Two New England Patriots fans clown for the camera priot to the start of Super Bowl XXXIX against the Philadelphia Eagles on Feb. 6, 2005 in Jacksonville, Fla. Despite the Patriots tremendous success the last few years, they still take a backseat to the Red Sox in fan support.

Providence Journal / Mary Murphy

BOSTON — When former Red Sox utility man Lou Merloni returned to Boston for a second time after a brief stint with the San Diego Padres, the Framingham, Mass., native actually said he missed the city.

Who wouldn’t miss playing at Fenway Park? Who wouldn’t miss playing in front of Red Sox fans? As for the city itself, for an Italian kid growing up just a hit-and-run away from Boston and playing his college ball at Providence College, it couldn’t get any better.

While playing for the Red Sox, he didn’t always enjoy dealing with the Boston media. But the day he returned to the Red Sox clubhouse after playing in the National League, Merloni told the horde of electronic and print media that he missed all the attention.

“Wow, I would have never thought I would ever miss you guys,” he said. “[But in] San Diego, there’s like one television camera and only a couple of writers.”

Some professional athletes who currently play for any of the four major teams in Boston may not agree with him. But those who’ve been elsewhere say that when they leave, they realize just how special playing in Boston is.

On the New England Patriots, for example, the majority of the current roster knows only success. Winning three Super Bowlsin four years certainly can’t compare to the 86-year drought the Red Sox and their fans endured. The Bruins haven’t won a Stanley Cup since the 1971-72 season, and it appears it’ll stay that way for at least the near future. The Celtics have 16 championship banners hanging from the rafters at the Garden, but haven’t raised one since 1986.

Why is it so hard to play and win in Boston?

“Who said it was?” said Patriots coach Bill Belichick. “No, I wouldn’t say so.”

If there’s any coach of the Big Four in Boston who can compare this market to others, it’s Belichick. He was an NFL assistant in Baltimore, Detroit, Denver and New York (with both the Giants and Jets), and a head coach in Cleveland. He said recently he didn’t think Boston was any tougher than other towns he’s worked in.

“I don’t think this is worse than any of those,” he said.

The Patriots of this decade haven’t suffered through years of torment like their counterparts in this area, and haven’t heard too many boos at Gillette Stadium or the old Foxboro Stadium.

“The Red Sox are still No.1,” said the Patriots’ Mike Vrabel. “Grandfathers and fathers, the No. 1 sport was the Boston Red Sox. The Pats have been second, and will probably always be. I think the Patriots fans start to follow us when the Red Sox fall out of contention. That’s just how it works.”

Vrabel, who began his pro career in Pittsburgh, doesn’t want to compare the different markets. He didn’t think it was fair. After all, football has always been the favorite pastime in the Steel City. The Pirates have had their days. The same can be said for the Penguins, who again are on the upswing.

Still, it’s not Boston.

“We’ve been well-received here,” Vrabel said. “Sometimes it’s gets a little frustrating because we’ve had some success, and you see fans getting used to us. [They think we] should go out there and win all the time. It seems like the fan base, maybe sometimes because they expect so much, sometimes it’s not the same crowd we had in 2001 or 2002. To boo this team and boo at different times of the game is just silly, considering what we’ve done here in the past.”

Belichick and the Patriots do their best to keep the local media at a distance. Just this season the coach placed a gag order on all rookies, allowing them to speak publicly only at certain times. Quarterback Tom Brady addresses the media only on Wednesday and his offensive line usually doesn’t speak at all.

Winning so frequently will give you those advantages.

“It’s a non-issue with us,” said the Patriots’ Larry Izzo of the scrutiny. “If you go back 10 years and ask Drew Bledsoe or Terry Glenn, it might be different.”

Love-hate relationships

When teams don’t win as much, things can get heated because some think this region focuses on the negatives rather than the positives. Like Merloni, when former Red Sox pitcher Bronson Arroyo was traded to the Cincinnati Reds last spring he was devastated. He was an integral part of the World Series team in 2004 and loves the city. He didn’t want to leave, and even though he recently signed a $25-million extension with the Reds, Arroyo has said he wants to end his career in Boston.

