David Ortiz was refreshing and blunt Saturday, inspiring Boston and its fans with these simple words: ‘‘This is our (expletive) city, and nobody is gonna dictate our freedom. Stay strong.’’ 14 words.When it came to ‘f-bombs’ – he indeed dropped the Big One. Ortiz’s words – vulgarities and all – put a bow on the most difficult week in the city’s history since muskets fired on Bunker Hill.
His quote now rests a top the list of all-time memorable Boston sports quotes. He wasn’t the first athlete to hold the public microphone and use one of those infamous “seven famous dirty words” that so many of us hear from Dad each time the Bruins fail on the power play, the Red Sox give up a home run, the Celtics miss a free throw, or the Patriots drop a pass.
Boston has produced some memorable sports quotes, from athletes, coaches and even team owners.
There were several examples of eloquence from the Boston sports community following Monday’s attacks, including words of defiance from Red Sox third baseman Will Middlebrooks via his Twitter feed – “I can’t wait to put my jersey today…I get to play for the strongest city out there. #BostonStrong” – and plain-spoke emotional truths like “Boston isn’t a city, it’s a family” – from the Globe’s own Chad Finn.
With some inspiration from Big Papi—here’s a list of some of our favorite Boston sports quotes of all time – not including game-calls.
Jim Rogash
