America’s Most Miserable Sports Cities

[Sassy]

America’s Most Miserable Sports Cities
By Tom Van Riper and Andrew Farrell, Forbes.com
Apr 10, 6:22 am EDT


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.



In Pictures: America’s 10 Most Miserable Sports Cities


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.

It’s the Buffalo Bills, Minnesota Vikings and Denver Broncos (all from cities on our top 10 list) losing four Super Bowls. It’s the fans of Atlanta seeing their teams reach a combined six World Series and Super Bowls and win one of them (the Braves have also lost in the National League Championship Series six times).

Meanwhile, Atlanta’s local basketball and hockey teams have earned a combined 30 playoff appearances with just two conference finals appearances to show for. That’s why Atlanta tops our list of sports heartbreak cities, followed closely by Seattle, Buffalo, Phoenix and San Diego.

Since joining the ranks of big league sports in 1966, Atlanta has produced 56 playoff teams, of which 15 moved on to at least the final four of the NFL, NBA or Major League Baseball postseason (neither of its two hockey teams, the Flames and Thrashers, have gotten there). Just one club, the 1995 Braves, won a championship. It adds up to one title in 142 cumulative seasons of sports.

The results haven’t been much better in Seattle, home to one championship (the 1979 Sonics) in 105 seasons and 11 final-four appearances (their Stanley Cup win was pre-NHL). Recent disappointments include the Seahawks’ 2006 Super Bowl defeat to the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Mariners’ 2001 playoff loss to the Yankees following a historic 116-46 regular season.

How to figure which fans have endured the most pain? To start, we checked the records of those teams that have performed worst in the World Series, Super Bowl (or NFL and AFL title games before the Super Sunday era), NBA (and ABA) finals and NHL Stanley Cup finals.

Next, we looked at records of teams one round earlier, compiling a list of ball clubs with the worst success rate in each sport’s semifinal rounds over the years, followed by those performing the poorest in earlier playoff rounds. Second-place finishes in baseball count in this round, given the sport’s low number of playoff teams. Who can forget the those tough pennant races like the Red Sox’s 1978 loss to the Yankees on Bucky Dent’s homer in a one-game tiebreaker, or the Phillies’ famous 1964 collapse, when they blew a 6½-game National League lead with 12 games to play?.

To give the pure championship drought factor a voice, we gave some weight to each city’s ratio of total seasons (all four sports combined) to championships. And since few things can break fans’ hearts more than seeing their team pack up and move – just ask former rooters of the Dodgers, original Cleveland Browns or Baltimore Colts – cities whose fans were abandoned were awarded heartbreak bonus points.

We limited the study to cities with at least 75 cumulative football, basketball, baseball and hockey seasons, including older franchises that have since moved on, like the Philadelphia (now Golden State) Warriors and Cleveland (now St. Louis, via Los Angeles) Rams. And figuring no fan who has seen his team win a championship in the past five years could be too heart broken, we eliminated those cities that have produced at least one title since 2003.

With the 2008 baseball season under way, many sports pundits are picking the Braves to make it back to the postseason after a two-year absence. Poor Atlanta.

The top five:

1. Atlanta, Ga.: Slideshow
2. Seattle, Wash.: Slideshow
3. Buffalo, N.Y.: Slideshow
4. Phoenix, Ariz.: Slideshow
5. San Diego, Calif.: Slideshow
• More miserable sports cities

[Sassy]

7. Denver, Colo.

Teams: Broncos (NFL-AFL), Rockies (MLB), Nuggets (NBA-ABA), Avalanche (NHL), Rockies (NHL)

Title round record: 4-6 (20th)

Semifinal round record: 10-11 (19th)

Total seasons/early playoff-round exits (or baseball 2nd place): 113/31 (18th)

Total seasons/championships: 113/4 (14th)

Years since last title: 7 (9th)

Teams lost: 1 (original Rockies - NHL)

The Nuggets deprived the local faithful of the last American Basketball Association title in 1976, when they were upset by the New York Nets. The Broncos' four Super Bowl losses tie them with Buffalo and Minnesota for the most ever, though wins in their last two took away some of the sting.

[Sassy]

6. Houston
7. Denver
8. Cleveland
9. Philly
10. Minnesota

[FADERPROOF]

Cleveland has to be in the top 3, Cavs, Browns, and Indians have all gone through some miserable times.

[tsiguy96]

denver is in top 10 worst cities? would have never guessed that. 6 superbowl APPEARANCES is nice, a decent hockey team, a world series baseball team, and i have no clue if the nuggets are good, i thought they were almost in playoffs?

[Punisher]

Philadelphia should be higher on the list and where the hell is cincinnati

[Tombstone RJ]

This is a BS list. Denver anywhere in the top 20 is BS.

If Denver is in the top 10, Miami should be too. Miami has 3 championships in the last 20 years, and Denver has 4.

MIAMI, FL
2 MLB (I don't know number of playoff appearances)
1 NBA (several appearances)
0 NFL (1 SB appearance, many playoff apearances)
0 NHL (1 Stanley Cup appearance, don't know how many playoffs)

DENVER, CO
0 MLB (1 WS appearance, 2 playoff appearances)
0 NBA (several playoff appearances, don't know how many exactly)
2 NFL (5 SB appearances, 2 NFL championships, multiple playoffs)
2 NHL (2 Stanley Cups, perennial playoff contendar)

[missingnumber7]

How does Phoenix land in the top 5...or do the diamondbacks not count for them. I think MN needs to be higher(how does a hockey state lose a hockey team). When i have time i might have to look at this closer.

