Everyone has a different idea about what makes a sports city tortured. Do their teams need to reach the championship and fall just short every year? Or is it a more torturous experience to start every year without those new season title hopes and dreams?
52 years came and went without a team in Cleveland bringing home a championship. Much was made about the Cavaliers finally winning a title behind LeBron James’s virtuoso performance as June wound down. The prodigal son had returned and taken the team where no one had in generations. Finally, the curse was lifted. Cleveland exorcised its spirits. The Land would come off the lists of most tortured sports cities.
ESPN published a Sports Misery Index not long after Cleveland’s big win. Now that Cleveland was off the list, which town is currently battling the most demons? The current, uh, champion? San Diego.
It’s hard to argue with author Bill Barnwell’s logic, but it’s also hard to lament the struggles of a town greeted with sunshine and seventy-degree weather every day. The runner up is Buffalo. We can get on board with Buffalo. Continue reading