Hoboken to Boston: From One Dirty River to Another

by Christopher M. Halleron
originally published April 17, 2013

As a columnist in the New York Metro area, you tend to feed the beast. I’ve written a lot of vitriol over the years, much of it directed at the professional sports teams of the Boston Metro area and their faithful supporters.

The early 2000s saw some of the fiercest clashes between the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox, and that’s when my polemics for Hoboken’s Hudson Reporter newspapers regarding the Red Menace reached their fever pitch.

I stand by all of it. I wouldn’t have any integrity if I said otherwise. The New York/Boston rivalry will never fade away, nor should it.

But it has certainly taken a backseat…

In fact, it’s almost surreal that it is even being discussed at all. When you see what happened at the Boston Marathon this past Monday, you react first and foremost as a human being. You acknowledge the multi-layered tragedy that unfolded before all our eyes, and you feel revulsion as you quite literally see the blood spilled at this international celebration of the human spirit. Secondly, I reacted as an American—I saw that an enemy, foreign or domestic, had committed an act of violence on American soil.

And then I reacted as myself. I have family in the area. Furthermore, I went to school in New England, where everyone was from “outside Baahsten.” I reached out to a few people and soon the connection was becoming more real. I had a college buddy who was actually running in the race. My cousin was in the stands a few blocks away. My friend’s sister had just left the area directly across the street from the blast. Thankfully they’re all okay. And I come to find out that one of my college lacrosse teammates is on the ground in Boston wearing full tactical gear, making sure they stay that way—a fact that comes as no surprise to a Norwich grad.

When the World Trade Center fell and when Sandy hit, people like these were among the first to call and see how I was doing. Of course I’m not the only one in Hoboken with a connection to Boston. With so many colleges in New England, and so many yuppies in Hoboken, there’s bound to be a significant overlap.

So to see all this discussion about the Yankees and Red Sox just seems out of place. Events like this surpass whatever is embroidered on your hat, reaching down into the fabric of your soul.

Whatever you need, Boston, let us know. We’re here for you, as you’ve been here for us.

Make no mistake—I‘ll never be a fan of the Red Sox, but I love that dirty water…

#OneBostonDay