SB Nation: Which town is now the saddest sports town?

[MarkB452]

Shaking my head at the one about DC. The author is only 21 years old and I guessshe thinks that DC United does not count.

http://www.dcunited.com/club/trophy-case

After over 50 long, long, long, long, LONG years, Cleveland’s title drought is over. The Cleveland Cavaliers are champions of the world, and all the disappointments -- from the Shot to the Drive, from Jose Mesa to Johnny Manziel -- have been washed away. The saddest sports city in American can finally smile.

But now that Cleveland is happy, somebody must take their spot. Who will we mock when we need somebody to mock? Which city will end the sentence "Well hey, at least we’re not "XXXXXXX?"

We analyzed which cities have waited the longest for anything good to happen, and asked fans from some sad sports towns to briefly explain why theirs is the city deserving of pity. We also asked a Boston sports fan, just to annoy the hell out of you.

Please carry on the debate in the comments -- we want to know why you're sad!

(Unless otherwise noted, city arguments are written by Rodger Sherman)

http://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/more-sports/cleveland-won-a-championship-whats-the-new-saddest-sports-town/ar-AAhoV9f?li=BBnba9I&ocid=iehp

[BornaSkinsFan83]

Wait, people actually think DC United DO count?

[TradeTheBeal!]

Without reading the articles, it's clearly DC right now. Let's just embrace it...our time will come very soon.

[Forehead]

Being 21 aside, most of her points are valid.

[Lombardi's_kid_brother]

It's got to be Minneapolis, doesn't it?

 

DC teams have been just sort of bland and mediocre over the last 25 years.

 

Minneapolis hasn't won a thing, lost its hockey team, lost several shots at the Super Bowl in the most painful way possible, lost Kevin Garnett after wasting his prime, and were repeatedly teased by the Twins who now suck again.

[elkabong82]

Stopped reading after she listed Sean Taylor as a misfortune akin to RG3 and Haynesworth and also said they don't recognize the team name. 

[skinswillwin06]

It's got to be Minneapolis, doesn't it?

DC teams have been just sort of bland and mediocre over the last 25 years.

Minneapolis hasn't won a thing, lost its hockey team, lost several shots at the Super Bowl in the most painful way possible, lost Kevin Garnett after wasting his prime, and were repeatedly teased by the Twins who now suck again.

So which is worse? Having teams actually do well and make it to the conference or league finals, but lose. Or having teams be perennially mediocre and/or awful.

[PleaseBlitz]

I think a much better article could have been written, but it's DC.  

[elkabong82]

I think a much better article could have been written, but it's DC.  

 

Disagree. We at least have the 3 Superbowls from 80s and early 90s. Plus right now all 4 major teams are decent or very good. Plus, an argument could be made to count MLS.

 

There are towns like Buffalo, Toronto, San Diego that have never won or it has been 50 years since winning. 

 

Atlanta has all 4 major sports teams (or had, until Thrashers left a few years ago) and has won't anything in 21 years. 

 

Minnesota/Minneapolis has all 4 major teams and hasn't won since 1992 and hasn't had anyone in the finals. 

 

Neither town had a team dominate like our Skins did back when. All the cities mentioned here I'd put above us.

[Lombardi's_kid_brother]

So which is worse? Having teams actually do well and make it to the conference or league finals, but lose. Or having teams be perennially mediocre and/or awful.

 

I think it's easier if the team is bad enough to ignore.

 

Cleveland fans don't dwell on the 40 years where the Indians were terrible. They focus on the two World Series losses as the source of their pain. Because no one paid attention to the Indians during the terrible 40 years.

 

In all seriousness, how much pain do the Wizards/Bullets or even Caps really cause DC? I lived there for ten years and never had a conversation about the Wizards except during the Jordan years. I knew some Caps season ticket holders and they were more your typical hipster hockey fans who got mad when you started paying attention in the playoffs.

[Why am I Mr. Pink?]

Nats - top 5 team with arguably the biggest superstar in the game.

Caps - top 5 team with arguably the biggest superstar in the game.

Skins - top 10 team, NFC East champs with some marquee in-their-prime players. 

Wiz - .500 team, John Wall is a nice player. 

 

Outside of no championships or appearances, DC is far from being the "saddest" professional sports city in America.  I also think attendance numbers should be heavily considered. A sad sports city is one where the teams dont excite the fan base. We have exciting teams and exciting players. 

