John Riordan: In its darkest hour, Boston proved it was a city apart

Ten years ago, two extremely disillusioned young brothers detonated a pair of homemade bombs, seconds and blocks apart, right by the finish line of the Boston marathon

STRONG: Carlos Arredondo, a 2013 Boston Marathon first-responder, holds a 'Boston Strong' banner in the grandstand near the 2015 Boston Marathon finish line. Pic: AP Photo/Elise Amendola

Ten years ago this weekend, when the Tampa Bay Rays didn’t matter and the Boston Red Sox were on the verge of a season that mattered more than most, the two baseball teams played out a Patriots’ Day game at Fenway Park.

The Red Sox won, as expected. They were still riding the wave of when they shattered the so-called "Curse of the Bambino" in 2004 and 2007, winning their first and second World Series since trading Babe Ruth to their hated rivals, the New York Yankees almost a century prior.