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by Catherine Ann Buckler
BOSTON (WBZ NewsRadio) — Red Sox and Patriots fans have dismissed the title "City of Cheaters" given to Boston after years of scandals—famous controversies which include "Deflategate" and "Spygate."
Most recently, the Red Sox Organization has been accused of using their video replay to steal signs between opposing pitchers and catchers during the 2018 World Series Championship Season, and the Patriots had their own videotape scandal this season.
So how have Boston locals reacted to the slander?
"Sore losers, that's what I got to say," one fan told WBZ NewsRadio's James Rojas.
Some believe the allegations stem from jealousy over the city's consistent sports victories. One local told Rojas "it's a bunch of malarkey, people don't like when you're doing so great, you know?
Not everyone cares that we're "doing so great." Boston was ranked number one in For the Win's list answering "Which Sports City Is The Easiest To Hate?"
"Remember when Boston sports were most closely associated with the Red Sox as lovable, cursed losers? Me neither," Ted Berg at For the Win wrote. "That’s long gone now, but the giant chip on Boston sports fans’ shoulders remains even now that their teams seem to win in every freaking sport every freaking season."
Even NPR felt the need to top a story about Boston teams winning with the following: "A warning to readers, this story may induce nausea in some sports fans, particularly those outside Boston."
Insight Pest Solutions revealed in a study they published September 2019 that the Pats and the B's took home gold for "Which Fans 'Bug' People The Most?" (however, Red Sox fans came in second to the New York Yankees for fans who 'bug' the most in the MLB).
In that same study, the Patriots also came in first for which city's sports fans 'bug people the most' regardless of sport. The number of polled fans who think the Pats' fanbase is annoying, 12.08 percent, was more than double the number of those who found the LA Lakers to be annoying.
Sometimes Boston fans are their own enemies: the Insight Pest Solutions study ranked NFL fanbases that had the highest percentage of voters who found their own fans most annoying, and the Patriots came in first.
People seem to also look for non-sports reasons to dislike Boston fans. A Grammarly study found that Boston sports fans have bad grammar, and specifically Patriots fans have the worst grammar, according to CBS Boston—although readers can take this with a grain of salt, as the article points out "these numbers certainly don’t provide a definitive picture of any entire fanbase. These are just the fans who bother to comment on articles on the internet."
One sentiment remains clear—Bostonians believe in their teams.
"I don't agree with it, not at all, we're the City of Champions, that's it," another fan told Rojas.
WBZ NewsRadio's James Rojas (@JamesRojasWBZ) reports
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