[USS Redskins]

Lombardi's are all that really count anyway...

[Mr. Sinister]

Disagree. We at least have the 3 Superbowls from 80s and early 90s. Plus right now all 4 major teams are decent or very good. Plus, an argument could be made to count MLS.

There are towns like Buffalo, Toronto, San Diego that have never won or it has been 50 years since winning.

Atlanta has all 4 major sports teams (or had, until Thrashers left a few years ago) and has won't anything in 21 years.

Minnesota/Minneapolis has all 4 major teams and hasn't won since 1992 and hasn't had anyone in the finals.

Neither town had a team dominate like our Skins did back when. All the cities mentioned here I'd put above us.

Don't bring logic into this.

Nats - top 5 team with arguably the biggest superstar in the game.

Caps - top 5 team with arguably the biggest superstar in the game.

Skins - top 10 team, NFC East champs with some marquee in-their-prime players.

Wiz - .500 team, John Wall is a nice player.

Outside of no championships or appearances, DC is far from being the "saddest" professional sports city in America. I also think attendance numbers should be heavily considered. A sad sports city is one where the teams dont excite the fan base. We have exciting teams and exciting players.

Then it wouldn't be a sad sports city, becase no one would care. Its reserved for champuonship starved and horribly run teams in good to great sports towns

[Warhead36]

Its now Washington D.C. We were 2nd to Cleveland. We are now #1. Its not just that we lose, its HOW we lose.

 

The Nats blow a 6-0 lead in Game 5 of the NLDS, at one point being one strike away from advancing. They then lose the longest(I believe)playoff game in MLB history two years later. Both years they had the best record in the league.

 

The Caps have regularly had the best regular season record and still not won the Cup. Last year they had a 3-1 lead and were ~1:30 from advancing to the ECF but lost. A year or two before that they were one faceoff win away from likely advancing to the ECF(would have given them a 3-2 lead over the Rangers instead they lost that game and lost the series in 7).

 

The Wizards lose a playoff game and series because the ball was on Paul Pierce's pinky for like .01 milisecond too long. In that same series their star player gets hurt in the second game, otherwise it could have been a sweep.

 

The Skins trade a king's ransom for what turns out to be the most exciting and revolutionary player to hit the NFL in decades...only to have him blow out his knee in a playoff game(a game they lost after having a 14-0 lead). Also lost playoff games in 05 because of a dropped pick 6 and 07 because of failing to convert on 1st and goal ending up with no points.

 

 

Yeah, other cities might suck, but they just SUCK suck. We do well enough into thinking things might be different, before breaking your hearts. D.C. is the ultimate tease. And that's why its the saddest sports town.

[Mr. Sinister]

Oh lord...

[LeesburgSkinFan]

There isn't any other city that qualifies IMO. No city has had their soul ripped out more times with a city that has been nicknamed 'The Mistake by the Lake'. Atlanta doesn't count because lets be honest, most in the city and the state would trade pro sport success for one more Dawg national title. It's just not the same. Moreover, as a sunbelt city, ATL and HOU just don't have the brutal winters and the short dark days that feed into such a mythology.

 

On a guess I would say either Philly or Buffalo would be the leaders in the clubhouse for cities with existential sports angst.

[PleaseBlitz]

Disagree. We at least have the 3 Superbowls from 80s and early 90s. Plus right now all 4 major teams are decent or very good. Plus, an argument could be made to count MLS.

 

There are towns like Buffalo, Toronto, San Diego that have never won or it has been 50 years since winning. 

 

Atlanta has all 4 major sports teams (or had, until Thrashers left a few years ago) and has won't anything in 21 years. 

 

Minnesota/Minneapolis has all 4 major teams and hasn't won since 1992 and hasn't had anyone in the finals. 

 

Neither town had a team dominate like our Skins did back when. All the cities mentioned here I'd put above us.

 

As Warhead said, a lot of it goes into HOW the losing happens.  I will also add that DC is a major city and media market, and it has all 4 major sports teams.  

 

I will also note that soccer doesn't count for anything.  Nothing.

 

Toronto won back to back World Series in 92-93 AND THEY ARE CANADA.  If you want to go into historics, the Leafs have won 13 Stanley Cups (and Toronto-ites certainly care WAY more about Stanley Cups than Lombardi Trophies).