When he arrived in Cincinnati, his new teammates wanted to know what it was like to play for a big-market team.

“I always tell people two things about playing in Boston," said Arroyo. "First, playing at Fenway Park, even on the road, is a lot closer to playing in the ALCS every night than just a regular baseball game. You show up to the stadium and there’s playoff pressure every night. A loss is a big deal. Two, baseball in New England is a religion. Everywhere else it’s just a regular game. It’s life and death in New England.”

Not all players agree with Arroyo, but he’s right.

“A lot of guys don’t care to have that pressure on their back,” he said. “They would rather play in great weather every day, go home every night, maybe even get a little bit of surfing in, stuff like that. Those are the things that make them tick. Me? Coming to the ballpark and feeling the pressure is what makes me tick. It forces you to bring your A-game every night.”

He loves talking about his time in Boston. Opposing players would tell him they heard the stories about playing at Fenway, but couldn’t believe the vibe until they experienced it themselves.

“People like to say other places are baseball towns,” said Arroyo. “Nothing compares to Fenway Park. Places like Pittsburgh and Baltimore don’t even come close.”

Still a hockey town

Believe it or not, the Boston Bruins used to draw the same type of attention the Patriots do now. If and when the Bruins can return to glory for any length of time, the club’s popularity could be on par, if not bigger, then the Pats.

Former Bruins coach Mike Sullivan grew up in Massachusetts and starred for Boston University. During his NHL career, he played for his hometown Bruins and eventually lived out a childhood dream of coaching the Black and Gold for three seasons.

“First and foremost, for me, Boston is a hockey town and the fans are passionate about their team,” he said. “When things go well, they are very supportive; the negative side is when things don’t go the way you want them to, they can be very critical and hard on you. That stems from the passion for their team. From my experience, I wouldn’t want it any other way.”

Sullivan was in a situation not shared by too many, as he both played for and coached an Original Six franchise. What was more difficult?

“I can only speak from my own experience,” he said. “For me it was more difficult as a coach. Given the type of player I was versus a coach. As a coach, you’re responsible for a lot of what goes on. I felt the passion more as a coach.

“Coaching is coaching. The challenge is to try to get your team to win, regardless of what city you’re in. The difference being, as a coach, you have to manage the issues that surround the team. Whether dealing with trade rumors or things that might potentially have an impact on your players. One of the things coaches try to do is keep their players in the right frame of mind, those things if you’re not conscious of them, it could have distracting effects on your team.”

Former Bruins goaltender Andrew Raycroft grew up a Montreal Canadiens fan, but quickly became a Boston sports fans when he was drafted by the Bruins. During his time in Providence and Boston, he would always wear a Red Sox hat, and would attend Red Sox, Patriots and Celtics games.

He began to struggle a bit last season and continuously heard boos from the fans. Now, he’s enjoying success in the hockey hotbed of Toronto, and says nothing can compare to playing for Canadian team.

“It’s easier to play here than it is in Toronto, scrutiny-wise and what is expected out of you,” said Raycroft. “The Bruins are always expected to struggle; in Toronto, we recently lost two games in a row and it was like the world was coming to an end.”

Even though Raycroft drew some criticism, he isn’t considered a goat like fellow former Bruins Glen Wesley. The former Boston defenseman missed a wide open net during Game One of the Stanley Cup finals in 1990 against Edmonton. Who knows if Wesley had scored whether it would have made much difference as the Oilers eventually won the Cup.

Despite Wesley’s misfortune, he loved playing in this city.

“Boston is obviously a great sports town,” he said. “When I came here, with the four pro teams, it’s very unique, and the only place you can compare it to is L.A. and New York. (Boston) is a great place to play and a lot of fun when you’re winning. Everything is more magnified when you go to a bigger market. Places like here and the Original Six cities and the Canadian cities. People love their hockey and that’s what makes it special.”

jmcdonal@projo.com