“It could flip back” - Boston sports writer admits Patriots could become less popular than Boston Red Sox without Tom Brady

Bostonians take their professional sports (and Tom Brady) seriously. Whether its New England Patriots, the Boston Red Sox, or the Boston Celtics. Every title win in the last 20 years has elevated the city’s professional teams to the wider exposure of the national media.

Before 2000, the Patriots and Red Sox were mired in losses or an eight-decade long curse attributed to New York Yankees great (also a former Red Sox player) Babe Ruth.

After six titles over two decades, Tom Brady and Bill Belichick were the toast of the Bean Town. Brady is now down in Tampa Bay and Belichick is rebuilding the Patriots into title contenders. One Boston sports writer argues that the Patriots might take a back seat to the Red Sox now that Brady is no longer with the team.

Veteran sports writer Bob Ryan weighed in on this issue in a podcast and suggested that without Brady, the Patriots would not be as popular as the baseball team.

“Well, it used to be in the old days, it was true 20 years ago, maybe even up to 10 years ago. Well, that you could write but you couldn't, you had obligation. I must write something about baseball 365 days a year in the Boston paper. And now that's flipped. It's the Patriots. They're the currency, they're number one...”

Tom Brady’s popularity in Boston

For someone who spearheaded nine Super Bowl trips in 20 years with Boston and delivered six titles, Tom Brady stands alone in Boston sports in terms of popularity.

Arguably, Bill Russell and Larry Bird round out the Mount Rushmore of Boston sports legends. But at least,in the 21st century, Brady has few peers in the city.

Given the parity of NFL, unlike most other sports, including the NBA and MLB, it’s difficult to duplicate championship wins, much less win championships six times. Other than TB12, only LeBron James and Tim Duncan might come close to having the same stature as Bradys.

James in particular holds a special place in Cleveland because of the city’s long championship drought in any major professional sport. Tim Duncan was the foundation of 19 years of the San Antonio Spurs never missing the playoffs and winning 5 NBA titles in that span.

The multiple NFL titles due to Tom Brady running his team's offense for 20 years is a big reason why the Patriots overtook Red Sox in popularity over the last two decades.

Tom Brady also cultivated an image through the media and other mediums to become the face of the franchise and the NFL. Current Patriots quarterback Mac Jones is coming off his rookie year and he will have a chance to cultivate his own path – as long as he delivers the Super Bowl wins.