WHAT'S THE NEXT LONG-SUFFERING FRANCHISE TO WIN A CHAMPIONSHIP?

by wwtb?, Pacifist Viking

In 2004, the Boston Red Sox won their first World Series since 1918 (what, you didn't hear about this?). In 2005, the Chicago White Sox won their first World Series since 1917 (by the way, look at the White Sox managers in the early 20th century: a guy named "Nixey" was replaced by a guy named "Pants" who was replaced by a guy named "Kid"). If you're not a fan of these teams, you had a chance to briefly feel good for their fans, had a little ray of hope for your own team, then went back to resenting them. But I still find it fun when long-suffering fans get their misery assuaged.

Over at Pacifist Viking, we've used a simply system to define franchise futility called the "Bad Luck Number." There are 30 Major League baseball teams, so in theory, in 30 years each team would have a chance to win a championship. If your favorite team has gone 30 years since either its last championship, its expansion season, or its relocation to its current location without a championship, your team has a Bad Luck Number. Those are the real long-suffering fans.

With a list of these unlucky franchises, we can ask, what's the next team to join the Red Sox and the White Sox in ending a long, long championship drought?

In baseball, two teams with serious Bad Luck nNumbers made the post-season in 2007: the Cleveland Indians (who now haven't won a World Series since 1948) and the Chicago Cubs (who now haven't won a World Series since 1908). Could either the Indians or the Cubs punch through this season? Or could another long-suffering franchise give hope to the masses in October 2008?

In the NBA, there are quite a few Bad Luck teams that appear headed to the playoffs this year. In particular, there are five teams that were founded over 30 years ago and that have never won an ABA or NBA championship: Atlanta, Cleveland, Denver, Phoenix, and Utah. Are any of these teams ready to give their fans their first taste of a championship?

It may seem a little sick, but this is one of the reasons I follow sports. I love a narrative of suffering and redemption, of emptiness following by transcendent joy. When my own favorite teams can't win a championship (and I live in Minnesota--my own favorite teams can't win a championship), I watch to see if any other long-suffering franchise can overcome its own emptiness to reach glory.