North America Drought (sport)

in nhl, longest current title drought shared 2 teams: toronto maple leafs, have not won stanley cup (or appeared in cup finals) since 1967, , st. louis blues, entered league when doubled in size following season, , have not yet won cup (and have not appeared in cup final since 1970).


in nfl, 4 teams have never appeared in super bowl (the cleveland browns, detroit lions, jacksonville jaguars , houston texans), , 9 other teams have never won game. longest active title drought of arizona cardinals franchise, last won nfl championship in 1947 season. cardinals have played home games in 4 different cities in 3 market areas since team last won title: chicago, st. louis, , phoenix suburbs of tempe , glendale.


12 nba teams have never won championship. league s longest drought belongs sacramento kings, have not won championship or been nba finals since 1951, when known rochester royals. sacramento fifth different city host team since last won title (rochester, cincinnati, kansas city, , omaha others).


in indycar, since winning indianapolis 500 in 1969, auto racing legend mario andretti plagued unexplainable bad luck in efforts win great race second time before retirement in 1994. misfortune @ indianapolis, cumulative total (through 2017) of 72 starts drivers, has notably extended sons michael , jeff, nephew john, grandson marco. said have affected, indirect extent, twin brother aldo, former car owners paul newman, carl haas, , newman s successor mike lanigan @ newman/haas/lanigan racing. twice, when michael andretti s team won indianapolis 500, driver subsequently defected rival chip ganassi racing following year: dan wheldon (2005) , dario franchitti (2007). ryan hunter-reay won 2014 indianapolis 500 andretti autosport. alexander rossi won 2016 indianapolis 500 andretti-herta autosport. takuma sato won 2017 indianapolis 500 andretti autosport in first year team.


in cfl, longest continuous , current grey cup drought held winnipeg blue bombers @ 26 years. blue bombers last won 78th grey cup in 1990 when beat edmonton eskimos 50-11.
in major league soccer (mls), longest current mls cup drought 20 years, held 3 teams, new england revolution, new york red bulls, , fc dallas, each team has failed win league title despite having competed in every mls season dating 1996. have made mls cup final appearances (dallas lost colorado rapids in mls cup 2010, new york lost columbus crew in mls cup 2008, , new england lost los angeles galaxy in mls cup 2002, mls cup 2005, , mls cup 2014 , houston dynamo in mls cup 2006 , mls cup 2007). orlando city sc, new york city fc, montreal impact, philadelphia union, toronto fc, , vancouver whitecaps fc have never won mls cup title, added expansion teams subsequent 1996. defunct teams cd chivas usa, miami fusion fc , tampa bay mutiny never won mls cup before shut down.
with regard other major domestic trophies, longest active supporters shield drought shared 2 teams, colorado rapids , new england revolution. neither has won supporters shield despite competing in every mls season since 1996. among mls teams, longest lamar hunt u.s. open cup drought 20 years, shared 3 teams, colorado rapids, new york red bulls, , san jose earthquakes. 4 other current united states-based teams have not won open cup (houston dynamo, philadelphia union, portland timbers, real salt lake), added expansion teams after 1996. 3 canada-based mls teams, montreal impact, toronto fc, , vancouver whitecaps fc ineligible compete in voyageurs cup.
canadian teams have gone winless 208 seasons, since 1993 when montreal canadiens won stanley cup , toronto blue jays won world series. end of 2017, canadian teams have participated in 208 seasons of championship play (in nhl, 23 each toronto, ottawa, edmonton, vancouver, montreal , calgary, 7 winnipeg , 2 quebec city; in nba, 22 toronto , 6 vancouver; in mlb, 23 toronto , 10 montreal). cumulative 0-for-208.

cities significant droughts

several north american cities considered have championship droughts among big 4 pro sports teams:

