America’s Most Miserable Sports Cities

[Forkboy]

Wait till next year.

That sports mantra was first made famous a generation ago by fans of the Brooklyn Dodgers, a powerful baseball team that nonetheless lost five of six World Series matchups to rival New York Yankees between 1947 and 1956.

With each excruciating loss, the tortured Brooklyn faithful immediately turned their attention to the next spring, when, they figured, a championship season would at last hatch. One finally did, when “next year” arrived in 1955. But that was just a respite. Dodger fans had their hearts broken again the next year by a seven-game Series loss to the Yankees. After just one more season came the ultimate heartbreak: The team left Brooklyn for the sunshine of southern California.

There are really two types of misery in sports. There’s the well-chronicled misery that comes with futility, like the New Orleans Saints losing 60 percent of their games and qualifying for just six postseasons (and no Super Bowls) since their birth in 1967.

Then there’s the true misery that comes with repeated heartbreak. Even after celebrating two recent World Series titles, fans of the Boston Red Sox haven’t forgotten the pain associated with an 86-year championship drought, complete with near misses and names like Bucky Dent and Bill Buckner. They’d argue the gut-wrenching losses by teams good enough to win makes for an even worse experience than following a perennial loser that can’t get you excited in the first place.

----

The cities are...

1-Atlanta
2-Seattle
3-Buffalo
4-Phoenix
5-San Diego
6-Houston
7-Denver
8-Cleveland
9-Philadelphia
10-Minneapolis

http://www.forbes.com/2008/04/08/sports-atlanta-seattle-biz-sports_cx_tvr_af_0408sportsmisery.html

The article has a rundown of each city listed and why it was chosen.

[erpowers]

1. Off the Top Atlanta and Houston Are Wrong

Yes it has been more than ten years since the Braves won a championship, but they team has done pretty well during that time. In addition, it seems the Hawks will make the playoffs this year. In Houston's case they have won a number of championship during the span of 1995-2008. Their teams have won championships in everything from Hockey to soccer, except football.

[Auggie]

2. Cleveland should be Number 1

[BOSSHOG]

3. There is a very logical explanation

for the Saints futility. They built the superdome over a VooDoo Graveyard. Its not nice to fuck with Marie Laveau and her kin.

[cboy4]

4. WOW...what a great topic of debate......Are we talking

miserable in terms of always competing and then devastating everyone by losing in the playoffs?

Or are we talking just basically sucking year after year?

I think it so depends on the sport.

Where I live:

The 49ers were a dynasty for 15 years, and won 5 Super Bowls.

The Giants have been in three World Series since they moved from NY in 1958, but haven't won a single ring. :wtf:

So despite the Giants having one of the best baseball records since the mid 90's (at least through 2005), I've been miserable...especially after the crushing 2002 WS loss to the Angels when we were six outs away from winning it all. :cry:

And my basketball team (Golden State) has been nothing but a disappointment for the most part.

My hockey team (San Jose) always does very well in during the season, but chokes in the playoffs.

In the East Bay, the Oakland A's and Oakland Raiders have won quite a few championships.

So I guess I can't complain, but I feel like I have a lot to complain about! lol

I just wonder if fans in every city feel this way.

[El Supremo]

5. Denver ain't miserable. It's over-hyped.

Too many sports bars. Too many sports clothing stores. Too much newspaper ink. Too much time on the Tee Vee.

Hell, Denver has recently been called Sports Town USA.

This is a crock of an analysis. Cleveland is by far the worst.

Gotta go. The biggest rivalry in all sports is about to start again! Go Red Sox World!

[Bill219]

6. The Sox knocked Hughes out of the game in the bottom of the third

6-1 Sox

[trotsky]

7. I'm surprised Minneapolis isn't higher on the list.

Apart from two World Series championships by the Twins, no franchise has done diddly. The Vikings powerhouses of the 70s never got themselves a ring, and were the first team to go 0-4 in the big game. Only Dallas has more playoff appearances in the post-merger era, yet the Vikes have never closed the deal. It's damn frustrating being a Vikings fan, but I just can't see myself cheering for anyone else.

