Drought (sport)

In sports, a drought refers to instances in which an individual or team has gone through a lengthy period of time without accomplishing some goal. For a team, this usually refers to an extended period of time without making the playoffs or winning a championship. Droughts occur for a variety of reasons, from chronic mismanagement to bad luck. Some droughts are also popularly attributed to a curse.

North America

Droughts by sport

In MLB, the Chicago Cubs have not won the World Series since 1908 and have not even appeared since 1945. This is the longest drought in North American sports. Some cite the Curse of the Billy Goat as a reason for the drought. In the 2008 MLB Playoffs, they were swept out of the post season in three games by the Los Angeles Dodgers, and in 2015 they were swept again in 4 games by the NY Mets in the NLCS. This increased the drought to a 107 years (106 years if the cancelled 1994 World Series is excluded). Even if the Cubs had won the 1945 World Series, they would still hold the longest drought in baseball, as the next closest team to them is the Cleveland Indians, who last won the World Series in 1948.
Further information: List of Major League Baseball franchise postseason droughts
In the NHL, the longest current title drought is shared by two teams: the Toronto Maple Leafs, who have not won the Cup or even appeared in the Cup Finals since 1967, and the St. Louis Blues, who entered the league when it doubled in size the following season, and have not yet won the Cup.
Further information: List of NHL franchise post-season droughts
In the CFL, the longest continuous and current Grey Cup drought is held by the Winnipeg Blue Bombers at 24 years. The 2014 revival of pro football in Ottawa with the Ottawa Redblacks arguably revives a drought going back to 1976, when the Ottawa Rough Riders last won a CFL championship for that city. The Rough Riders ceased operations in 1996, and the Ottawa Renegades played four seasons from 2002-2005, leaving a total of thirteen seasons in which no professional football was played in the capital. If the seasons Ottawa did not field a team are excluded, Ottawa's teams hold a current drought of 25 non-consecutive seasons and counting, one season longer than Winnipeg.
In the NFL, four teams have never appeared in a Super Bowl (the Cleveland Browns, Detroit Lions, Jacksonville Jaguars and Houston Texans), and ten other teams have never won that game. The longest active title drought is that of the Arizona Cardinals franchise, which last won an NFL championship in the 1947 season. The Cardinals have played home games in four different cities in three market areas since the team last won a title: Chicago, St. Louis, and the Phoenix suburbs of Tempe and Glendale.
Further information: List of NFL franchise post-season droughts
13 NBA teams have never won a championship. The league's longest drought belongs to the Sacramento Kings, who have not won the championship or even been to the NBA Finals since 1951, when they were known as the Rochester Royals. Sacramento is the fifth different city to host the team since it last won a title (Rochester, Cincinnati, Kansas City, and Omaha are the others).
Further information: List of NBA franchise post-season droughts
In Major League Soccer, the longest current MLS Cup drought is 16 years, held by three teams, the New England Revolution, New York Red Bulls, and FC Dallas, as each team has failed to win the league title despite having competed in every MLS season dating back to 1996. All have made MLS Cup Final appearances (Dallas lost to Colorado Rapids in MLS Cup 2010, New York lost to Columbus Crew in MLS Cup 2008, and New England lost to Los Angeles Galaxy in MLS Cup 2002 and MLS Cup 2005, and to Houston Dynamo in MLS Cup 2006 and MLS Cup 2007). While Dallas and New England have won other trophies (Dallas won the 1997 U.S. Open Cup as the Dallas Burn, and New England won the 2008 North American SuperLiga and 2007 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, New York has gone 16 seasons without winning a non-preseason trophy. CD Chivas USA, Montreal Impact, Philadelphia Union, Seattle Sounders FC, Toronto FC, and Vancouver Whitecaps FC have also never won an MLS Cup title, but were added as expansion teams subsequent to 1996. Defunct teams Miami Fusion FC and Tampa Bay Mutiny never won the MLS Cup before they were shut down in 2002.
In regards to other major domestic trophies, the longest active Supporters Shield drought is shared by three teams, Colorado Rapids, FC Dallas, and New England Revolution. None have won a Supporters Shield despite competing in every MLS season since 1996. Among MLS teams, the longest Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup drought is 16 years, shared by 3 teams, the Colorado Rapids, New York Red Bulls, and San Jose Earthquakes. 5 other United States-based teams have not won the Open Cup (CD Chivas USA, Houston Dynamo, Philadelphia Union, Portland Timbers, Real Salt Lake), but were added as expansion teams after 1996. 3 Canada-based MLS teams, Montreal Impact, Toronto FC, and Vancouver Whitecaps FC are ineligible as they compete in the Voyageurs Cup.
Canadian teams have not won a championship since 1993, when the Montreal Canadiens won the Stanley Cup and the Toronto Blue Jays won the World Series. To the end of the 2016 NHL season, Canadian teams have participated in 197 seasons of championship play (in the NHL, 22 each for Toronto, Ottawa, Edmonton, Vancouver, Montreal and Calgary, 6 for Winnipeg and 2 for Quebec City; in the NBA, 20 for Toronto and 6 for Vancouver; in MLB 21 for Toronto and 10 for Montreal). They are a cumulative 0-for-197.

