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NY Times: The most cursed sports cities in America

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Draxal

Member
C'mon, brah. Mexico don't count.



Far behind in revenue, sure, but is that the only factor? It's the only other major sports league in the U.S./Canada besides the "Big 4." There's really no other competition. It's closer to the "Big 4" than it is to whatever the hell would count as #6.

College football is about equal to MLB, college basketball would also trump MLS.

Liga MX also does pretty well in the US for obvious reasons.
 
Can't fault someone for going home.

(Though you can't tell that to some Miami fans.)

As a PR move to help his brand and as a smart player move to surround himself with younger stars, i understand his motives for heading back to cleve. But lets not pretend he did it to go back home. He sure as hell wouldn't have gone back if they weren't loaded with first rounders and Dan Gilbert didn't give him the keys to the organization.

Regardless, us miami fans took lebron from them and we also stole that 97 world series from them, too. The least we can do is let bygones be bygones and politely root against lebron for the remainder of his career.
 

bigkrev

Member
Philly at 19% close calls, kill me.

From the Lindros Flyers to the Iverson Sixers to the McNabb-Reid Eagles to the glory of the Utley-Rollins Phillies to the Richards-Carter Flyers

If nothing else, being a fan in the moment of Philly sports for that near 20 year stretch was one hell of a roller coaster, filled with hope that would always turn to despair
 

Pegasus Actual

Gold Member
Somehow I get the feeling this guy started working on this article as soon he heard Bill Simmons was going dark till October or whatever.
 

Opiate

Member
Can someone help me distinguish between a city that is cursed and a city that happens to have poorly run athletics organizations?
 

Forceatowulf

G***n S**n*bi
So good seeing Cleveland there. Get ready for some more hurt.

Sorry, Cleveland, it's nothing personal, I just can't stand the Lebron James cock sucking that I've had to endure over the years and it's fun to watch that shit deflate.

New York City isn't up there with the worst? Aside from the Yankees and Giants, everyone here suuuuuuuuucks at winning titles. No NBA, no NHL, no MLS, no NCAA men's or women's titles, no WNBA, no nothing. :(
DA MECCA
 

Fury451

Banned
*Up by 2, 3-1.

Correct, misspoke. Or typed. Either way, it was embarrassing, because Boston took game 5 and 6 way too easily, and 7 while close at first turned into a bloodbath halfway through.

That's really the last time I followed any sports team closely.

Can someone help me distinguish between a city that is cursed and a city that happens to have poorly run athletics organizations?

"Cursed by poorly run athletics organizations."

Although as shown, the Indians in particular had 2 (debatably 3) "almosts" in a little over 10 years. And the Cavs couldn't stick it when Lebron was here the first time.
 

ReAxion

Member
Can someone help me distinguish between a city that is cursed and a city that happens to have poorly run athletics organizations?

no, and the article doesn't try to push that curses are a real thing, either. it's just "what has happened".
 

Forceatowulf

G***n S**n*bi
Can someone help me distinguish between a city that is cursed and a city that happens to have poorly run athletics organizations?
Clippers come to mind. LA ain't cursed (we even win at Hockey and it's a city in the middle of a fucking desert. And the city barely cares), the Clips have just been run like garbage.
 

graffix13

Member
Nice to see KC on the list. Last year's World Series loss hurt yeah...but we weren't even suppose to be there. The whole city was on a high from even making the playoffs. We were playing with house money by the time we made the WS. The Chiefs losing to the Colts in the Jan 2014 (2013 season) Divisional round hurt more. I mean...we were up 31-10 at half and even had a bigger lead before Luck did his P. Manning impression and we crumbled.

Also I'm not from Phoenix and can't comment but:

8. Phoenix

Toughest loss: 1976 N.B.A. finals, Game 5

how is losing in the 1976 Finals a tougher loss than losing the 2009 Super Bowl against the Steelers? Steelers winning it with :35 seconds left in the game would be heartbreaking. Not to mention 1976 was....39 years ago.
 
Nice to see KC on the list. Last year's World Series loss hurt yeah...but we weren't even suppose to be there. The whole city was on a high from even making the playoffs. We were playing with house money by the time we made the WS. The Chiefs losing to the Colts in the Jan 2014 (2013 season) Divisional round hurt more. I mean...we were up 31-10 at half and even had a bigger lead before Luck did his P. Manning impression and we crumbled.

Also I'm not from Phoenix and can't comment but:



how is losing in the 1976 Finals a tougher loss than losing the 2009 Super Bowl against the Steelers? Steelers winning it with :35 seconds left in the game would be heartbreaking. Not to mention 1976 was....39 years ago.
Technically the Cardinals are located in Glendale. I mean, it's splitting hairs, but that was probably the logic.
 

pestul

Member
Should've included Canada so Toronto could top the list.
They wouldn't top it, but they're definitely in the Top 5 in North America. If my count is correct, the city has now gone 91 professional seasons without a championship.
 

Machine

Member
Detroit may be on the list soon. The Tigers haven't won a world series since 1984, the Pistons are no longer relevant, the Lions have never been relevant, and the Red Wings are not the franchise they were a few years ago.
 

RELAYER

Banned
Can someone help me distinguish between a city that is cursed and a city that happens to have poorly run athletics organizations?

What's your definition of "poorly run athletics organizations?"