[northzax]

8. and let's not forget the ignominy

of losing a hockey team to Dallas.

[trotsky]

9. I've never been much of a hockey fan...

I know, a shocker in the State of Hockey, huh?

So losing the North Stars didn't bother me too much. But losing them to Dallas, yeah, that stung even a non-hockey-fan more than a little bit. ;-)

Did you see that KARE-11 blurb they did a while back, interviewing old Norm Green about the whole mess?

[northzax]

10. I'm not a Minnesotan

but I remember going to Stars games back in the day visiting my aunt and uncle in the Twin Cities.

[HughBeaumont]

11. Excuse me, but is this list FUCKED?

No . . . NO city is more miserable than Cleveland. NONE.

Seattle? Uh, you won a title in 1979. While you're the closest competitor as far as 3-sport city misery goes (along with Philly), no #2 ranking for you above Cleveland.

Atlanta? NO. 1995, NUFF said.

Buffalo? This is the only correct ranking I'd go with, but as far as above Cleveland? A. you aren't a 3 sport city. B. you've BEEN to multiple Super Bowls.

Phoenix? COME on. 2001 D-Backs anyone?

San Diego? While neither the Padres or Chargers won World Titles in their respective sports, they're not a 3-sport city. So while they may be 2-4 on the list, NO on the ranking above Cleveland.

Houston? BZZZZZZZZZZZZT. Your Rockets won two NBA titles in the 90s. No rank above Cleveland for you.

Don't even FUCKING get a Cleveland guy started on Denver, mothershitters.

Want to know when Cleveland last won a major sports title of ANY kind? 1964.

1964.

Martin Luther King, Bobby Kennedy and Malcolm X were all still alive. The Beatles played Ed Sullivan. The NFL didn't even have the Super Bowl yet. Cleveland's running back was Jim Brown. My 61-year-old dad was starting his senior year in High School.

44 years, ladies and gentlemen. And by the looks of things, going on 45.

NO three-sport city can boast a wholesale record of futility and heartbreak like we can. Each failure in Cleveland has it's own celebratory name. Each sports draft, save that 2003 miracle, eventually ends up in headsmacking, mouth gaping AGONY. Each boneheaded trade infuriates as we go on to watch said players get rings our teams will never even see the light of.

How many times has Cleveland BEEN to a big dance of any kind since then? THREE. 1. 2. 3. And we've all seen the quickly tragic (2007 NBA Finals) to downright gut-punching (1997 WS) results of each one.

Also, this is what other cities don't seem to get about being a Cleveland sports fan:

BOSTON. Call me nuts, but I highly doubt I'm gonna feel sorry for fans that had to suffer through an 86-year WS drought when you have the 2004 and 2007 WS wins, the 3 recent New England SUPER BOWL wins (and again, likely to be a 4th this year . . . complete with the Browns old coach, no less) and several Celtic championships scattered over decades, not to mention a Celtic team loaded with all-stars this year.

Nueva York? Fuggedaboudit. 28 WS championships between the Yanks and the Mets, four Super Bowl wins by the Giants and Jets, five Stanley Cups between the Islanders and the Rangers and the biggest payroll in all of sports doesn't allow you to have any grumblings about how sorry the Knicks are.

America's favorite "wait 'til next year" gang, the Cubs, are STILL in Chicago. Please. Your city has SIX NBA titles, a 1985 SB win and a 2005 White Sox WS win.

The list goes on.

LA? Dodgers, Lakers and Raiders all have at least 2 titles in their sports since 1980 (the Lakers have EIGHT). Count nearby adopted Anaheim, and the total title count rises two more (Ducks & Angels).

DC? Three Redskins Super Bowl wins.

Detroit? Red Wings, Pistons and Tigers all have multiple titles since the 80s, so you get no support group pass, Lions fans.

