Da Red Sox are wicked good, da Patriots are wicked good, da Celtics have a chance to be wicked good, and Boston is giving me a wicked case of sports jealousy.

While it might seem that Boston’s triumphs would cause New York fans the most pain, it should be Chicago fans who are suffering, because every Boston success this year has been a cruel reminder of a Chicago sports franchise’s failure.

I remember not that long ago when the Red Sox and the Cubs were in the same championship-cursed boat. We both had long championship droughts. We both had our scapegoats like Buckner, Bartman, Boone and Brock. We both had our chances in the past and let them blow right by us – or rather right between our legs.

Then the Red Sox did what Cubs fans can only dream about: They spent money like a major-market city should and won the elusive World Series championship.

Now the Red Sox are in their second Fall Classic in four years and they have the right mixture of young talent and skilled veterans to be one of the most dominant teams for years to come.

All of this, of course, is happening while the Cubs and their fans watch from home yet again.

I’ll give the Cubs credit for at least going out and spending money to put together what looked like a championship team on paper, but as we all know, the expectations of this season’s squad were never met.

While the Red Sox owned the AL most of the season, the Cubs put their fans through one of the most lackluster division races in recent history. As the Sox had great performances from Ortiz and Beckett, the Cubs’ star hitters all struggled to find their swing at some point during the season and their $91.5 million ace couldn’t throw strikes. While Boston rolled past the Angels and had an amazing playoff comeback against the Indians, the Cubs were busy getting swept and practicing their golf swing against the Diamondbacks as they swung at almost every pitch below their knees.

As for the Patriots, they’ve been the modern definition of an NFL dynasty, and while that’s reason enough to be jealous, the Patriots also have the franchise quarterback that Bears fans have been craving for as long as I can remember.

The evolution of Tom Brady from unknown backup to Super Bowl Champion has been something to behold. With his entry to the Hall of Fame secure, Brady is now within striking distance of the capstone record for most touchdowns thrown in a season. His 27 touchdown passes through Week 7 have him on pace to throw 61 touchdowns – a mark that would shatter the previous record by 12. With a great receiving corps and one of the league’s best defenses, Brady has a very realistic chance of breaking the record and cementing himself as one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time.

As we’ve experienced in Chicago, though, things behind center haven’t been quite so Brady-like. Everyone knows the quarterback position has been a “revolving door” at Halas Hall for years, but the real disappointment has been the fall of Rex Grossman.

Rex came to the Bears as the anointed savior, but we soon found that he was far from that. Instead, he embodied everything that was frustrating about a Chicago quarterback. His constant injuries, his lack of size and speed, his inability to perform in big games, and his tendency to make poor throwing decisions all led to his removal from the starter’s role. He is the anti-Brady in every way.

Then there’s the Celtics.

Although the regular season has yet to start and the Bulls may very well be the better team, the Celtics were able to pull off the mega-trade that the Bulls have wanted to do for years. Boston had to exchange what seemed like their whole roster for Kevin Garnett, but they were able to get him without losing franchise player Paul Pierce. With the edition of KG, the Celtics have gone from league joke to Eastern Conference contender without playing a game.

In Chicago, many speculate that the missing piece of the Bulls’ puzzle is the edition of a superstar-caliber player. With a great crop of young talent to deal, general manager John Paxson had the opportunity to bring Garnett to the Bulls without losing all of his core players, but he was unable to pull the trigger. Now with Garnett dealt and happy with his new team, the Bulls and their fans might be seeing green with KG in Boston.

I’ll try to curb my jealous thoughts for now and just enjoy it with you Boston fans because eventually things are going to go Chicago’s way and then we’ll see who has the last laugh, right?

Kyle Betts is a senior in Communications. He can be reached at [email protected].