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What cities most deserve a title?
There is a sports curse on certain cities. We believe that as surely as we believe that certain franchises are doomed to fail no matter how many stars they overpay. And if you happen to live in one of these cities, you watch from afar as towns like Boston stack up rings across all sports, so many that their fans lose count. You see cities like Pittsburgh, where one team rises up to take the place of another that's fallen. And then you see San Antonio — freaking San Antonio! — winning title after title with its lone pro team, which is like winning at roulette even when you've forgotten to clear your chips off the table.
So which cities most deserve to win a title? Which cities have suffered the most in waiting and hoping for a championship? We decided to run down the top contenders, and we gave our top two choices in the video above. Below, you'll see the rest of the lineup.
A couple rules: first, we left off Cleveland. Everyone knows the story with Cleveland; no need to rub it in any more here. Plus, who knows: maybe LeBron James will bring back that championship after all. Next: major sports pro teams only. None of this tortured-college-fanbase nonsense, and all due respect to minor-league baseball, soccer, and the like, but we're talking the biggest of the big trophies here. Finally: no whining. Especially from you Boston fans who think you deserve to win titles even when you're the defending champs.
5. Kansas City. Last championship: 1985 Royals.
We could have put San Diego, Cincinnati, or Buffalo in this spot, but we're going with Kansas City, even though they were one out from winning the World Series. You get that close to victory after 30 years of futility, you deserve some kind of credit.
4. Houston. Last championship: 1995 Rockets
A city filled with perpetual soon-to-be-contenders, Houston always has one eye two years down the road, because that's when their teams are supposed to be good. We're a long way from the years of Olajuwon, and JJ Watt's commercials, while everywhere, are no substitute for a title.
3. Phoenix. Last championship: 2001 Diamondbacks
This is penance for getting to live in the beauty that is Phoenix: you have to get this close to winning it all, several times over, only to see someone else snatch away the prize. The Diamondbacks did wrestle a World Series win away from the Yankees in an all-time classic, but the Suns and Cardinals have never been able to get over the last hill.
2. Atlanta. Last championship: 1995 Braves
Oh, Atlanta. So much potential brought low by so many misfires. The Braves of the 1990s rank as one of baseball's greatest all-time dynasties, featuring three Hall of Fame pitchers (Maddux, Smoltz, Glavine), one Hall of Fame manager (Cox), and one likely future Hall of Famer (Chipper Jones), and yet the team could only win one title. The Falcons have flirted with promise before collapsing, and now the Hawks are giving Atlanta the faintest bit of hope that this could be the year.
1. Minneapolis/St. Paul. Last championship: 1991 Twins
It's been a cold quarter-century for one of the nation's coldest cities. The Vikings were the Bills before the Bills, losing four Super Bowls. The Twins had two brief moments of success, but nothing since. The Timberwolves are making headlines of late, but not for winning. The Wild reach the NHL playoffs every so often, but have only once even reached the conference finals. This is a fanbase that needs your love, but more importantly, they need your team to lose.
This debate is part of Yahoo Sports' new ongoing Grandstanding series, in which Jay Busbee and Kevin Kaduk kick around every topic in sports. Check out the Grandstanding podcast, where we dive deeper into the day's big stories, and find us on Twitter (@kevinkaduk and @jaybusbee) Facebook (Kaduk here, Busbee here) or via the hashtag #grandstanding. Thanks for checking it out!
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Jay Busbee is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Contact him at jay.busbee@yahoo.com or find him on Twitter.
And keep up with Jay over on Facebook, too.
