Top 10 Most Astounding Sports Droughts

As the saying goes, "You win some, and you lose some." Such is life in sports. However, some teams do a lot of winning. There's a current NFL dynasty in Kansas City, Florida's two NHL teams have been in the Cup Final every year in this decade, and won four of those times. The Golden State Warriors had a recent string of championships in the NBA, and baseball has the Los Angeles Dodgers and the New York Yankees among the ultimate "haves."

In contrast, while some teams do a lot of winning, some others, well, don't fare so well--and haven't for a while. In some cases, it's a long, long while. Whether it's winning the whole thing, reaching that final round, or just getting to the big dance, a number of teams have gone so long without doing any of those things. We've seen a number of big droughts become things of the past before. The Boston Red Sox's curse ended in 2004, winning the World Series for the first time in 86 years. The Buffalo Bills ended a long playoff drought in 2017, finally making the playoffs in this century. Of course, a year before that, the biggest drought finally ended. The Chicago Cubs won the Fall Classic for the first time in 108 years.

Now, those droughts ended ages ago, but there's still some big ones out there, and they are all devastating and heartbreaking. So I decided to list the ten most stunning and astounding current sports droughts in sports, and regarding this list, it covers the main four leagues, and all droughts listed (as of this writing) are ongoing.

Here we go:

10. Phoenix Suns (Never won a championship)

I think I've mentioned how Arizona sports has been just awful. When MLB's Diamondbacks were established in 1998, it gave the state a team in each of the main four leagues. However, their only bit of success came in that 2001 World Series. Arizona has been very, very snakebit, but the most cursed team in the state is the NBA's Suns. The Suns are the oldest of the 48th state's franchises, joining the NBA in 1968. 57 seasons played, and nothing to show for it. In fact, they've only reached the NBA Finals three times in franchise history, and they were defeated by the super Celtics (1976), the last victims of the Bulls' first three-peat (1993), and defeated by the Giannis-led Bucks (2021). The Suns have the distinction of having the longest wait for their first NBA championship.

9. New York Jets (No playoffs since 2010)

One of the many things I remember about the 2010 season was the New York Jets making yet another crazy run to the AFC Championship, which included actually defeating the Brady/Belichick Patriots in Foxboro to get to the Final Four. The Jets fell short again, but still, back-to-back improbable runs to the AFC Championship Game should lead to something, right? Well... sadly, no. That game against the Pittsburgh Steelers would mark the Jets' most recent playoff game to date. 14 seasons have passed, and the team hardly ever came close to sniffing the playoffs. Nothing but embarrassment, bad seasons, and more embarrassment. In New Jersey, "J-E-T-S" stands for "Just End the Season."

8. Los Angeles Clippers (Never reached the Finals)

The Phoenix Suns may have only reached the Finals three times in their 57 years, but at least they got there. The Los Angeles Clippers can't say the same. The team was established in 1970 as the Buffalo Braves, and then moved to San Diego in 1978, where they officially became the Clippers. The Clippers then moved to Los Angeles in 1984, giving the city two franchises. Three different cities, but one common bond: no NBA Finals appearances. 55 seasons (as of this point), the longest wait for a Finals appearance, sadly earning them the nod of being the afterthought in the shadow of the more prominent Lakers, and even worse, there's no way out for the Clippers.

7. Arizona Cardinals (No championships since 1947)

Even as a kid, I knew the NFL's Cardinals were jinxed. There they were, in an NFC East full of strong teams, and the Cards were the fifth wheel. The Cowboys were kings, the Giants and Washington won their share, and while the Eagles couldn't really get to the big game, at least they weren't the Cardinals. It wasn't until about nine years ago that I learned how fucked the Cardinals were. The Cardinals haven't won a championship since all the way back in 1947, when the team was based in Chicago, and when it was the NFL Championship that was the big game--which was played on the final Sunday of the calendar year. The team moved to St. Louis in 1960, and relocated to Arizona in 1988, but in that span, the playoff appearances were very minimal. They did at least reach Super Bowl XLIII, but they are still looking to end that drought, which is actually the longest championship drought in sports.

