5 Boston sports moments that just missed out on the Soundbites Bracket

Here's a look back at a few soundbites that were almost too good to pass up.

Bill Lee speaks to reporters after a Red Sox game in 1973. Via Globe Archives

Each year that Boston.com unveils a new March Madness-themed sports bracket, arguably the most difficult step in the process is determining which of the entries almost meet the requirements, but don’t quite measure up.

There are a variety of reasons for this, and as is always the case in such a project, there is an admitted level of subjectivity in the decision-making.

So in the spirit of transparency — and because it’s just kind of a fun thing to do, given the soundbites in question — here’s a look at some of the would-be entries that just missed the cut in this year’s Soundbites Bracket:

“Yo soy fiesta” -Rob Gronkowski, 2012

Following the Patriots’ AFC Championship win in 2012, ESPN Deportes reporter John Sutcliffe caught up with Patriots star tight end Rob Gronkowski, speaking his questions in Spanish first before asking them in English.

“Hola, me llamo Roberto,” Gronkowski began with a smile. He then launched into a real answer to Sutcliffe’s question about the Patriots’ defense, and also offered an earnest response about New England playing the season in honor of Robert Kraft’s late wife, Myra.

But just to remind fans that he was, in fact, still Rob Gronkowski, the tight end finished with an unintentionally humorous grammatical mistake in Spanish when asked about plans to celebrate the win.

“Yo soy fiesta,” Gronkowski said (which translates to “I am party”).

It’s still a clip that Patriots fans undoubtedly revisit, but (arguably) falls just below the threshold of best soundbites in the region’s storied history.

“I would not say I’m Mona Lisa Vito of the football world” -Bill Belichick, 2015

At the height of the bizarre “Deflategate” controversy in the buildup to Super Bowl XLIX, Patriots head coach Bill Belichick was eventually forced into holding a press conference to address the matter.

While it was still (at the time) a potentially serious issue with real consequences for the Patriots, Belichick seemed to nod at the absurdity of the “crisis” by making an extremely uncharcatristic movie reference as he spoke to reporters.

In describing the work he’d put into investigating the accusations of deflated footballs, Belichick referenced Marisa Tomei’s character in the movie, “My Cousin Vinny.”

“I’m not a scientist. I’m not an expert in footballs. I’m not an expert in football measurements. I’m just telling you what I know,” Belichick said. “I would not say I’m Mona Lisa Vito of the football world, as she was in the car-expertise area.”

Clearly, in a larger field, this quote would’ve gotten into the bracket. Yet because Boston.com tried to limit the bracket to one quote from each personality, Belichick’s slightly less fun but arguably more ubiquitous “We’re on to Cincinnati” was the selected entry.

“We’ll win more games than we lose” -Dick Williams, 1967

This quote represented the understated confidence of one of the most famous teams in Red Sox history.

Having spent much of the preceding decade in last place, no one really gave Boston a chance heading into the 1967 season. Williams, given his first MLB managerial role ahead of that season, sounded crazy predicting a winning record.

“I honestly believe we’ll win more games than we lose,” he told reporters in March.

It became a standout quote when Boston’s “impossible dream” took shape later that summer. It’s representative of the many great but perhaps not legendary quotes from years passed in New England sports that might have warranted inclusion in the bracket, but simply didn’t make it this time.

“What happened? Laser show.” -Dustin Pedroia, 2010

One of the more quotable players of his time, former Red Sox infielder Dustin Pedroia eventually happened upon an memorable nickname: “The Laser Show.”

The soundbite that came to define it was derived from a defense Pedroia made for — of all people — David Ortiz. Amid an uncharacteristically slow start to the season made by Ortiz, Pedroia leapt to his teammate’s defense by making an understandable point.

“Couple years ago, I had 60 at-bats, I was hitting .170 and everyone was ready to kill me too,” he joked. “What happened?”

“Laser show,” quipped Pedroia after a short pause.

It might be the closest a soundbite came to not making the bracket. Had the field been expanded by even one more entry, the “laser show” would’ve most likely beamed its way in.

Essentially any quote from Bill Lee

Look, we realize on a number of levels having a soundbites bracket without former Red Sox pitcher Bill Lee in it could be seen as suspect.

And not unlike other notable characters of New England sports (like Joe Mazzulla), it’s theoretically possible to even build an entire bracket out of soundbites exclusively from the eccentric but highly quotable left-hander.

Lee, who rightfully earned the nickname “Spaceman” for his out-of-this-world take on most things in life, has a whole page on Baseball Almanac devoted to his long list of colorful quotes.

Why didn’t Lee make the cut? The best explanation boils down to this: For all of his humorous quips, there is no standout soundbite. There is no defining clip from the inimitable personality. Though it’s perhaps harsh to exclude Lee for having a broad body of (soundbite) work, creating a field of only 16 required tough choices. This was one of them.