Sports are meant to be entertainment, but for some die-hard fans they can become an obsession. Deep down, all sports fans know that they will still wake up the day after a win or loss and their lives will be largely unchanged. However, sports are a form of pride for a city and its people that have the power to bring fans together in celebration and sorrow. Some cities, like Boston and Pittsburgh, always seem to experience the celebration of championships. For others, the sorrow and agony of defeat are all too familiar. The following is a list of the top five most tortured sports cities in North America.
- Washington D.C.
At the risk of sounding biased, Washington D.C. is going in at number five because, despite the recent Stanley Cup championship, our city has suffered enough to make this list.
The Capitals: The Capitals finally gave us something to celebrate this year, but prior to that they had lost playoff series in nine out of ten seasons, despite numerous division titles and a couple of presidents trophies. The Capitals also seem to find the most heartbreaking ways to lose. Out of the 31 times in NHL history a 3-1 lead has been blown in the playoffs, five were the Capitals, an NHL record.
Nationals: The Nats are generally good, but they become a train wreck when they reach the playoffs, and have never won a series. No matter how many different managers they hire, the Nats can’t seem to win in the playoffs. Now, with Bryce Harper hitting free agency, and an aging Max Scherzer the Nats championship window may be closing.
Redskins: The Redskins were the pride of our city, but they have not been legitimately good since the 90’s and are now failing to sell out the stadium on a weekly basis. Stars like Josh Norman have taken to social media to criticize fans for their lack of devotion and it feels like the organization is collapsing from the inside. Surprisingly, this year’s team is 6-4 and is in first place in their division for now, but we should all expect the Dan Snyder curse and quarterback Alex Smith’s gruesome leg injury to lead to a December collapse or an early playoff exit at best.
Wizards: The final professional team of the four major sports in DC is the Wizards, but based on how they have performed so far this season and in the past it is hard to think of them as a professional team.
- Canada
This may be cheating, but Canada as a whole is one of the worst places to be a sports fan right now.
Hockey Teams: Of the four major sports, only one is well represented across our northern border, and that is Canada’s national sport of hockey. Canada does have a baseball team and a basketball team, and neither of them are good by any means, but Canadians live and breathe hockey. Unfortunately they have not been rewarded by any of their professional teams in a long time. Since the Montreal Canadiens in 1993, no Canadian team has won the Stanley Cup. Imagine if the Toronto Blue Jays had won the World Series for the past 26 years. That is the way this Cup drought is viewed in Canada. It is all of their teams, versus all of the teams from the US and they continue to be left heartbroken every year come playoff time.
- San Diego, California
San Diego is one of two sports cities in the US that has never experienced a professional championship. They also currently only have one professional team as the Chargers moved to LA in 2017.
Padres: The San Diego Padres have been around since 1969 and, in that span, they have no World Series titles and only 14 winning seasons. Fans have enjoyed cheering for Hall of Famers like Tony Gwynn and Dave Winfield, but consistent winning has been illusive, causing fans to spend less time in the stadium and more time down at the beach.
Chargers: There is nothing more painful than your team leaving you for a new city. It is a fact of life that sometimes money gets tight, but you feel for these fans who had their team uprooted and moved to LA. However, even when they were in San Diego, they were not able to bring a championship to the city. The Chargers began playing in 1961, prior to the Super Bowl era. In the years since they have made 13 trips to the playoffs with one just one Super Bowl appearance, which of course they lost.
- Atlanta, Georgia
D.C. sports fans should be able to empathize with Atlanta. They have also struggled mightily in the postseason and are known for heartbreaking losses when the pressure is on.
Braves: The Braves won the NL East division championship, a record of 14 consecutive years from 1992 to 2005. In that span, they only won one World Series in five attempts. Their only win was against the hapless team from Cleveland, a city that would have made this list, but for a guy named LeBron.
Falcons: The Falcons have never won a Super Bowl, but in 2017, they were so close. They were winning 28-3, but they choked it away in the second half. This marked another championship for one of the most spoiled cities in the world and denied one of the most tortured cities their chance at glory. That Super Bowl is currently the largest blown lead in Super Bowl history.
Hawks: Yet another team from Atlanta to have never won a championship is their NBA team, the Atlanta Hawks. They, like the Braves, have made the playoffs quite often in their history including a ten season stretch ending two years ago in which they only made one finals appearance.
1.Buffalo, New York
There is something endearing about Buffalo sports and it is hard to understand. However their fans are loyal to a fault, despite having to put up with the mochary from other more successful cities.
Bills: Sit down with any member of the Bills mafia, and they will tell you that there are no other sports fans in professional sports who have had to deal with the disappointment that they have. The Bills have never won a Super Bowl, but they have no shortage of experience. Between 1991 and 1994, the Bills lost four straight Super Bowls, an NFL record. Arguably the most notable of the four was the 1991 Super Bowl against the Giants in which kicker Scott Norwood missed a game-winning field goal- the infamous “wide right”.
Sabers: Buffalo’s NHL team, like the Bills, is currently in a rebuilding stage but has had its share of crushing losses in the past. Since 1970, the Sabers have lost numerous heartbreaking playoff series, including two Stanley Cup Finals. To this day, Sabres fans will tell you that Brett Hull’s skate was in the crease when he scored the series clinching overtime goal during the 1999 finals.
Buffalo is a city that loves sports and is extremely devoted to its teams. In fact the city with the most viewers of last year’s Stanley Cup, behind D.C. and Vegas, was Buffalo. Buffalo sports fans are extremely passionate and I guarantee you that when one of their teams finally defies the odds, there will be a crazy party in the snow, down the streets of Buffalo. However, until then, they will be known as the most tortured sports city in North America because as Buffalo fans know championships do not come easily.
Sports really do have a profound impact on many different people’s lives. Whether you are an average fan, or a true die-hard, sports serve as an outlet from daily life and allow fans to sit back, relax, and yell at their televisions. Unfortunately, it is impossible for every city to be like Boston, but I think everyone can agree that it is time for those championship hogs to share the wealth a bit. There is nothing better than an upset story, and some of these cities are primed to surprise us one day, and finally reward their fans with what they have been waiting many years for: a championship celebration.