54 years – san diego since 1963 afl title (pre-super bowl, lost 1995 super bowl, chargers relocated beginning 2017), no world series title (lost 1984 , 1998 world series), no nba title (clippers relocated los angeles in 1984)
52 years – buffalo since 1965 afl title (pre-super bowl, lost 1991-1994 super bowls), no stanley cup title since joining nhl in 1970–71 (lost 1975 , 1999 stanley cup final), no nba title (braves relocated san diego in 1978).
47 years – vancouver no stanley cups since joining nhl in 1970, lost 1982, 1994, , 2011 stanley cup finals (the cfl s bc lions have won 6 grey cups, last in 2011), no nba title (grizzlies relocated memphis in 2001).
46 years – milwaukee since 1971 nba title (lost 1982 world series , 1974 nba finals; city s marquette university won 1977 ncaa basketball championship)
40 years – portland since 1977 nba title (lost 1990 , 1992 nba finals; mls s portland timbers won 2015 mls cup)
38 years – winnipeg no stanley cup title since joining nhl in 1979, neither old nor current jets franchise has made stanley cup finals (the cfl s blue bombers have won ten grey cups, last in 1990)
38 years – salt lake city has not won major championship since jazz relocated new orleans in 1979, lost 1997 , 1998 nba finals (mls s real salt lake won 2009 mls cup, city s university of utah won ncaa basketball championship in 1944)
32 years – sacramento waiting first since 1985, no nba championship appearances. sacramento monarchs won 2005 wnba finals , lost 2006 wnba finals folded after 2009 season.
29 years – charlotte waiting first since 1988. (super bowl appearances in 2004 , 2016)
28 years – calgary since 1989 stanley cup, lost 2004 stanley cup final (the cfl s stampeders have won 4 grey cups since then, last in 2014)
28 years – orlando waiting first since 1989 (lost 1995 , 2009 nba finals)
27 years – edmonton since 1990 stanley cup, lost 2006 stanley cup finals (the cfl s eskimos have won 4 grey cups since then, last in 2015)
27 years – cincinnati since 1990 world series title, neither reds nor bengals have returned world series or super bowl respectively.
26 years – minneapolis–st. paul since 1991 world series title (1969 nfl title (non-super bowl), 1954 nba title, franchise relocated; no stanley cup titles). longest current championship drought metro area team in each of big 4 leagues. twins, vikings, timberwolves, , wild have yet make championship appearance since 1991. (the wnba s minnesota lynx won championships in 2011, 2013, 2015 , 2017.)
26 years – san jose no stanley cup title since joining nhl in 1991.(2016 stanley cup finals appearance)
25 years – ottawa no stanley cup title since rejoining nhl in 1992. (2007 stanley cup finals appearance) (the cfl s redblacks won 104th grey cup in 2016.)
25 years – washington, d.c. since 1992 super bowl. (1978 nba title, 1924 world series title, franchise relocated, no stanley cups; mls s dc united won 4 mls cups during drought, last in 2004). lost 1998 stanley cup final.
24 years – montreal since 1993 stanley cup, canadiens have not returned stanley cup final since (the cfl s alouettes have won 3 grey cups since then, last in 2010)
24 years – toronto since 1993 world series (1967 stanley cup, no nba titles since joining in 1995, cfl s argonauts have won 4 grey cups since blue jays last world series title, argos last in 2012). neither blue jays, raptors, nor maple leafs have made respective finals since 1993.
22 years – jacksonville no super bowls since jaguars joined nfl in 1995
22 years – atlanta since 1995 world series title (no super bowl, nba, or stanley cup titles), lost 1996 , 1999 world series , 1999 , 2017 super bowls.
19 years – nashville has not won major championship since titans relocated, lost 2000 super bowl , 2017 stanley cup
17 years – columbus, ohio has not won major championship since blue jackets joined nhl in 2000 , have yet make stanley cup finals appearance (mls s columbus crew won 2008 mls cup, city s ohio state university won 8 ncaa football championships, in 2014, , 1960 basketball championship)
16 years – phoenix since 2001 world series, lost 2009 super bowl
16 years – memphis has not won major championship since grizzlies relocated vancouver in 2001 , has yet make nba finals appearance
13 years – tampa bay since 2004 stanley cup, lost 2008 world series , 2015 stanley cup (2003 super bowl win)
11 years – raleigh since 2006 stanley cup (duke , north carolina, both located in region, have each won 2 ncaa basketball championships during span), hurricanes have not returned stanley cup final since then
10 years – indianapolis since 2007 super bowl, lost 2010 super bowl
10 years – anaheim since 2007 stanley cup (2002 world series victory), no subsequent stanley cup final appearances ducks since then.
all year counts of 2017.

