Wisconsin sports fans - consider yourself fortunate. Since the turn of the century we have been witness to some great moments in sports from a variety of state teams...
...A Final Four appearance for both Wisconsin and Marquette (along with a couple magical years for UWM).
...The Brewers won the wild card and made a playoff appearance.
...The Packers advanced to an NFC championship game.
...The Admirals and Wave have continued to field championship caliber talent.
Granted, it's been since the Packers championship season in 1996 since fans of Wisconsin sports have seen a championship trophy from one of the major teams, but when any non-Wisconsinite makes an ignorant attempt to beat down Wisconsin sports, you can rattle off the above, or simply explain that, "at least we're not Cleveland."
Cleveland's sports history is defined as being on the wrong end of historic moments in sports beginning with "The". The Catch, The Drive, The Shot, The Fumble...and perhaps in the near future, The Brady Quinn era. The challenge of developing a list of Cleveland's worst sports moments is not finding enough heart breakers...it's figuring out which ones to omit.
Cleveland fans have been waiting since 1964 for the Browns to win a title...since 1948 for the Indians to win a World Series...and while the Cavs have come close, they have never won an NBA Championship. Yet, because Cleveland sports is a tradition; a rite of passage for millions in Northern Ohio, fans wait with baited breath year after year, only to be disgruntled at seasons end (or in the case of the Browns, by week 2...of the preseason). Unfortunately for northern Ohioans, there doesn't appear to be a light at the end of the tunnel.
WHY IT'S NOT GETTING BETTER:
...The Indians purged themselves at the trade deadline, and the fans had to watch Victor Martinez become the most consistent hitter for the Red Sox down the stretch.
...For the second year in a row, they traded away their best pitcher and it looks like they could be facing each other in a World Series game (C.C. Sabathia of the Yankees versus Cliff Lee of the Phillies).
...The Cleveland Browns just traded away one of their most talented players before watching that player, Braylon Edwards, catch a touchdown pass for the Jets on Monday Night Football. This merely scratches the surface on the Browns...they are a complete mess.
...And in the ultimate shot to the groin, Lebron James will likely be breaking the heart of millions of Cleveland fans at the end of the season when he takes his act to a team that isn’t saddled with Shaquille O’Neal’s massive contract.
Yes, Cleveland owns bragging rights when it comes to the biggest, longest, worst drought in professional sports championships. If there is one championship title Cleveland can grasp and hold proudly aloft, it's "Most Miserable".
Even their board of tourism video takes a few cracks: watch it here (caution: a foul word is used in this video...but can you blame them?)
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