Drought prone cities

Several North American cities are believed to have championship droughts among their "Big Four" pro sports teams:

89 years - Ottawa since 1927 Stanley Cup
53 years - San Diego since 1963 AFL title (pre-Super Bowl), no World series title, no NBA title.
52 years - Cleveland since 1964 NFL title (pre-Super Bowl), 1948 World Series title, NBA Finals Appearance (2007, 2015)
51 years - Buffalo since 1965 AFL title (pre-Super Bowl, no Stanley Cup title since joining NHL in 1970-71).
46 years - Vancouver no Stanley Cups since joining NHL in 1970
45 years - Milwaukee since 1971 NBA title, (1957 World Series title, however franchise relocated).
39 years - Portland since 1977 NBA title.
37 years - Winnipeg no Stanley Cup title since joining NHL in 1979
37 years - Salt Lake City no NBA titles since the Jazz relocated in 1979.
31 years - Sacramento waiting for first since 1985.
28 years - Charlotte waiting for first since 1988.
27 years - Calgary since 1989 Stanley Cup
27 years - Orlando waiting for first since 1989.
26 years - Edmonton since 1990 Stanley Cup
26 years - Cincinnati since 1990 World Series title (no Super Bowl titles).
25 years - Minneapolis–St. Paul since 1991 World Series title (1969 NFL title (non-Super Bowl), 1954 NBA title, however franchise relocated; no Stanley Cup titles).
25 years - San Jose No Stanley Cup title since joining NHL in 1991.
24 years - Washington, D.C. since 1992 Super Bowl. (1978 NBA title, 1924 World Series title, however franchise relocated, no Stanley Cups).
23 years - Montreal since 1993 Stanley Cup
23 years - Toronto since 1993 World Series (1967 Stanley Cup, no NBA titles since joining in 1995).
21 years - Houston since 1995 NBA title
21 years - Jacksonville no Super Bowls since Jaguars joined NFL in 1995
21 years - Atlanta since 1995 World Series title (no Super Bowl, NBA, or Stanley Cup titles).
19 years - Nashville waiting for first since 1997
16 years - Columbus waiting for first since 2000.
15 years - Memphis waiting for first since 2001.
15 years - Phoenix since 2001 World Series.
12 years - Tampa Bay since 2004 Stanley Cup (won 2003 Super Bowl)
10 years - Raleigh since 2006 Stanley Cup.
All year counts are including 2016.

Cleveland has waited longer than any other city with at least three major sports franchises to win a title. The last time a Cleveland professional sports team won a championship was in 1964 when the Cleveland Browns won the NFL Championship (pre-Super Bowl era). The Cleveland Indians last won the World Series in 1948 (the second-longest drought in MLB, after the Cubs) and the Cleveland Cavaliers have never won an NBA championship. The city even had a short-lived NHL hockey team called the Barons, which never won a championship either. In 2007, the Cavaliers advanced to the NBA Finals in the city's first championship game since the 1997 World Series, but were swept by the San Antonio Spurs.The Cleveland Cavaliers again lost the NBA Finals 4-2 against the Golden State Warriors in their first NBA Finals appearance since 2007. In 2004, ESPN named Cleveland the most tortured sports city in America.^[1]

Those who believe in the Buffalo Curse^[2] cite as examples the four consecutive Super Bowl losses by the Buffalo Bills from 1990-1993 (and their failure to even reach the conference playoffs in subsequent years), as well as the failure of the Buffalo Sabres to ever win the Stanley Cup. Wide Right, No Goal, and The Music City Miracle also contribute to the belief in the Buffalo Curse. Hearts were broken once again in 2006, when the Sabres lost to the Carolina Hurricanes in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals, four of their top six defensemen were lost to injury along with Tim Connolly, the leading scorer of the playoffs at the time of his injury. Even though the Sabres made it back to the conference finals the next year, they lost again, this time to the division rival Ottawa Senators. It is notable that the Buffalo Bills won the AFL championship in 1964 and 1965. The alleged "curse", however, has not extended to the city's fringe or minor league teams—the Buffalo Bandits of the NLL have won 4 league championships (1992, 1993, 1996, 2008) and six division Championships 1992, 1993, 1994, 2004, 2006, 2008), and the Western New York Flash of the National Women's Soccer League, based in Buffalo but playing home games in Rochester, won league titles in the two competitions that directly preceded the NWSL—Women's Professional Soccer in 2011 and WPSL Elite in 2012. The Flash also won the NWSL Shield, awarded to the team with the best regular-season record, in that league's inaugural 2013 season, but lost the championship final to Portland Thorns FC.

