City of Champions DVD Review
I’m sure by now many of you already own City of Champions: The Best of Boston Sports DVD. I assume the vast majority of you have at least heard about the DVD or seen it advertised somewhere. Perhaps you’re wondering if it’s worth picking up a copy. Maybe you bought the woefully awful Boston Globe DVD that was released a few years ago and have vowed that you won’t get burned again.
Well, fear not. City of Champions claims that it is, “the most exciting and comprehensive Boston sports film ever created.” It is. Trust me. I’m not getting paid one red cent to say this but I would go so far as to say that you need to own this DVD if you’re any kind of Boston sports fan at all. I’m not saying you might like it. I’m not saying you should check it out if you get a chance. I’m flat-out telling you….you NEED to own this DVD. It’s that good.
So what’s so great about you ask? Well, it’s a lot of things. The music. The highlights. The great plays and the great players. But it’s more than that. Anyone undertaking a task like this would nail certain things. Fisk’s HR in ’75. Orr’s Cup-clincher in ’70. “Havlicek stole the ball.” Flutie’s Hail Mary. And don’t get me wrong. All that stuff is great. I could watch those signature plays over and over and over. They need to be there. But what I loved are all the little things they threw in there too. That’s what puts it over the top for me; little moments that only Boston sports fan would appreciate.
There are literally hundreds of these moments tucked away in on the DVD. There are far too many to name them all. In fact, part of the fun of owning it, and watching it multiple times, is that you catch something new every time. But let me point out just a few them. If this doesn’t convince you that this is a must-own product I’m not sure what to tell you. You obviously don’t have the same memories that I have.
In no particular order…
-John Havlicek addressing the crowd at his final game in the Boston Garden saying simply, “Thank you Boston. I love you.”
-A slow camera shot from the old elevated Green Line looking up at the old North Station: Boston Garden signs. Just a quintessential shot.
-Ray Bourque leading the Bruins out of the locker room. Anyone that went to a Bruins game in the 80’s can remember the ritual…the visiting team comes out onto the Garden ice first amid boos (extremely loud boos if it was the Canadiens or a playoff game), then a brief pause, and then the Bruins coming out from the corner with Bourque blowing past Moog or Lemelin or whoever was starting that night, to lead his team on the ice.
-Bird running up the tunnel at the Garden and onto the floor with his warm-ups on. Vintage Larry.
-McHale clothes-lining Rambis in the ’84 Finals. A moment that just had to be there.
-Red Auerbach crowing “I hope they know who won the World’s Championship” after another Celtics title.
-The Patriots coming out as a team before Super Bowl XXXVI. Maybe a simple thing but, for all the stuff they show from the recent Patriot Super Bowl runs, and there’s a lot, that’s the kind of thing that could easily have been left out and it shouldn’t be left out.
-M.L. Carr waving the towel.
-Reggie Lemelin doing the pump after eliminating the Habs in ’88.
-Bill Buckner catching the final out of the ’86 AL East clincher against the Blue Jays and trying to hobble and jump around in celebration while Rich Gedman pumps his fist and carries Oil Can Boyd with one arm.
-McHale and Walton acknowledging each other in jubilation at the end of the ’86 Finals. Unbridled joy on Walton’s face.
-Bruno’s catch to clinch the Al East in 1990.
-Eason to Collins for a TD and Raymond Berry getting carried off the field after the ’85 AFC Championship win over the Dolphins.
-Bird’s bank shot in the waning moments of Game 7 of the ’81 Eastern Conference Finals to cap off the amazing comeback over the 76ers. And then there’s an amazing shot of the crowd rushing the court as Bird jumps up and down with his hands behind his head. You see a guy come storming out in a green half-shirt and red wind pants to hug Bird. You see a guy in a classic yellow Bruins t-shirt. You see a guy wearing a red and white high school hockey jersey. You see a guy going bananas in a 1981 World Champs t-shirt even though the Celtics haven’t won the title yet.
-More Red Auerbach after yet another Celtics championship….”Whatever happened to the Los Angeles dynasty? Here’s where it is…right here!”
-Rodney Harrison with his arm in a sling, tears in his eyes and his hand in the air as confetti pours down from the sky after Super Bowl XXXVIII.
-“That’s a dumb-ass question. Give me a break with that crap.” -Bill Parcells
-Johnny Most, uncensored…”There is a violent, violent knockdown by Laimbeer and Bird just smacked him! Oh my! Oh, the yellow, gutless way they do things here! They have been called a dirty ballclub and I can see why! This is a typical, disgusting display by Rodman, Laimbeer and Isiah Thomas! And they told me I shouldn’t say bad things about Isiah and I say ‘why not!’”
-“I look out into the crowd and I see one thing that typifies our season. Moses does eat s***.” -Larry Bird addressing the fans at City Hall Plaza at a victory celebration.
-Al Nipper interviewing Roger Clemens as they hold a baseball that’s been lit on fire.
-All of the Doug Flutie highlights that aren’t the Hail Mary. Flutie firing a pass from his own end zone against Alabama. Flutie firing a long TD pass against West Virginia. Flutie throwing for a TD on the run against North Carolina. A sign in a crowd saying Flutie For President. Flutie running the bootleg for a TD against the Colts and the leaping spike over his head.
-Bill Buckner’s ceaselessly amazing quote before the ’86 Series…”The dreams are that you’re going to have a great Series and win. The nightmares are that you’re going to let the winning run score on a ground ball through your legs.”
-And finally, Tom Brady, the conquering hero, on the podium with his hands in the air as the red, white and blue confetti falls after Super Bowl XXXVI.
Questions? Comments? Send feedback to Michael James at feedback@barstoolsports.com