There’s a good chance that we’d have created some sort of quarter-century list no matter what happened in the first 25 years of this century in Boston sports.
It’s one of those milestone years that makes for a perfect opportunity to reflect a little bit and look ahead a little bit.
But it was especially notable after these 25 years.
Obviously, nobody on our staff had been alive for a Red Sox World Series title and the Patriots had never won a Super Bowl.
Only five of us were alive for a Celtics title and and just two for the Bruins. And suddenly, in a short period, they all won. It made for an amazing era that changed our expectations and even our worldview a little bit.
MassLive was in its infancy and digital journalism was just gaining a foothold during the early days of this century, too. The way we chronicled the early days of Tom Brady and the 2004 World Series looks different than our extensive coverage of the 2018 Red Sox or the 2024 Celtics. It’s been fun for our current staff to carry a baton for part of that evolution.
I had a moment where I thought, who’d be on the Quarter-Century Team of MassLive’s sports beat writer and inspiration struck.
To determine our quarter-century teams, we’d invite everybody who covered the Red Sox, Patriots, Celtics and Bruins for the Springfield Republican or MassLive to vote on the rosters. Our current thriving staff is built on the backs of what they accomplished.
Other than the late Garry Brown and Carlo Imelio, who were both legends for their coverage of the Red Sox and Patriots at the Springfield Republican, we found everyone and invited them.
Some declined. Some people were too busy or had moved beyond the journalism stage of their lives. But many others sent ballots and hopefully had fun participating.
Here’s the schedule of what’s to come:
Sunday, December 28 
Former New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady and former head coach Bill Belichick. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa, File)APPatriots Quarter Century TeamMonday, December 29Red Sox Quarter-Century TeamBruins Quarter-Century TeamTuesday, December 30
Boston Celtics, from left, Kevin Garnett, left, Ray Allen, and Paul Pierce celebrate in the locker room after winning the 2008 NBA basketball championship(AP Photo/Winslow Townson, File)APCeltics Quarter-Century TeamOur toughest calls when choosing the Quarter-Century Teams
Our look-ahead was a little more adventurous.
The goal was to take what we’ve learned and what we know and try to project who will be the most impactful people in the world of Boston sports for the next 25 years.
Wednesday, December 31