As always, it’s good to hear from the men on the topic at hand. On any topic, it’s good to go to the collective wisdom of the men and see what is to be shared and revealed. This month we hear from the men posting on social media, in answer to this question: “In your opinion, what has been the best “team” in history and why?
NP – The 86 Mets because they were great and they knew it. Completely unstoppable.
Tom McCarter – My first thought was The Jimi Hendrix experience. A black musician who could play guitar like no one before or since, teams up with two white guys and play rock that transcends everything that was being performed at the time.
Jim Ellis – I’m thinking the Chicago Bears 1985 since they were a monster on defense – one huge unified unit that had attack on its mind. Swarming like a bunch of killer Bs. Most offenses didn’t have a chance. And the Bears’ offense? Nothing but sweetness.
Joe Copp – 1927 Yankees. Just missed that one but I’ve heard. Too many great names to overlook Just F-ing daunting.
BS – 1959 White Sox but only because they sent me individually autographed 8×10 black and white photos of each member of the team with a personally signed letter from Al Lopez. Hero for the summer on S. Vermont St. in Mason City, IA.
FT – UCONN women’s basketball team. 111 straight wins between 11/2014 and 3/2017.
MH – 1996 Yankees. TEAM NO 1.
KB – Dogtown Z-Boys. or Celtics ’86.
Jmarshall Stein – Any team with camaraderie that’s got each others back and contributes to the Community is my best team1
Eric Mortimer – Soaring Eagles – Noble, Langille, Boychuk, Blake, Lo Pinto, Titus, Rogers, Gord, Waites, Freeman, Thibodeau.
Pete Hymans – Clearly the best team in history (during my lifetime) was the New York Fire Department on September 11, 2001 following the devastation of the collapse of the three buildings in New York. 343 firefighters died on the day of 911 and since then an additional 200 have died from Ground Zero-related causes. The courage, cohesiveness and determination of these brave and selfless men stands tall above any sports teams in my mind.
SF – (Responding to the above from Pete Hymans) In the Autumn of 2003, while I was still practicing law in Manhattan, I represented the NYFD. Specifically, I took 50 separate “9/11 First Responders”, one at a time over a period of months, for their under-oath hearing to provide evidence for their claim for the federal victims compensation fund, and also the class action lawsuit in New York. 50 men, one at a time, recounting (under oath) what they did on 9/11, 9/12, 9/13, and for weeks and months thereafter – digging through the asbestos-filled waste in lower Manhattan. By late 2003, their lungs, sinuses, respiratory and pulmonary functionality and, in general, their lives were SHOT. – Each one of these brave men was a hero and a rescuer, and they suffered permanent disabling injuries because of it. Their physical, emotional, spiritual, financial, and family health all suffered. Many of these men had not opened up in the two years between 9/11 and their late-2003 evidence hearing; never discussed it with a therapist, priest, no one. So, their evidence hearing was the first time many of them were compelled to discuss the events in full, and it was devastating. I had 6ft 6in 250 lb former Marines breaking down into sobbing fits. It was f*cking intense, and I was grateful to be able to help in any way I could. Hymans, thank you for acknowledging them; they were truly one of the best teams in history.
MM – Team Wolfpack, because I am a part of it.
John D. Lozauskas – That’s an EZ one. Blood Brothers out of NYC who started in maybe ’83 and are still going strong today even though the men are scattered around the globe. A strong second would be the Brooklyn Bucket Brigade who left the NY Men’s Division in the late ’80’s before I did my men’s weekend. They still meet at Camp Friendship in Brooklyn and they are at the core of the Gang’s of New York.
Rich E – Men’s Team wise – I think the Magnificent Seven who have been meeting since about early 1982.
Tom Mac – World War II. We all got together and defeated a very sick dictator and we did it together.
Brad Leslie – The COASTMASTERS – Russell, Hook, Bryce, Watson, BORIS etc. The Original COASTMASTERS (below) – Mar ’88
Justin LaBarge – The Revolutionaries – they had a vision for America, and they staked their lives on it. They created the potential for so much, to have a free democracy, to modernize democracy with a checks and balance system across an entire political spectrum, one in which they did not often agree.
Jack Brown – Maybe the US Women’s soccer team from 2015-2019. Dominated with teamwork, and instinctively knowing where their teammates would be. Or the Navy Seals that took out Bin Laden. Nothing else to say. Had a job, did the job! Or the team at NASA that brought back Apollo 13. Especially knowing my cell phone has more computer capability than all of theirs combined!
Patrick Allard – The A team. C’mon!
BW – Duracel in Toronto … That team was a powerhouse… Amazing history/legacy… Produced DCs and RCs and International Managers… At the time, they were the team other teams wanted to be like…
RG – Poker Canyon in Los Angeles. The Kingmakers.
Hymans wins!
NYCFD without a doubt.