Five Pro Sports Cities in a Championship Drought That Deserve a Ring 

With the Washington Capitals finally ending Washington, D.C.’s long big-four championship drought, it’s time to take a peak at some other cities that have gone too long without a title. Some are one-sport cities that are super passionate, spending years cheering without a ‘chip in one of the big-four sports leagues. Others are mega cities with three or four teams that have won titles, just not in decades.

It should be noted that our championship droughts are based off the MLB, NBA, NFL, and NHL. Sorry, MLS — we love you. With that said, Canadian cities won’t be included because the CFL just throws a wrench in our system. For example, the Canucks are WAY overdue for a Stanley Cup but the BC Lions have won three Grey Cups since 2010.

READ: RANKING ALL 11 TWO-SPORT CITIES | SLACKIE BROWN

First, let’s get some honorable mentions out of the way. Milwaukee almost made the list with the Brewers and Bucks going title-less since 1971. Given their proximity to Green Bay, though, the folks up there in Milwaukee have gotten enough jollies from Aaron Rodgers and Brett Favre. Another city that I wanted to put on is Charlotte, only to leave them off because the Hornets and Panthers haven’t been around all that long. Finally, the city of Cincinnati had be flummoxed. They have two teams but took a World Series home in 1990. Ultimately, they were passed over for another city with a similar drought, only this city has four teams rather than two.

Five Pro Sports Cities in a Championship Drought That Deserve a Ring

Buffalo
Last Title: Never
Poor Buffalo has the Bills and Sabres but has yet to bring a title home. With that said, they legitimately care about their sports franchises and deserve one sooner or later. Sadly, the Bills have made the playoffs just once since 2000 and the Sabres have missed out every year since 2011. Hopefully the Josh Allen era will bring some good fortune to The City of Good Neighbors.

Minneapolis-Saint Paul
Last Title: 1991
Surprise! The Twin Cities made the cut over Cincinnati.

Although having a franchise in all four leagues, the Twin Cities have gone title-less since Kirby Puckett led the Twins to a World Series win in 1991. The Timberwolves have never really been close, the Vikings haven’t seen a Super Sunday since the 70s, and the Wild are too young to have it held against them. Having said that, all their teams are getting better and made the playoffs in their most recent season. This drought is going to end soon, I know it!

Portland 
Last Title: 1977
Ever since Bill Walton led the 1977 Trail Blazers to a title, this one-sport city has gone in a rut. The one thing to note here, though, is that because they only have one team in the big-four, they support their squad like none other. In fact, during a stretch of games between 2007 and 2012, the city of Portland sold out the then-Rose Garden 195 consecutive times. 

With Damian Lillard committed to the Rose City, they’ll need to keep building on top of his talent to make noise in the West. After all, the Warriors are as solid as ever and other franchises are building super-teams left and right. Unfortunately, this drought could go on for awhile. Thankfully, the city has the Timbers.

Salt Lake City
Last Title: Never
Another case like Portland. The folks in Salt Lake City love them some Jazz. Whether it be the Malone-Stockton years, the D-Will era, or the present, they’ve packed the house nearly full every night. During the 2016-17 season, they filled 98.8 percent of Vivint Smart Home Arena over their 41-game home schedule. Luckily, Quin Snyder is the second coming of Brad Stevens and he has the team headed in the right direction. In my eyes, they’ll break up their drought before Portland does — even if they both deserve a title the same. Not to be repetitive, but thankfully, SLC has Real Salt Lake to fill the void.

San Diego
Last Title: Never
Maybe they’re too nice out in San Diego, but the city always gets a bad rap for not being a “good sports town”. While they may not be as crazy for their teams as folks in say, New York or Boston, you’ve gotta feel bad about the whole Chargers thing and they obviously care an appropriate amount. In addition to that, Petco Park is one of the crown jewels of the MLB. Can you imagine how awesome a World Series’ broadcast would look with the place packed and the Western Metal Supply Co. building as its backdrop? That would be sooo dope! Unfortunately, they’re a LONG way from that ever happening. I’ll keep dreaming.

Oh yeah, another honorable mention goes to Nashville. Like Charlotte, though, their teams are still new. But man, that Predators’ Stanley Cup run was as cool and exciting as it gets.