Reasons to hate (or love) Boston

Atlanta Hawks

Reasons to hate (or love) Boston

An interactive asking readers to vote on all things Boston as Hawks play the Celtics in the playoffs.

Sam Adams beer: An overhyped and overpriced brew, or a vast improvement over cookie-cutter corporate American lagers?

Ben Affleck, with wife Jennifer Garner at the World Series last year, is the city's most visible celebrity fan. He's made more championship sporting events than good movies in the past decade.

Matt Damon, Hollywood A-list star and longtime pal of Affleck. You can't hate Private Ryan, right? RIGHT?

NBC's "Cheers" was a place where everybody knew your name (or so the theme song promised). It also was one of television's most popular comedies ever. But we're not going to re-open the old Kirstie Alley vs. Shelley Long debate.

Almost unexpectedly, the Hawks and Celtics have developed a sense of animosity toward each other during their NBA playoffs series. Now that it's gotten personal between the players, it's time for the rest of Atlanta to weigh in. How much should we hate Boston? Let's start with the Celtics' pompous behavior during the first four games of the series.

Celtics loyalists could hardly believe their ears last week when Mike Bibby said Boston fans are bandwagon jumpers. The green mob gave Bibby and the rest of the Hawks nothing but grief during Games 1 and 2 in Boston. Are Celtics fans loyal diehards or obnoxious fair-weather fans?

You didn't have to be a Lakers fan to despise the Larry Bird-era Celtics of the 1980s. Besides Bird, Robert Parrish and Kevin McHale were other members of that team who are now in the NBA's Hall of Fame.

Bill Belichick set new standards for arrogance and paranoia in a league that goes 32-deep at both positions. And if his trademark cut-off sleeves weren't the final straw, there's the possibility that he might be a cheat. Stay tuned for the conclusion of "Spygate: The Hoodie Years."

Not so long ago, the Red Sox were seen as cursed-yet-lovable losers, the American League's version of the Cubs. Now, they're the new Yankees: Two world titles in the past four years, and a huge payroll that keeps gobbling up an excess of talent. And clean those helmets already, will ya?

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Sam Adams beer: An overhyped and overpriced brew, or a vast improvement over cookie-cutter corporate American lagers?

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