Re: WVMT, WPTR new home of EXPOS?

[Garrett Wollman <wollman>]

<<On Sat, 1 Apr 2000 23:15:29 EST, Sptseditor@aol.com said:

> Burlington, but I always thought that upper New England/New York was still 
> very much Sox country.

Speaking as someone who grew up in Vermont... I never cared about the
Red Sox until I moved to Boston.  Baseball loyalties are pretty evenly
split between Boston, New York (more the Yanks than the Mets), and
Montreal, with a small cadre loyal to the only team (Toronto) seen on
broadcast television with any regularity.

Football is split among New England and the three New York teams.  When
the AFC was on NBC, WPTZ tended to carry the Jets or the Bills rather
than the Pats; I don't know what WCAX is doing these days.

Hockey used to be solidly Montreal, but since I left a large
Philadelphia fan base has sprung up thanks to UVMer and St. Albans
native John LeClair.  I'd bet there are probably a sizeable number of
Senators fans now, since Ottawa is only three to four hours away and
they have a winning team.

Basketball was the only sport which was pretty solidly Boston-leaning.

It all boils down to two questions: what can you see on TV, and how
far would you have to drive to see a game?  Driving time from
Burlington to various cities:

	Montreal - 90 minutes
	Ottawa - 3-4 hours
	Hartford - 4 hours (more from the N.Y. side)
	Boston - 5 hours (much more from the N.Y. side)
	New York - 6-7 hours (less from the N.Y. side)
	Buffalo, Toronto, Philadelphia - 8-9 hours

So, if you have a hankering to see a real live hockey or baseball
game, the Molson Centre or the Big Owe is  much more convenient than
the FleeceCenter or Fenway.  (Of course, at the time I lived in
Burlington, we would have considered the Forum versus the Gahden.  One
of my biggest regrets is never having seen the Habs play at the hockey
gods' temple.)

-GAWollman