Something’s missing.

The calendar says late April, like it always does. The weather is alternately warm and wet, like it always is. The Red Sox season is well underway. And the Patriots are busy gearing up for this weekend’s NFL draft. Everything seems normal.

Still, something’s missing.

The youngsters out there might not realize it, but if you came to sports consciousness in the 70’s and 80’s, you know what I’m talking about. This was always a two team town in Spring. Only those teams used to be the Bruins and Celtics, not the Patriots and Red Sox.

This might come as a shock to those who think Fenway Park was always packed to capacity with zealots willing to tolerate ridiculous ticket prices and criminal parking costs. It used to be you had to go to Duke Lacrosse parties to get violated like that.

There was also a time when the Pas draft choice was relegated to a 30-second television news snippet and a mention in next day’s paper. Now, we watch breathlessly as ESPN provides wall-to-wall coverage on a screen that’s 15% video and 85% graphics and scrolling letters. Only in such an environment can Mel Kiper go from “Eddie Munster all grown up� to a “guru.�

Maybe I’m just getting old, but I miss the old days. April, May and early June are supposed to be about the playoffs. Greek Easter Sunday used to be a delicate balancing act between going to church, working the restaurant, devouring a lamb feast, and watching Larry Bird chew up and spit out some poor, helpless Bucks or Hawks. I’m sorry, but a David Ortiz bunt single in an early season contest doesn’t create quite the same stir as Larry Legend’s classic shootout against Dominique Wilkins in Game 7.

The Bruins were an even bigger thrill back in the day. Because my mom wouldn’t let me watch TV on Holy Thursday and Good Friday, I remember having to sneak to the television to watch the Black and Gold turn opponents Black and Blue. One of my biggest thrills was as a 6-year old when my dad woke me up on a school night so I could watch Bobby Orr parade the Stanley Cup around Madison Square Garden. Now I fall asleep watching the parade of losers skating around the new Boston Garden.

The reasons for this dramatic shift in the area’s sports climate are many. We discuss them, along with other topics, daily on The Sun Blog. If you haven’t visited and chimed in yet, well, what are you waiting for?

Perhaps that’s part of the problem. Whereas every Red Sox and Patriots move is the subject of endless debate, mention of the Bruins and Celtics generates less excitement than an 84-year old at a nudist colony. It’s sad, but it’s true.

An entire generation has grown up without experiencing the passion that drove cities throughout Massachusetts to build ice rinks because of the Orr-led hockey boom. Go to any outdoor basketball court and you’ll see more kids wearing LeBron and Shaq jerseys than green number-34.

I hope the Red Sox and Patriots are paying attention. Despite recent success, there are signs they, too, are starting to take you for granted. You may not see it now, but there was a time when Bruins fans were also o.k. with losing the team’s best players and replacing them with unproven ones.

I’d hate to sit here 30-years from now, with the B’s and C’s in the midst of a playoff run, still thinking; something’s missing.