those believe in buffalo curse cite examples 4 consecutive super bowl losses buffalo bills 1990 1993, failure of buffalo sabres ever win stanley cup. wide right, no goal, , music city miracle contribute belief in buffalo curse. hearts broken once again in 2006, when sabres lost carolina hurricanes in game 7 of eastern conference finals, 4 of top 6 defensemen lost injury along tim connolly, leading scorer of playoffs @ time of injury. though sabres made conference finals next year, lost again, time division rival ottawa senators. notable buffalo bills won afl championship in 1964 , 1965. alleged curse , however, has not extended city s fringe or minor league teams—the buffalo bandits of nll have won 4 league championships (1992, 1993, 1996, 2008) , 6 division championships (1992, 1993, 1994, 2004, 2006, 2008), , western new york flash of national women s soccer league, based in buffalo playing home games in rochester, won 2016 nwsl championship. flash won league titles in 2 competitions directly preceded nwsl—women s professional soccer in 2011 , wpsl elite in 2012. flash won nwsl shield, awarded team best regular-season record, in league s inaugural 2013 season, lost championship final portland thorns fc.

san diego s 2 professional sports teams, san diego padres , san diego chargers, have never won world series or super bowl, believed stem san diego sports curse. san diego s 2 former nba teams, rockets , clippers, never won nba championship either. padres tied texas rangers world series appearances (two) of 7 teams without world series championship. chargers won 1963 afl championship , have appeared in 1 super bowl (super bowl xxix, lost san francisco 49ers, 49–26).

some cities @ least 3 teams have shorter yet notable droughts. minneapolis–saint paul has not reached championship series since twins won 1991 world series. drought, 1 in buffalo, has not extended market s fringe or minor league teams—two such teams, wnba s minnesota lynx , minnesota stars of current north american soccer league, won league championships in 2011, , lynx claimed league title in 2013 , 2015.

since founding of major league soccer in 1996, both washington , columbus have won 3 major u.s. soccer trophies (mls supporters shield, mls cup , u.s. open cup) during current big 4 droughts. san jose has won mls supporters shield , mls cup during big 4 drought while houston, salt lake city, , portland have won mls cup (but no mls supporters shields or u.s. open cups) during big 4 droughts.

all of canadian cities listed above have won multiple grey cups during big 4 droughts listed above.

notable former droughts:

prior winning 2016 nba finals, cleveland had gone 52 years without championship in major professional sport. drought began after cleveland browns won 1964 nfl championship (pre-super bowl). indians lost 3 world series finals, browns did not make super bowl, , cavaliers lost 2 nba finals during drought.
new orleans had gone 43 years without winning championship in major professional sport until new orleans saints brought city first professional sports title via 2010 super bowl. drought began in 1967, inaugural year of new orleans saints (the oldest professional sports team still playing in new orleans). during drought, neither saints nor hornets (now pelicans) made super bowl or nba finals respectively.
seattle had gone 35 years without winning championship in major professional sport 1979 nba finals 2014 super bowl. during drought, mariners never made world series, seahawks lost 2006 super bowl, , supersonics (now oklahoma city thunder) lost 1996 nba finals. including seattle s current major league sports teams, mariners , seahawks, increases former drought s length 38 years (because seahawks founded in 1976, earlier of 2 teams inceptions).
phoenix had gone 33 years without winning championship in major professional sport until arizona diamondbacks won 2001 world series. drought began in 1968 inception of phoenix suns (the oldest professional sports team still playing in phoenix). during drought, diamondbacks did not make world series (albeit beginning play in 1997), cardinals did not make super bowl, suns lost 2 nba finals, , coyotes did not make stanley cup final (albeit beginning play in 1996). arizona rattlers did win arena football league twice during dry spell, in 1994 , 1997. since world series title, however, phoenix has experienced 16-year ongoing drought, leaving world series title major sports championship.
philadelphia had gone 25 years without championship in major professional sport 1983 nba finals 2008 world series. 25-year gap longest in u.s. sports history city 4 active major professional teams. during drought, phillies lost 2 world series finals, eagles lost 2005 super bowl, 76ers lost 2001 nba finals, , flyers lost 6 stanley cup finals.




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