being as insufferable as possible. Sure, all four of the major teams have toiled in mediocrity at various points in their respective histories. But that was then, and this is now.

This “championship or bust” attitude certainly doesn’t help Boston’s image, and it probably explains why so many people would rather see the Patriots lose than see their own team win.

As you can see, the sports scene in Boston is unrecognizable from its counterpart in Harvard Square. Harvard fans were likely disappointed after Yale’s upset win, but for them, life goes on. On the other hand, after the Red Sox bowed out of the American League Division Series to the Cleveland Indians this past season, people were ready to riot in the streets.

Yes, there is a difference between professional and collegiate athletics, but many people follow college football and basketball much more passionately than NFL or NBA fans. Look no further than Alabama’s Bryant-Denny Stadium, with a seating capacity of over 100,000, or the annual hype over March Madness.

In summary: treating a game as a life-or-death situation is probably not going to do wonders for your blood pressure, but it might be better to care about the result a bit more than we unbiased journalists do. Regardless of all my complaining, let’s just be grateful for one thing—at least we don’t go to school in New Haven.

—Staff writer Jack Stockless can be reached at jack.stockless@thecrimson.com