I would say the difference is that a poorly run athletics organization simply fails to win titles, while a cursed athletics organization somehow consistently fails to win titles in times of both poor management and good management.
 
Cleveland is definitely #1. Can't disagree. And just the sheer amount of BS they've had to deal with, with franchises up and leaving down.

Never really appreciated Cleveland's torment until listening to the NFL Around the League podcast, with Mark Sessler, a perpetually cursed Brown's fan.

I'm a New England sports fan. Feels good to not be on these lists anymore.

Technically the Cardinals are located in Glendale. I mean, it's splitting hairs, but that was probably the logic.

That can't be. I think the list people just mixed up and forgot about the Super Bowl. It'd be like saying the Patriots don't contribute to Boston's success because they're from Foxborough, 45-minutes south west. Part of it could be that Arizona was on a similar Cinderella run that year, having been such a doormat in the NFL for so long, and then having unlikely Kurt Warner have a resurgence in his career just as the right time.

They wouldn't top it, but they're definitely in the Top 5 in North America. If my count is correct, the city has now gone 91 professional seasons without a championship.

Didn't Toronto win back-to-back World Series' in the early 1990s? (unless that's cumulative, not 91 years, but 30 years * 3 professional sports teams or whatever)
 

Kastrioti

Persecution Complex
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Lead us to the promised land, Matthew
 

maxcriden

Member
I would say Buffalo has it worst of those b/c growing up there there is just a pervasive sad feeling of being a cursed sports city. With ATL, I live here now and I don't get that same vibe, but I did move here very recently. ATL has other things going for it, though. Buffalo's teams are one of its biggest claims to fame.
 
I would say Buffalo has it worst of those b/c growing up there there is just a pervasive sad feeling of being a cursed sports city. With ATL, I live here now and I don't get that same vibe, but I did move here very recently. ATL has other things going for it, though. Buffalo's teams are one of its biggest claims to fame.

Yeah, but the lack of many other sports franchises in Buffalo makes it difficult to top a most tormented list. The Bills are a tormented franchise from their Super Bowl losses, but it's much worse to never make the playoffs and have your team be sold right when things look promising (the Browns, only to have that team with a Super Bowl ... 2 years later) than to make the Super Bowl 4 years in a row.
 
Connecticut sports fan here so I don't understand not having a local team win means.

"Connecticut Sports fan here so that means if the Boston sports teams are losing I become a New York fan, and if the New York teams are losing, I'm a die-hard Boston sports fan. And then we have Jim Calhoun who refuses to play Holy Cross and UMass unless they're not any good."

:)
 

Draxal

Member
"Connecticut Sports fan here so that means if the Boston sports teams are losing I become a New York fan, and if the New York teams are losing, I'm a die-hard Boston sports fan. And then we have Jim Calhoun who refuses to play Holy Cross and UMass unless they're not any good."

:)

REMEMBER THE WHALE.
 

UberTag

Member
They wouldn't top it, but they're definitely in the Top 5 in North America. If my count is correct, the city has now gone 91 professional seasons without a championship.
The Argonauts won the Grey Cup in 2012. That counts for like 5 championships right there.
And they had WrestleMania back in 2002. Lots of things to celebrate.
And the Hockey Hall of Fame is there. What other city gets to visit the Stanley Cup whenever they choose?
 

maxcriden

Member
Yeah, but the lack of many other sports franchises in Buffalo makes it difficult to top a most tormented list. The Bills are a tormented franchise from their Super Bowl losses, but it's much worse to never make the playoffs and have your team be sold right when things look promising (the Browns, only to have that team with a Super Bowl ... 2 years later) than to make the Super Bowl 4 years in a row.

They've got the Sabres, too, though. I see how Cleveland has it rough, too, certainly. I just never got the sense people were quite as miserable about it. But I've never lived in Cleveland so I'm probably overestimating my own ability to infer something like that in this case. :)
 

UberTag

Member
They've got the Sabres, too, though. I see how Cleveland has it rough, too, certainly. I just never got the sense people were quite as miserable about it. But I've never lived in Cleveland so I'm probably overestimating my own ability to infer something like that in this case. :)
The Cavs are about to win the NBA Finals... so that will ease the pain somewhat.
 
I wouldn't say Atlanta is cursed as much as they always find ways to choke in the biggest games. We normally don't have a problem making the playoffs, we just get destroyed or gag once we get there.
 
Toughest loss: 1981 N.F.C. divisional playoff, leading the Cowboys, 24-10, in the fourth quarter, at home

have to strongly disagree with this for Atlanta. 1991 game 7 world series had to eb a tougher loss.

Toughest loss: 2010 Stanley Cup finals (or name an Eagles loss — so many to choose)

and how about 1993 World series, Mitch Williams shitting the bed mightily. that was far more heart breaking.
 

ccbfan

Member
"Connecticut Sports fan here so that means if the Boston sports teams are losing I become a New York fan, and if the New York teams are losing, I'm a die-hard Boston sports fan. And then we have Jim Calhoun who refuses to play Holy Cross and UMass unless they're not any good."

:)

The salt is delicious. Sounds like a Central Mass resident here.

Also the last time Holy Cross was good I wasn't even born and officially Umass have never been good.

I'm Connecticut born, and I really miss the Whalers.

I do kinda miss them but I wasn't into hockey when they were around so I never got attached to them.
 
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