Youk vs. Ray… Letters to Boston Faceoff

Both Ray Allen and Kevin Youkilis were Boston sports icons for the last several years.  Youkilis spent about 8 and a half years with the Boston Red Sox while Ray Allen spent 5 years with the Boston Celtics. As I’m sure most of you know, neither Youk nor Ray are with their former Boston organizations anymore.  Ray went to the Miami Heat (still not entirely forgiven) and Youkilis was traded to the Chicago White Sox.  Both players wrote letters to their respective Boston fan-bases.  I just wanted to take a moment to share these letters with you guys and see what you think.  

I’ll start with Ray’s because it’s… well quite brief:

Keepin' it brief

“Dear Celtics Fans,

For the past five years, my family and I took great pride in calling Boston Home.  We have loved living in this city, being members of the Celtics family and being part of your community.  These memories will be cherished forever.

From my heart, THANK YOU Boston for this incredible Journey.

Ray Allen #20”

Is this kind of half-hearted or is it just me?  Nowhere does he take time to talk about the Boston Celtics fan base or the organization.  Just ‘Ray Allen #20.’  Yeah I’m still mad that he signed with the Heat but this is pretty lame… isn’t it? 

To put things into perspective, let me show you the final paragraph of Youkilis’ page-long letter to the Red Sox organization and Red Sox Nation.  Keep in mind; this is after several thank you paragraphs and well wishes.

“And, last but no means least, to all the Red Sox Nation, the home of the most dedicated and knowledgeable fans in baseball, I thank you from the bottom of my heart.  That final game at Fenway was the most emotional day of my life on the baseball field.  It could not have been scripted any better.  And to all those kids out there in Red Sox Nation, I can give you my Dad’s advice.  ‘Life is like a throw to first base, always aim high.’

I love you all, and thanks,

Kevin Youkilis”

His last game at Fenway

Man what a classy way to address the fans and the city of Boston.  I won’t lie; I had never been a tremendous Youk fan.  But I gained so much respect for this guy and wish him all the best.  The guy is a class act.  His last paragraph was longer than Ray Allen’s entire ‘letter’ to Boston!  And as you read the letter from Youk, you can just tell how much heart he poured into it.  Seriously, kudos to Youk for being extremely classy towards the city of Boston despite all of the problems he had with Bobby V and the organization in his last year. He was one of the Red Sox most scrutinized players this year and you can see that he still had his heart in Boston.  If you want to read the full letter, and I highly recommend you do, click here.

So Ray vs. Youk… I think Youk wins by unanimous decision with a TKO.  I really thought Ray loved playing in Boston but with all of the recent events and this letter, I’m beginning to doubt that.  I’m sure he enjoyed it, but I’m just seeing a lack of heart right now.  Am I being too critical on Ray?  Perhaps.  But when you compare these two guys and how much they loved playing for their city, Youk takes it no questions asked. 

I mean… how can you not love this city?