The past year in New England sports has been a memorable one. And a newly released survey is painting a picture of how this year has affected fans’ opinions of the local teams.
In this year’s edition of the New England Sports Survey, conducted by Channel Media and Market Research, over 16,000 local fans expressed their feelings about players, teams, and coaches. The Patriots earned the most votes in several categories including favorite sports team, best ownership (Robert Kraft) and leadership (Bill Belichick), most improved team in a year, and most likely to win another championship. The Bruins received the distinction of the year’s worst sports moment. Here are the results:
Overall team grades and top votes
Patriots: A+
Most admired: Tom Brady; Runner up: Julian Edelman
How long will Brady be the quarterback: 2 years (50 percent), 3 years (29 percent)
Most disappointing player: Cyrus Jones
Player they desire the most to join the team: Patrick Mahomes II
Favorite player to win a championship: Tom Brady
Least favorite player to win a championship: Darrelle Revis
Improvements: Pay Tom Brady, treat Tom Brady like the GOAT, keep/extend Bill Belichick, find a real and viable replacement for Tom Brady, secure solid wide receivers, sign good tight ends
Red Sox: C
Most admired: Mookie Betts; Runner up: Xander Bogaerts
Most disappointing: Chris Sale
Player most desired: Shane Greene
Favorite player to win a championship: David Ortiz
Least favorite player to win a championship: Daisuke Matsuzaka
Improvements: Trade for a solid closer, acquire/trade for better middle relief pitching, improve pitching staff, extend Mookie Betts contract, avoid long term signings that are too expensive
Celtics: B
Most admired: Marcus Smart; Runner up: Al Horford
Most disappointing player: Kyrie Irving
Player they desire the most to join the team: Giannis Antetokounmpo
Favorite player to win a championship: Bill Russell
Least favorite player to win a championship: Rajon Rondo
Improvements: Play unselfish basketball, get a big game, stronger game strategy, play defense, move faster down the court.
Bruins: A-
Most admired: Patrice Bergeron; Runner up: Brad Marchand
Most disappointing player: David Backes
Player they desire the most to join the team: Connor McDavid
Favorite player to win a championship: Bobby Orr
Least favorite player to win a championship: Tyler Seguin
Improvements: Stronger puck movement, be more physical/tougher on the ice, don’t let the best players go unsigned, more physical players, acquire a true goal scorer/sharpshooter
NE Revolution: B+
Most admired: Cristian Penilla; Runner up: Diego Fagundez
Most disappointing player: Gustavo Bou
Player they desire the most to join the team: Cristiano Ronaldo
Things they can do to improve attendance: Have a “soccer only” stadium, more media coverage, keep Bruce Arena, more marketing of the team, get more well known players/European stars
Deyscha Smith can be reached at deyscha.smith@globe.com. Follow her on Twitter @deyschasmith.