San Diego's two professional sports teams, the San Diego Padres and the San Diego Chargers, have never won a World Series or Super Bowl, which are believed to stem from the San Diego Sports Curse. San Diego's two former NBA teams, Rockets and Clippers, never won an NBA championship either. The Padres are tied with the Texas Rangers for the most World Series appearances (two) of the eight teams without a World Series championship. The Chargers won the 1963 AFL championship and have only appeared in one Super Bowl (Super Bowl XXIX, which they lost to the San Francisco 49ers, 49-26).

Some other four-team cities have some shorter yet notable droughts. Minneapolis–Saint Paul has not reached a championship series since the Twins won the 1991 World Series. This drought, like the one in Buffalo, has not extended to the market's fringe or minor league teams—two such teams, the WNBA's Minnesota Lynx and the Minnesota Stars of the current North American Soccer League, won league championships in 2011, and the Lynx claimed another league title in 2013 and 2015.

Philadelphia was previously considered a drought-prone city, having gone 25 years between championships (1983 76ers to 2008 Phillies), with losses in championship rounds by the Flyers (1985, 1987, 1997, 2010), Phillies (1983, 1993), Eagles (2004), and 76ers (2001). Some attributed this drought to an alleged Curse of Billy Penn.

Since the founding of Major League Soccer in 1996, Washington has won all three major U.S. soccer trophies (MLS Supporters' Shield, MLS Cup and U.S. Open Cup) during its current "Big Four" drought. San Jose and Columbus have won the MLS Supporters' Shield and MLS Cup during their "Big Four" droughts while Houston, Salt Lake City, and Portland have won the MLS Cup (but no MLS Supporters' Shields or U.S. Open Cups) during their "Big Four" droughts.

All of the Canadian cities listed above have won multiple Grey Cups during their "Big Four" droughts listed above.

Outside North America

Association football

England

England has not won a major trophy since the 1966 FIFA World Cup.^[3]
Newcastle United has not won a major trophy since 1969.^[4]
West Bromwich Albion has not won the league since 1920.
Manchester City went 35 years between winning major trophies, from the 1976 League Cup^[5] to the 2011 FA Cup.
Liverpool has not won the league since 1990.^[6]
Manchester United went 26 years without winning the league from 1967 until they ended their drought by winning the newly formed Premier League in 1993.^[7]
Tottenham Hotspur has not won the league since 1961.

Italy

Genoa has not won the league since 1924, and has not won a major trophy since 1937.

Portugal

Benfica has not won a European trophy since the 1961–62 European Cup; the club has lost eight European finals since then, most recently in 2014.^[8]

Scotland

Dundee has not won the Scottish Cup since 1910.^[9]
Hibernian has not won the Scottish Cup since 1902.^[10] The club has lost the Scottish Cup Final ten times since then, most recently in 2013.
St Johnstone ended a 130-year wait to win a major national trophy (Scottish league championship, Scottish Cup or Scottish League Cup) when they won the 2013–14 Scottish Cup.^[11]^[12]

Spain

Real Betis has not won the league since 1935, which actually is their only La Liga championship. The other top-team of Seville, Sevilla FC won his last La Liga championship in 1946, when the team won its only league title.
Real Madrid won 6 of the 11 first European Cup ever disputed, and then entered in a 32-year period without winning a single European top championship. This was broken in 1998, when Los Blancos won their seventh European top championship. This was followed by another two Champions League titles in the following four seasons.
Arenas de Getxo is a Basque team which currently plays in the Spanish Tercera División, the fourth level in Spanish football system. The team competed in the first seven La Liga seasons starting in 1929. Previously Arenas had won the Spanish Cup in 1919, so the drought is now 93 years old.

Australian Rules Football

In the VFL/AFL (1897–present), the longest premiership drought was that of South Melbourne/Sydney, who won their third premiership in 1933, but did not win another premiership until 2005, 72 years later. The second-longest drought in the league was that of St Kilda (69 years) who won their first and only senior premiership in 1966.

Longest VFL/AFL premiership droughts

Years	Team	Previous VFL/AFL Premiership	Next VFL/AFL Premiership	Grand Finals during drought
72	South Melbourne/Sydney	1933	2005	1934, 1935, 1936, 1945, 1996
69	St Kilda	Never	1966	1913, 1965
61	Footscray/Western Bulldogs	1954	Drought active	1961
52	Fitzroy	1944	Never ¹
51	Melbourne	1964	Drought active	1988, 2000
50	North Melbourne	Never	1975	1950, 1974
49	St Kilda	1966	Drought active	1971, 1997, 2009, 2010, 2010 replay
44	Geelong	1963	2007	1967, 1989, 1992, 1994, 1995
36	Hawthorn	Never	1961
35	Richmond	1980	Drought active	1982
32	Collingwood	1958	1990	1960, 1964, 1966, 1970, 1977, 1977 replay, 1979, 1980, 1981 ²
29	Footscray	Never	1954
28	Geelong	Never	1925	³

¹ Fitzroy dropped out of the competition and folded in 1996, having never appeared in another Grand Final after their 1944 premiership.
² This is commonly known as the "Colliwobbles".
³ Geelong finished runners-up in 1897, but no Grand Final was required under the round-robin finals system in place that year.

