Pats glory makes football our official sports religion

Now that the Patriots have hoisted their fifth Lombardi Trophy in 16 seasons, New England has become the Texas of the north, where, regardless of what’s going on with Boston’s other three professional teams, the two hottest sports topics seem to always be either the NFL season or the NFL offseason.

Sure, there’ll always be an appetite in Boston to talk Bruins, Red Sox and Celtics, but in the more than a month since the Pats amazing, come-frombehind Super Bowl victory, sports talk radio and print media have been dominated by the following story lines: How much longer will Brady play? Will backup quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo be traded? Who will be back next year?

I can understand why pro football would dominate a sports market like Green Bay, where the Packers are the only game in town.

But in Boston, where sports fans are fortunate enough to watch competitive teams in the other three major sports leagues — which have combined for five championships since 2004 — it’s too bad that the Patriots seem to soak up all the attention, even in between seasons.

While we’re all talking Patriots, the Red Sox are two weeks away from Opening Day and the addition of pitcher Chris Sale to a team stocked with young, dynamic players, the Sox are considered the favorite to repeat as AL East champions.

Then there’s the Celtics, who own the NBA’s fifth best record and have a headline-grabbing star of their own in Isaiah Thomas. Thomas, who ranks second in the league in scoring and is a top five MVP candidate, is leading the Green into the playoffs — where many analysts say they could make a deep run.

The Bruins, meanwhile, have been red-hot since head coach Bruce Cassidy took over for Claude Julien. The Black and Gold are 12-4 since Cassidy took the coaching reins and have gone from a long-shot playoff team to a potential dark horse contender. Their little big man, Brad Marchand, has also forged his way into the MVP discussion.

I understand that what the Patriots have accomplished the past 16 years is remarkable. But we should all spend more time talking about our other three sports franchises.

After all, the kickoff to the NFL season is nearly 6 months away. In the meantime, enjoy the Celtics, Bruins and Red Sox. Variety is the spice of life.