By Eric Beard, a Bostonian writing from Emory University
Ask any New Englander and you?ll find that there?s only one football to be found in the region. Sure, the local MLS side, the New England Revolution, may play in the same stadium as the NFL?s New England Patriots (both owned by billionaire Robert Kraft), but the general public consciousness and amount of media coverage among the two organizations is not even comparable. You don?t go into an average bar in Boston and talk about the footy. You talk about the Red Sox, the Bruins, the Celtics, and the Patriots, arguably the most successful group of sports franchises out of any city in the world. The average Bostonian might be able to tell you, through vague recollection, about Clint Dempsey, but not much else. However, within a span of less than a week New England has experienced arguably its two biggest moments in the region?s history of developing the beautiful game since hosting World Cup matches in 1994 and having an MLS team come into existence the year after.
Though the Red Sox organization and New England Sports Venture (NESV) group will get all the media attention around the world for their takeover bid of the storied Liverpool Football Club, the fact that New England?s two true sports tycoons, Robert Kraft and John Henry, both made a�significant, long-term monetary�commitments to the beautiful game is indisputably a huge milestone. These events are not only meaningful to the game around Boston, but also for bringing progress to the perpetual struggle of getting the world?s game to be accepted by the mainstream American media, particularly in Boston.
Eugenio Castellotti Johnny Cecotto Andrea de Cesaris Francois Cevert
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