Pittsburgh? Five Steelers SB wins (including 2005), Pirates winning the WS in 1979 and two Stanley Cups by the Penguins. No heartbreak allowed. SORRAH!

The entire state of Texas has so many damned titles to choose from: Houston Rockets, Dallas Cowboys, San Antonio Spurs, UT's 2006 NCAA title, etc.

Even the Florida Marlins, established in 1993, has two World series wins in their young age. One of them over Cleveland, which still stabs our hearts to this day.

Even a mid-market team like Kansas City won a WS in 1985.

The closest three-sport cities to us in misery would be Seattle and Philadelphia. They last won titles in 1979 and 1983, respectively.

When Cleveland loses, it's almost always in the most heartbreaking fashion possible. Our pitching sucks. Our defensive coordinator has no plan. We can't stop the superstar. We have a superstar but no offensive plan. Our bats take a vacation. We lack killer instinct. We play not to lose instead of playing to win. We can't FINISH THE DAMNED JOB, JOSE MESA!!!!

Being a fan in the most snake-bitten city in all of sports means never having to feel sorry for other people's supposed "futility".

Somehow, I'm just thinking it simply isn't meant to BE with this city. Always the bridesmaids, never the bride.

Cleveland is #1 in sports futility. At least give us that, bastards.

[underpants]

12. I thought this had more to do with fan support

not the records of the teams.

:shrug:

Atlanta is notably a bad sports town mostly because they don't sell out Braves playoff games...but then the massive number of Braves fans are used to having the game on TV. :shrug:

[HughBeaumont]

13. The article goes by team records in regular and post-season.

Sorry, but I'm going with the team that hasn't won ANYthing in 44 years. If we're talking sports teams collectively, that's over 125 seasons with no title in anything (Philadelphia is second with 90-something). Atlanta won the WS in 1995.

But if we ARE talking fan support, before last year, Browns Stadium sold out nearly every game, during which most of those fans were treated to Division-III level football with soccer scores. Year after year after year. There are Browns fans across the nation, even when they're at their worst.

During all of their heartbreaking years (one of those WS losses to those paragons of misery, the Atlanta Braves), the Indians at the Jake had 455 straight sellouts.

[fishwax]

14. I'm not from Cleveland, but I've got to agree with you

I should probably say from the top that I'm a Broncos fan (:hide:) so I've had the chance to witness (and hear about) the pain and disappointment of Cleveland sports fans from a different perspective. All the many Cleveland fans I've spoken with over the years about those mid-80s playoff tilts have been great fans and good sports, incidentally. I think they should be at the top of the list for sure.

A city that wasn't mentioned that perhaps should be (certainly above Denver, I would say, but then I'm biased) is Kansas City. The Royals won a championship in '85, but that's the only championship they've had since the Super Bowl in 1969. They're only a two-sport city now, but they have had major league teams in all four sports during that time. They've also lost three teams in just over forty years: the MLB's A's to Oakland, the NBA's Kings to Sacramento, and the NHL's Kansas City Scouts to Colorado/New Jersey.

[BOSSHOG]

15. 1964!

You want miserable? You should have been a Phillie Fan in 1964. I'm still in therapy over that year.

[HughBeaumont]

16. The Classic Philly PHOLD?

Just looked it up. Man. That's bad. But the Phillies still won the WS in 1980.

The worst, most unspeakable Indians season had to be 1997. We still won't talk about that one.

Philadelphia doesn't look bad this season. Unlike the Tribe, who can't pitch, hit or save games, even when they're playing against scrap teams like the A's.

[BOSSHOG]

17. I predict

if the Phillies are 500 or better on 1 May they will win their division. April has been their worst month for years. They have a solid offense, hustling defense, a fair bullpen and a not bad crew of starting pitchers (which has been their achilles heel for decades.)

[Oeditpus Rex]

18. So the criterion is winning championships?

I say that's a pretty fucked-up priority.