Story byTom CarrollMon, January 5, 2026 at 5:27 AM UTC·6 min readWith the Patriots clinching the No. 2 seed in the AFC for this upcoming postseason on Sunday, it got me thinking:Which pro team in Boston is the closest to winning the city its next championship?For those who haven’t been paying attention, the teams in this town have been on quite the run since February of 2002. AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementHere’s a look at the trophy case:- 13 championships- 20 conference championships- 33 semifinals appearances- 41 division titlesThat’s, for lack of a better word, bonkers. It’s been a lot of fun, but this is a what-have-you-done-for-me-lately town. Just because the Red Sox have won four World Series since 2004 doesn’t let them off the hook for having to compete for the Commissioner’s Trophy every year. That’s still the expectation. Same for the Patriots.