 

Buffalo is a minor dying city with only 2 major teams.  They are just lucky to have teams (for now).  Still, they are probably the best competition for DC considering their NFL team played "home games" in a different city on a regular basis for 5 years.  Still, they only get 2 bites at the apple per year, DC gets 4.  But yea, they are pretty sad.

 

San Diego also only has 2 major teams.  The Chargers haven't won a SB, but they have been a competently run franchise for most of the past 20 years and had a long stretch of sustained success in the 2000's, winning their division in 2004, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009.  I can't think of any regular ****shows like the stretch the Redskins had after Gibbs and up until last year.  The Chargers have been solidly not an embarrassment.  

 

As noted, Atlanta is a college sports town.  Twins won in 1991.  

 

 

All that being said, I rescind my vote for DC and give it to Philly.  Despite the Phillies winning a bunch, they are just sad ****s, where this is the expected norm:

 

http://www.russianmachineneverbreaks.com/2016/04/18/a-summary-of-all-the-disgraceful-things-flyers-fans-did-during-game-three/

[DM72]

It's clearly Buffalo and it's not even close. It's certainly not DC.

[Lombardi's_kid_brother]

Buffalo is probably the saddest town in America.

 

This is a pointless and stupid debate, but Buffalo only has two teams to let it down.

[DM72]

I live in the area, Buffalo pretty much has its two sports teams and nothing else. By far the biggest attraction over here is Niagara Falls and that's a different city. At least DC has tasted victory in memorable times. People still remember 1992. Buffalo hasn't hasn't won anything since the AFL.

Plus, DC is the nation's capital. The president of the U.S. lives in DC. Yeah, DC hasn't won anything in a while, but it's still DC.

[Warhead36]

I live in the area, Buffalo pretty much has its two sports teams and nothing else. By far the biggest attraction over here is Niagara Falls and that's a different city. At least DC has tasted victory in memorable times. People still remember 1992. Buffalo hasn't hasn't won anything since the AFL.

Plus, DC is the nation's capital. The president of the U.S. lives in DC. Yeah, DC hasn't won anything in a while, but it's still DC.

Meh, DC as a destination town is highly overblown. I have friends from overseas and none of them even put D.C. in their top 5 cities to visit when they're in USA. New York, LA, Miami, Chicago, and Las Vegas are all more highly rated just to name a few.

 

Buffalo is sad for sure, but again they only have two teams. We have ALL FOUR of our teams ripping our hearts out. That's twice the pain. Bills and Sabres have basically been irrelevant the last 10+ years as well.

[DM72]

Meh, DC as a destination town is highly overblown. I have friends from overseas and none of them even put D.C. in their top 5 cities to visit when they're in USA. New York, LA, Miami, Chicago, and Las Vegas are all more highly rated just to name a few.

 

Buffalo is sad for sure, but again they only have two teams. We have ALL FOUR of our teams ripping our hearts out. That's twice the pain. Bills and Sabres have basically been irrelevant the last 10+ years as well.

DC is a destination city. With that being said, I don't think the number of teams a city has should matter. I think it should be the longevity of the suffering.

[PleaseBlitz]

I think the number of teams is important because of the frequency of disappointment.  Buffalo only has to watch its teams fail twice a year.  DC doubles that.  I also think the fact that DC is a much more important city than Buffalo (or really, every city besides NYC, Chi, and LA) matters.  Big media markets have some built in advantages that they should be able to exploit.  

[Warhead36]

I think the number of teams is important because of the frequency of disappointment.  Buffalo only has to watch its teams fail twice a year.  DC doubles that.  I also think the fact that DC is a much more important city than Buffalo (or really, every city besides NYC, Chi, and LA) matters.  Big media markets have some built in advantages that they should be able to exploit.  

Agreed reg. the twice as much disappointment angle. Remember last spring? Wizards lose on a last second putback by the Hawks, and the Caps lose in OT shortly after. Two playoff heartbreaks within a span of like...10 minutes? Buffalo would never suffer that kind of fate.

[PleaseBlitz]

Agreed reg. the twice as much disappointment angle. Remember last spring? Wizards lose on a last second putback by the Hawks, and the Caps lose in OT shortly after. Two playoff heartbreaks within a span of like...10 minutes? Buffalo would never suffer that kind of fate.

 

Well, the Sabres could conceivably be mathematically eliminated from the playoffs on the same day the Bills **** up yet another first round draft pick.