That's Your Mayor

Now that we're on the topic of ill-informed politicians when it comes to sports, I can't pass up this chance to take a little jab at that city in Massachusetts where pronouncing the letter "R" is optional, but obnoxious sports fandom is mandatory. The above video is from a ceremony in Boston to unveil a new Bobby Orr statue outside of TD Garden. The man speaking (and I use that term loosely, since he sounds like he has rubber cement in his mouth) is, remarkably, Mayor Thomas Menino. That's right, the Mayor of Boston managed to confuse Adam Vinatieri with Jason Varitek at the end of that little speech, which also included him labeling some of the city's great athletes and moments as "ionic" as opposed to "iconic." I guess he means that Boston athletes are so great, not only are their accomplishments celebrated for generations, but they are also able to form non-metal/metal compounds.

So apparently, it was Jason Varitek kicking the field goals that provided the winning margins in Super Bowls XXXVI, XXXVIII, and XXXIX. And I guess that means Adam Vinatieri is actually the switch-hitting catcher who sports a garish eyesore of a captain's "C" on his jersey. Could have fooled me. Although, in a certain respect, I can see how Mr. Menino can get the two of them confused these days. Considering how bad the Sawks have been at stopping base stealers, they might as well have Adam Vinatieri back there behind the plate. But alas, don't fret dear Chowderheads. This tidbit of embarrassment will be gone shortly, when something else becomes the story du jour, at which point we'll simply go back to disliking your city for the usual offenses, i.e. bestowing the Dropkick Murphys upon the world and being the reason that ESPN is 80% unwatchable on a good day.