6. Pittsburgh Pirates (No division titles since 1992)

This one always blows my mind when I think about it. It has been hell for the Pittsburgh Pirates following their latest World Series win in 1979. The postseasons have not come to them. Even worse, they're in a city where the Steelers continue to thrive, and the Penguins keep superstars and win, so the Pirates are basically the black sheep of the city. The Pirates can't even win a division title, let alone a pennant and World Series. They are the co-holders of the longest division championship drought in baseball, a distinction they share with the Colorado Rockies and the Miami Marlins, but in the case of those two teams, they've never won the division. The Pirates last won a division title in 1992, a year before the Rockies and Marlins debuted. Here's how bad that drought is: it was the old NL East that the Pirates won that year. They have never won the NL Central, which was created in 1994.

5. Buffalo Sabres (No playoffs since 2010-11)

Will this ever end? I said this before in a story; I kinda get why fans in Buffalo have been very toxically arrogant when it comes to the Bills, because they want to forget that the Sabres even exist. The NHL is a league where anything is possible. Any team can get hot and get into the playoffs, and any team to go on a run that is longer than expected. Apparently, the one thing that isn't possible is playoff hockey in Buffalo. The current drought, the longest in the NHL and tied for the longest in sports, is at 14 years. I've heard it for the last four or five years; promises of improvement, predictions that the drought will end, but it hasn't. The last time the Sabres made the playoffs, there was hockey in Atlanta. Rumor is that Atlanta may get the NHL back again. So if that happens, maybe the drought ends for Buffalo?

4. Detroit Lions (Never reached the Super Bowl)

Very recently, I wrote about the Detroit Lions' run to the NFL Championship in 1957, which is their most recent championship to date. It's been nothing but hell for the Lions since then, not only no championships, but they haven't even played for one. The Lions are one of four teams remaining who have never reached the Super Bowl, which was first played just over nine years after the Lions' last championship. But here's the thing. Out of those four teams, the Lions are the only team to have been active during the entire Super Bowl era, which began with the 1966 season, yet never played in the Super Bowl. That's tortuous. 59 Super Bowl seasons, yet the Lions have never even played in the big game.

3. Seattle Mariners (Never won a pennant)

Another one that stays with me. When the Washington Nationals won Game Four of the National League Championship Series in 2019, it completed a victorious four-game sweep over the St. Louis Cardinals. The Nationals won their first pennant in franchise history, and when that happened, the Seattle Mariners became the only team remaining that has never won a pennant. The Mariners debuted in 1977 as Seattle's second attempt at a franchise after the Pilots moved to Milwaukee after one season. It would take them 18 years to finally reach the postseason, and overall, they have not played a lot of October baseball, reaching the postseason only five times in the previous 48 seasons played. Even winning 116 games in 2001 wasn't enough for the Mariners to get to the World Series. All it got them was getting their asses kicked by the Yankees.

2. Cleveland Guardians (No championships since 1948)

Cleveland just can't have nice things. They are not allowed to win the World Series. Let's take a look at their last three World Series appearances, shall we? In 1995, they were defeated by the Atlanta Braves. That was the Braves' one championship during that 14-year division title streak. Two years later, Cleveland was defeated by the Florida Marlins--who were in their fifth season of play. So yeah, they lost to an expansion team. 19 years later, they return to the World Series, and they actually lost to the Cubs... who hadn't won in over a century. Even worse, Cleveland became the new owners of the longest championship drought in MLB; they have not won the Fall Classic since 1948--that's 76 seasons and (chances are) counting.

1. Toronto Maple Leafs (No Cups since 1967)

Come on. You knew. You knew once you read the title of this story that this would top the list. 58 years for the Toronto Maple Leafs. The last time they lifted Lord Stanley above their heads, the NHL had just the Original Six. It was the final year of that format, but still. No Cups since then. No Cup Final appearances since then. No Conference Finals appearances since 2002. This past season, they were close. One win short of the East Final. Best run with that core, yet they decide to break it up. Mitch Marner's not a Leaf anymore. Oh boy. That will definitely be saved for another story, but right now, the Leafs still own the longest current Cup drought in the NHL, and I still want to say that the drought will come to an end soon, but I don't know.

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So that's the list, sports fans? Any thoughts about the droughts I mentioned? Any other droughts you want to bring up? These teams are just ten of many who have gone through years of hardship, and time will tell if the droughts, the curses, the jinxes will come to an end at last, or if the suffering will continue on.