A rare event occurred on Sunday evening as the Dallas Mavericks closed out the NBA Finals by defeating the Miami Heat in six games.
Obviously the city of Dallas partied until the wee hours of the morning, but so did Cleveland, unofficially marking Sunday as the first time in history where two separate cities celebrated “their team” winning a championship.
In the days since Cleveland has been catching a lot of heat (no pun intended) for they way they have so religiously celebrated LeBron’s failure to obtain a ring. However, I stand beside them and argue that the people of Cleveland are entirely justified in celebrating such a momentous occasion (even if LeBron has about ten more chances to win a title).
Think about it, the city of Cleveland has had absolutely nothing to celebrate in the sports world for God knows how long. LeBron was there only hope and I don’t care what anyone says it wasn’t just that he left that broke the heart of Clevelanders, it was the way in which he left. By blatantly throwing it in their faces and showing no compassion when he knew how much devastation he was causing, LeBron made every team playing against the Heat as beloved in the city of Cleveland as the 1948 Indians.
If you think Cleveland citizens are out of line, then you obviously haven’t been through what they have, and that is being a sports fan in the most devastating market in which to do so.
A couple years ago after my beloved Minnesota Vikings ripped my heart of my chest for what felt like the millionth time, which made my life a living hell and it quite honestly hasn’t gotten much better since. After that game ESPN’s Bill Simmons wrote a fantastic column about similar devastating experiences that you can read here: http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=simmons/100129&sportCat=nf
Simmons examines several teams and what they have done to their fan bases. Obviously, the team that he ranks as the number one most devastating, heart breaking team to be a fan of is the Chicago Cubs. I understand Cubs fans have gone through hell and probably won’t be getting out of it anytime soon, but they also have Michael Jordan and his six titles, the recent Chicago Blackhawks and the Stanley Cup, as well as the 1985 Super Bowl Shuffling Bears, known as one of the best football teams of all time. Sorry Cubs fans I don’t feel bad for you.
Every single team in Cleveland is on or close to the Cubs level. This got me wondering if any other professional sports market can touch Cleveland’s devastation and here is what I found.
Most Loserest Cities
10. Toronto, Ontario. Last Champion: 1993 Blue Jays, 52 total seasons without a championship.
1993 doesn’t seem like it was that long ago but combine the Jays, Raptors, and Maple Leafs you have over half a century in sports years without a title and the Leafs may be the NHL’s best comparison to the Cleveland Indians.
9. Cincinnati, Ohio. Last Champion: 1990 Cincinnati Reds, 53 total seasons without a championship (including Columbus Blue Jackets).
It’s a stretch to include Columbus in the Cinci market (which I also did with Cleveland and I’ll explain why later) but it’s the closest NHL team and I had to make an executive decision. The Bengals came close to Super Bowls twice in the 80s and since the 90 Reds neither team has made any real threat at a title landing them at #9.
8. Atlanta, Georgia. Last Champion: 1995 Braves, 60 total seasons without a championship.
Atlanta doesn’t seem too devastating but most people forget the Braves actually went to five World Series in the 90s and only came away with the trophy once, against the Indians! The Thrashers relocating also adds another dynamic of devastation but from what I’ve heard that’s only devastated about eight people.
7. Washington D.C. Last Champion: 1991 Redskins, 66 total seasons without a championship.
The Redskins arguably had a dynasty under Joe Gibbs but championships in our nation’s capital have dropped off since the Hogs victory in Super Bowl XXVI. The Capitals have become the heartbreak kids of the NHL and despite frivolous spending the Nationals are still at the bottom of the NL East.
6. Minneapolis, Minnesota. Last Champion: 1991 Minnesota Twins, 72 total seasons without a championship.
The North Stars almost shaved a couple years off this but were ultimately knocked off by the Penguins in the Stanley Cup. Then in 1993 they left the State of Hockey for freaking Dallas! The Vikings also own a couple of the best teams ever that didn’t win the Super Bowl and hearing 1998 still stings most Minnesotans.
5. Buffalo, New York. Last Champion: 1965 Buffalo Bills (AFL), 86 total seasons without a championship.
A lot of people wouldn’t consider winning the AFL as a legitimate championship but I literally felt too bad for the Bills to write “Never” for last championship. It makes it even worse that those 86 seasons are between just two teams. A couple of other teams have lost four Super Bowls, but Marv Levy’s Bills are still the only team to lose four in a row, a record that is very unlikely to be broken.
4. Oakland, California. Last Champion: 1989 Oakland A’s, 88 total seasons without a championship.
Oakland has more history than some of these other cities thanks to the 70’s Raiders and the 80s A’s. However, in the last two decades Oakland has cemented itself as San Francisco’s little brother. I did give Oakland the Sharks, who make it an even more devastating place but given the recent struggles by the Raiders, A’s, and Warriors, their best hopes for a title reside in San Jose.
3. San Diego, California. Last Champion: 1963 San Diego Chargers (AFL), 89 total seasons without a championship.
Another two-team market with an AFL controversy. Since that glorious day in 1963 the city of San Diego has seen one Super Bowl loss, and two World Series defeats. Making it 89 total sports seasons between just the Chargers and Padres.
2. Seattle, Washington. Last Champion: 1979 Seattle Super Sonics, 92 total seasons without a championship.
Not only did the Sonics leave Seattle but they also became one of the most exciting young teams in the NBA immediately in Oklahoma City. The Mariners have provided no reasons for Seattle fans to be optimistic, and apart from losing Super Bowl XL to the Steelers from Winnersville, neither have the Seahawks.
1. Cleveland, Ohio. Last Champion: 1964 Cleveland Browns (NFL Championship), 143 total seasons without a championship.
143 seasons includes 11 from the Blue Jackets, so whether you think they belong in the study or not it’s still a very long time since Cleveland hoisted a trophy. They’ve come close but appear to be as far away now as they’ve ever been. Let’s not forget that after the Browns left Cleveland for Baltimore they won the Super Bowl within four years of relocating. Also some guy named Lebron used to play there before taking his talents to South Beach, that move definitely hurt worse than any championship defeat.
There you have it, the ten sports markets that have gone the longest without a title. In any study like this there is bound to be some controversy so let me explain the logic of how I grouped the data together.
Teams were ranked from 10-1 based on how many total sports seasons since their last championship. For example a city with four teams gains four years in this category per calendar year without a championship.
It seems weird even to me to have the Columbus Blue Jackets affect the Cincinnati and Cleveland data. However, seeing that Columbus is the only NHL team in Ohio it’s fair to say that fans from both cities embrace the Blue Jackets as their hockey team. I was trying to discover data that would reflect the toughest market to be a sports fan of the four major sports and to do that accurately I had to make adjustments such as this.
Oakland was another tough market to research. While Oakland and San Francisco have a heated rivalry between the Giants and A’s, as well as the Raiders and Niners, the two fan bases also share the Sharks and Warriors. This means that had the Giants not won the most recent World Series we would probably have the Sharks and Warriors affecting the data of two different markets similar to the Blue Jackets.
Determining something so subjective as the most devastating sports market in professional sports is bound to be riddled with argument and controversy, but after reading the information above I hope you have gained a new perspective to what it was like for Clevelanders to watch Lebron in the NBA finals. 143 combined sports seasons without a title will make anyone bitter.
Don’t lose hope Cleveland fans one day it will all pay off, and the 143-plus years of heartbreak you went through will only make it that much better. Dan Gilbert is right, there are no shortcuts to greatness and you certainly haven’t taken any.
Leave a Reply