Rugby league

The North Sydney Bears hold the longest premiership drought in the NSWRL/NRL, winning their final premiership in 1922 for an eighty-year drought, up until the end of their short-lived merge with Manly-Warringah; they are currently applying for re-entry into the league.

Since being established in 1967, the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks are yet to win a premiership through 46 seasons of NSWRL/ARL/Super League/NRL competition - the longest wait for a first title that any club has endured; in this time, the Sharks have played in six Grand Finals for one draw and five losses. Parramatta's first premiership came in its 35th season in 1981.

Hull FC lost seven consecutive Challenge Cup final appearances at Wembley Stadium between 1959 and 2008.^[13] The team has won two Challenge Cups during that time, but the final victories were at Elland Road (1982 replay) and the Millennium Stadium (2005, while Wembley was being rebuilt).^[13]

Rugby union

In France, ASM Clermont Auvergne had a championship history arguably as tortured as the most "cursed" teams in North America or Australia. From their formation in 1911 through 2009, they had never won a national title, despite making the championship final 10 times, and coming within a converted try in six of those games. The drought culminated in three consecutive title-game losses in 2007 through 2009. Les Jaunards finally broke through in 2010 to win their first title after 91 years of competition (they did not play in 1915-1919 or 1940-1942 due to World War I and World War II).

Cricket

Queensland did not win the Sheffield Shield until 1994/95, its 63rd season of competition, which is particularly astounding given that, over those 63 years, only five teams competed for the shield until 1978/79, when Tasmania were added to the competition.

Somerset have never won the English County Championship, in which they have competed since 1891.^[14]^[15] Gloucestershire have not won the Championship since it was constituted in 1890, but won three unofficial "Champion County" titles in the 1870s. Northamptonshire have not won the Championship either, but were only admitted to the competition in 1905, after the club was granted first class status.

References

↑ Darcy, Kieran (2004-07-13). "Mistakes by the lake". ESPN.com.
↑ http://www.buffalocurse.com The Buffalo Curse
↑ "Dalglish believes 'strongest ever' England can end 40 years of hurt". The Scotsman. 24 May 2006.
↑ "Fairs Cup winners to be re-united". Daily Mail. 6 October 2008.
↑ Stone, Simon (29 January 2010). "Darren Fletcher the destroyer revels in prolonging City drought". The Scotsman. Retrieved 29 January 2010.
↑ "Liverpool can end title drought, says Rush". The Independent. 28 April 2009.
↑ "Sir Alex Ferguson". www.espnfc.com. ESPN Internet Ventures. Retrieved 30 March 2014. In the newly founded 'Premier League', Ferguson found more success; the arrival of enigmatic Frenchman Eric Cantona proved to be the final piece of the jigsaw and United finally won the league title in 1992-93, ending a 26-year drought.
↑ "Sevilla seals Europa League title with shootout win over Benfica". Associated Press. CBC. 14 May 2014. Retrieved 15 May 2014.
↑ Forsyth, Roddy (31 May 2003). "Scottish Cup Final: Dundee defy sinking feeling". Daily Telegraph (Telegraph Media Group). Retrieved 17 May 2014.
↑ "Edinburgh’s real disgrace? Hibs have not won the cup since Buffalo Bill was in town". Scotland On Sunday (Johnston Publishing). 20 May 2001.
↑ Halliday, Stephen (14 November 2013). "St Johnstone: Stevie May, Tommy Wright win awards". Scotsman (Johnston Publishing). Retrieved 25 November 2013.
↑ Wilson, Richard (17 May 2014). "St Johnstone 2–0 Dundee Utd". BBC Sport (BBC). Retrieved 17 May 2014.
1 2 Gibbons, Trevor (23 August 2013). "Rugby League: Will Hull FC's Wembley hoodoo strike again?". BBC News. BBC. Retrieved 24 August 2013.
↑ Pitt-Brooke, Jack (9 April 2013). "Somerset: Always the bridesmaids of the County Championship". The Independent. Retrieved 24 August 2013.
↑ Berry, Scyld (23 August 2008). "Somerset scent a piece of County Championship history". Daily Telegraph (Telegraph Media Group). Retrieved 24 August 2013.

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