[Arkansas Bronco]

Other than the tigers Memphis sucks. I still go to Griz games when I can but the house is empty. Seems like very few still support them.

[sixtimeseight]

Wow, Forbes magazine thinks we're a miserable sports city. Who ****ing cares. Why do people even post this tripe?

[Atlas]

Originally Posted by sixtimeseight

Wow, Forbes magazine thinks we're a miserable sports city. Who ****ing cares. Why do people even post this tripe?

Because it's a football forum Maybe Could be

[TDmvp]

this list is BS .... no cincinnati .... yea right ...... take denver out and add cincy

[Bronx33]

This list was written by an idiot

[24champ]

You guys didn't read what the author stated for the two reasons he picked these cities. One is "futility" like the Saints and their crappy history and the other is heartbreaking games.

Losing 4 super bowls still tick off a lot of the old timers on here.

That being said I disagree with placing Denver in the top 10.


One thing that is really missing from the list is Kansas City. The have the worst baseball team ever, as well as the one of the worst football franchises in the NFL. Then again I guess that reflects on KC fans who are content with being losers.

[lex]

Im convinced this is written by some bitter Ma-hole.

[Peoples Champ]

Originally Posted by tsiguy96

denver is in top 10 worst cities? would have never guessed that. 6 superbowl APPEARANCES is nice, a decent hockey team, a world series baseball team, and i have no clue if the nuggets are good, i thought they were almost in playoffs?

I would say a better than decent hockey team, we have two stanley cups and they have only been in denver since 1995-1996, Thats pretty impressive when some hockey clubs have never won, or have taken longer than that to win in a city.

(even though we were not an expansion team)

[kmartin575]

Originally Posted by 24champbailey

You guys didn't read what the author stated for the two reasons he picked these cities. One is "futility" like the Saints and their crappy history and the other is heartbreaking games.

Losing 4 super bowls still tick off a lot of the old timers on here.

That being said I disagree with placing Denver in the top 10.


One thing that is really missing from the list is Kansas City. The have the worst baseball team ever, as well as the one of the worst football franchises in the NFL. Then again I guess that reflects on KC fans who are content with being losers.

One of the worst football franchises in the NFL? That's a bunch of horse****. Regardless of our lack of recent postseason success I don't think it is debateable at all that this is one of the more respected franchises in the NFL. You a-holes in Denver have no respect.

And I don't seem to be able to find any Rockies world series championships. AT least the Royals have won the world series.

[Kaylore]

Originally Posted by kmartin575

One of the worst football franchises in the NFL? That's a bunch of horse****. Regardless of our lack of recent postseason success I don't think it is debateable at all that this is one of the more respected franchises in the NFL. You a-holes in Denver have no respect.

And I don't seem to be able to find any Rockies world series championships. AT least the Royals have won the world series.

[Doggcow]

Originally Posted by lex

Im convinced this is written by some bitter Ma-hole.

Probably, 18-1!

[lex]

4 championships since 1996 and we're actually ahead of Cleveland which we Charlie Brown-ed three times in the past. And Cleveland hasnt won a championship since the Browns won in the mid-early 60s. Not only that but they actually lost their franchise at one point. This list is utter garbage put together by someone with an axe to grind.

[Peoples Champ]

Originally Posted by kmartin575

One of the worst football franchises in the NFL? That's a bunch of horse****. Regardless of our lack of recent postseason success I don't think it is debateable at all that this is one of the more respected franchises in the NFL. You a-holes in Denver have no respect.

And I don't seem to be able to find any Rockies world series championships. AT least the Royals have won the world series.

The Royals have been around forever, the rockies are brand new and they have already been to a world series more recently than the royals, Edge goes to the Rockies for getting there and being an expansion team in 1993.

PS, how are those Kansas City hockey or basketball teams doing these days?
Ya I would say you need at least 3 of 4 major sports in the city to be a decent sports town.....Indianapolis you too, get a baseball team or hockey. Does that make Indianapolis the best sports town in the USA because they are 1 of 1 in championships (pacers never there because of the Bulls and colts were not in Indy when they lost the superbowls, indy colts are 1 for 1)

[24champ]

Originally Posted by kmartin575

One of the worst football franchises in the NFL? That's a bunch of horse****. Regardless of our lack of recent postseason success I don't think it is debateable at all that this is one of the more respected franchises in the NFL. You a-holes in Denver have no respect.

And I don't seem to be able to find any Rockies world series championships. AT least the Royals have won the world series.

It is one of the worst football franchises in the NFL. Not very many playoff wins or appearances. Some of which you guess depended on other teams losing and backed into the playoffs. Secondly there is not much to respect of KC, hence why we don't respect your crap teams. Then again you prove my point, KC is content with rooting for bottom of the barrel crap teams and calling it "one of the most respected franchises in the NFL".

As far as the Royals go, I doubt they sniff the World Series this century. That's how bad they suck.

[bronco militia]

cleveland and buffalo should be your top two.....

denver has won 4 champioships in the last 12 years so that should push them out of the top 20

[Peoples Champ]

Originally Posted by bronco militia

cleveland and buffalo should be your top two.....

denver has won 4 champioships in the last 12 years so that should push them out of the top 20

Ya it should go by championships won. not your championship record. Like a batting average. Some guy going 1 for 1, yes he is batting a 1000, but everyone knows that doesnt mean anything. With success comes failure.

Is indianapolis the best sports town just because they are 1 for 1 in championships?

My point is taken

[Ugly Duck]

Originally Posted by bronco militia

denver has won 4 champioships in the last 12 years so that should push them out of the top 20

I think the author had the SB losses in mind. Don't the Broncos have the NFL record for losing in the SB?