Poll:
Which franchise has disappointed you the most over the years?
SEATTLE – Seattle sports fans haven't had much to celebrate lately.
The Seahawks are 9-23 in the past two seasons and have changed head coaches twice in that time.
The Mariners haven't made the playoffs since 2001 and are struggling again this season.
The Sonics are … in Oklahoma City.
These are some of the reasons Seattle has just been named the most miserable sports city in America for the second straight year by Forbes Magazine. But more importantly, it's the ability for these franchises to tease fans with championships that has given Seattle this dubious distinction.
Forbes, which didn't include the Storm and Sounders in its rankings, notes the following statistics about Seattle's sports woes:
- Championship round losses – 3 (Super Bowl XL; 1978, 1996 NBA Finals)
- Semifinal round losses – 7 (1984 AFC Championship; 1995, 2000, 2001 A.L. Championship Series; 1980, 1987, 1993 NBA Western Conference Finals)
- Total seasons-to-championships ratio: 109-to-1 (The Sonics won the 1979 NBA Finals. Again, Forbes isn't including the Storm and Sounders FC.)
- Years since last title – 31 (Again, not counting the Storm in 2004)
Forbes also says it did not count the one-year run of the Seattle Pilots, which left for Milwaukee in 1970 to become the Brewers. It also did not include the 1917 Seattle Metropolitans, which won hockey's Stanley Cup.
Here is the complete top 10 list:
1. Seattle
2. Atlanta (1 championship in 147 seasons)
3. Phoenix (1 championship in 88 seasons)
4. Buffalo (2 championships in 87 seasons)
5. San Diego (1 championship in 91 seasons)
6. Cleveland (7 championships in 219 seasons)
7. Washington, D.C. (7 championships in 225 seasons)
8. Kansas City (3 championships in 116 seasons)
9. Minneapolis-St. Paul (7 championships in 166 seasons)
10. Houston (4 championships in 131 seasons)
Click here to read the Forbes article
What about New Orleans, you ask? Sure, they just won the Super Bowl, but the city has had perennial losers for decades.
Forbes says the criteria for its rankings are cities where the teams have teased fans by getting close to a championship time and time again, only to let them down.
Think about it. The Mariners won a major league record 116 games in 2001, but couldn't solve the Yankees. They've never made it to the World Series. The Seahawks had a five consecutive year playoff run under Mike Holmgren, but only made the Super Bowl once and failed to win it. The other time they got close was in 1984 when they lost the AFC Championship Game 30-14 to the Raiders. The Sonics made it to the NBA finals three times, but only brought home one title.
Forbes also said it gave "bonus points" to cities which had teams that packed up and left town, such as the Sonics.
"It's left local fans to watch ESPN highlights of prized 2007-08 Sonic rookie Kevin Durant light up opponents in an Oklahoma City Thunder uniform," said Forbes.
Adding to Seattle's sports woes, the Sounders FC is off to a slow start this year, sitting at the bottom of the MLS Western Conference standings. Also, the Storm hasn't made it out of the first round of the playoffs since winning the WNBA title in 2004.
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