I know it is a pretty odd question but before I get into the article, hear me out. I recently had a conversation with a few people at work about the state of the current Bruins fan (please note, throughout this article [insert team name] fan is used as the fan base itself) and most of the people classified the group as hardcore, casual and puck bunnies. Yes, the term puck bunnies was used. One person however said that the Bruins fan reminds him of the Red Sox fan before their World Series title in 2004.

For some reason, that though stuck with me for a week or two now. I always wanted to write an article once my co-worker said that because I can see the similarity between the two. Before 2004, the Red Sox spent a very long 86 years trying to win a World Series. The franchise went through managers, players, general managers and even an ownership change before the Baseball Gods smiled on the Fenway Faithful and delivered a championship.

There are similarities between the Bruins fan and the pre-2004 Red Sox fan:

• Each are very passionate about their team despite some terrible performances throughout the years.
• Each have been broken hearted by (missed) plays in their respective playoffs

For the Red Sox, the two moments I'm about to show have caused fans to cry, scream, curse and even become violent. The first moment happened when I was a mere 3 years old, so I have no memory of the environment around me. It's a tale of Red Sox lore that in 1986, the Red Sox were on the verge of winning their first World Series since 1918. Everyone who cheered for the red and white believe that this was the year, Jim Rice was an All-Star selection and hit 100 RBI and the Sox were rolling...well until:

(Moment at 3:18)

The ball rolled between Bill Buckner's legs. There were three things that will ALWAYS be remembered by Red Sox fans (before 2003):

1. Bucky "bleeping" Dent
2. Carlton Fisk's home run in the 1975 World Series
3. The ball rolling between Bill Buckner's legs

Before the 2003 playoffs, these were the only things that Red Sox fans had to cling on to. Surprisingly, there was a happy moment with Fisk, but the other two wore Red Sox fans thin...well until the 2003 ALCS against the Yankees.

For a "new" generation of Red Sox fans though, there were no real memories of defeat. There was no real heart breaking moment that made us fall to our knees in disbelief or stare at the television silently as tears streamed down our faces. Sure, we've been upset, but nothing like Bucky Dent's home run or Bill Buckner's error.

Flash back to the 2003 ALCS where the Red Sox and Yankees were locked in an epic struggle. The game where "Grady left Pedro in to long" seemed like it would play out for the rest of the night and into tomorrow morning. A virtual no name 3rd baseman named Aaron Boone came to the plate and destroyed Boston with one swing of the bat.

After that happened, the Red Sox finally allowed us to weep once more, but this time it was tears of joy as they swept the St. Louis Cardinals in the 2004 World Series and everything was right with the world.

A fan's perspective of the celebration

So now that the Red Sox fan has their two World Series Championships (2004, 2007), The Patriots fan can snack on their three Super Bowl Victories (2001, 2003, 2004 and an appearance in 2007) and the Celtics fan can wrap themselves up in their NBA Championship banner (2008), what can the Bruins fan do?

I'll fight tooth and nail that the Bruins fan is the most passionate fan in the city of Boston. Yes, you have the Red Sox and Patriots apparel everywhere, but since when does wearing a hat, jersey, sneakers, t-shirt, wristbands, etc, make you the most passionate? Passion doesn't live on a jersey, it lives in your soul. The Bruins fan eats, breaths, and bleeds hockey, it's not an opinion, its a fact.

Hockey in Boston has been mistreated by the main stream media, as you can read in my article called "The Bastardization of Hockey In Boston" so the Bruins fan doesn't have the luxury of watching highlights on ESPN and have to wait for NESN to run something. If you want to hear Bruins banter on the radio, well don't hold your breath because you may pass out. There is very little Bruins talk on the radio unless it is the playoffs.

So many of you Bostonians who know very little about your black and gold step-brother may not know about the past, but I'll do my best to help you out.

In two years (2012), the Bruins will have gone 40 years without winning the Stanley Cup. 40 years! The last time the Bruins won the Stanley Cup was 1972 and I wasn't even close to a thought in the minds of my parents, who were pre-teens at the time.

To me, there are two major moments in which the Bruins have had heart breaking moments, both occurring in the playoffs. The first is in the 1990 Stanley Cup Finals, where it seems everything that could go wrong, did go wrong. The first was the lights going out at the Boston Garden while the Bruins had the lead. The second was a moment that changed the outcome of the Stanley Cup Finals.

With time ticking away, Glen Wesley had a chance to end the game when the puck was on his stick and the Edmonton net was wide open. Wesley roofed the puck though and the game went into 3 overtimes until Petr Klima scored at 15:13.

I apologize for no video of the moment, but I haven't been able to find one on YouTube. If anyone is able to find this, please let me know.

The second one was much like the Red Sox second moment. It's something for the "new" generation of Bruins fan who haven't had many heart breaking moments because the team hasn't been any good. Last season, Boston lit the NHL on fire and took everyone by surprise as they ended the season with the #1 seed in the Eastern Conference. The Bruins ran through the Montreal Canadiens, which gave us this gem:

But the moment came in the next series against the Carolina Hurricanes. The Bruins played terrible throughout the entire series, but with flashes of brilliance were able to come back to Boston for a game 7 that went into overtime. The Bruins played hard that night but Boston's playoff villain Scott Walker ended the game and broke the hearts of everyone who cheer for the boys in the black.

So my answer to you people is yes, the current Bruins fan has morphed into what the pre-2004 Red Sox fan was. We're a passionate fan base that has witnessed more heart break than smiles but we keep coming back because we love our team and we love the sport they play. The terrible play, the mismanaged cap, the trading of captains, and not winning a playoff series in 10 years (before last year) is something that will always sit with us. Much like the Red Sox fan before 2004 however, we come back hoping that this year will be our year and we'll be able to skip out of work and watch Duck Boats drive by us while someone holds a Stanley Cup high above their head.

Much like the Red Sox fan, we're scarred from what we've had to sit through, but we keep coming back.

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