'Great' Sports Teams That Kept Coming Up Short

Sports can be absolutely relentless—on both players and fans.

Just when you think a team is as solid and blessed with talent as any in the league, they end up getting beaten by an opponent who was just better on that given day.

That's just a part of sports, right?

In some cases, no. When an apparently great team makes it a habit of losing in big moments year after year, the window of opportunity begins to close, making it a more difficult mountain to climb in following seasons.

As you'll see, there have been plenty of teams that had a tough time overcoming the pinnacle, as they kept coming up short.

Mid-to-Late '90s North Carolina Tar Heels Men's Basketball

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Many of us who were children of the '90s remember the 1997 and 1998 North Carolina Tar Heels hoops teams thanks to future NBA stars Vince Carter and Antawn Jamison, who led the squad to back-to-back Final Four trips in those seasons.

But let's not forget the Heels had also earned a trip to the national semifinals in 1995 too, where they lost to eventual national runners-up, the Arkansas Razorbacks.

With five national titles in their storied history and a tradition as one of the blue-blood programs of the college hoops scene, no one will ever feel badly for the Heels. But during the '90s, they were a team who, in four trips to the Final Four, could only add one title to their trophy case—in 1993.

Mid-to-Late 2000s Phoenix Suns

Was there a more exciting team to watch in the NBA than the Phoenix Suns during the mid-to-late 2000s?

With two-time league MVP Steve Nash running the show and complimentary pieces like Amar'e Stoudemire and Shawn Marion to throw down dishes from Nash, the Suns had an offense that was in a completely different gear.

In a three-year span from 2004 to 2007, Phoenix averaged 59 regular-season wins and made consecutive trips to the Western Conference Finals, coming up short both times.

While falling short a round prior to the NBA Finals hurt, the most discouraging ouster might have come in the 2007 playoffs against the San Antonio Spurs during the Western Semis.

Yes, that was the hip-check series when Nash got hit to the ground by the Spurs' Robert Horry, leading to some Suns' teammates leaving the bench in his defense and getting suspended, all but costing them the series.

This is one team that had all the pieces but could never quite reach the top before the window of opportunity closed.

Post-2000 Oklahoma Sooners Football

Remember the nickname Oklahoma Sooners head coach Bob Stoops earned early in his career, Big Game Bob?

That certainly seems like a long time ago now, doesn't it?

It's not that Stoops has seen his Sooners program fall back in the arms race toward the national title in college football but because he hasn't been able to duplicate the success he had when he first came to Norman.

After finishing off the Florida State Seminoles for the national title in 2000, Stoops has seen his reputation take a major hit with numerous losses on the big stage, including two in national championship games.

It's not as if his teams have been lacking talent, as guys such as former Heisman Trophy winner Sam Bradford and stud running back Adrian Peterson came through the program.

Like the aforementioned North Carolina Tar Heels men's hoops team, the Sooners are a blue-blood program no one feels sorry for. Unfortunately, they also haven't won anything of relevance in 15 years, either.

Sacramento Kings

From their first season in Sacramento in 1985 until their resurgence during the 1998-99 season, there wasn't much to cheer about for Sacramento Kings fans—as they made the playoffs just twice in that span.

After two straight first-round losses in 1998 and 1999, the Kings became one of the most exciting and all-around best teams in the league, earning four-straight trips to the Western Conference Finals.

The best chance they had to reach and possibly win an NBA title came in 2002.

At home against the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 7, the Kings seemed destined to dethrone the champs.

As we now know, the NBA wasn't going to have it happen, as the Kings were victims of sabotage by the refs and were kept from reaching the NBA Finals.

Stacking up pound-for-pound with the Lakers that season, players such as Chris Webber, Mike Bibby and Vlade Divac were denied the chance to win rings for Kings fans and never got another chance to.

Seattle Mariners

Ken Griffey Jr., Randy Johnson and Alex Rodriguez.

Those are just three names the Seattle Mariners had on the same team during the mid-90s, making them one of the most talented teams in MLB history.

It's too bad they never advanced beyond the American League Championship Series.

That's right, even with three potential Hall of Famers on their roster, the M's could never even reach a World Series, and they only have two AL West titles to hang their hats on from that period.

In fact, in the 37 years since coming into existence, the Mariners have never reached the Fall Classic—including the 2001 team that won an MLB-record 116 games.

San Jose Sharks

Seventeen.

That's the number of postseasons the San Jose Sharks have reached since entering the NHL as an expansion team back in 1991.

In all of those opportunities to lift Lord Stanley's Cup, want to know how many times they've won it all? Zero. Zilch. Nada.

In fact, the Sharks have never even reached the Stanley Cup Finals in any of those years, truly proving just how incapable they are at winning it all.

Even as they've entered the playoffs as many people's favorites throughout the years, the Sharks have consistently come up short, leaving their fans wounded by losing in the most heartbreaking ways possible—including blowing a 3-0 series lead to the Los Angeles Kings in last year's playoffs.

Michigan Wolverines Men's Basketball

The Michigan Wolverines men's basketball program might only be recognized for reaching the Final Four five times by the NCAA—as the team had to vacate the 1992 and 1993 trips because of the whole Fab Five situation.

But for those who watched those games, the Wolverines won the games they played, so they count in my book.

Even with seven trips to the national semifinals, Michigan has only ended up with just one national title (1989), finishing as runner-up in their past three trips to the national championship game in 1992, 1993 and 2013.

The school has produced numerous first-round NBA picks and is consistently thought of as a solid program, but it doesn't have much to show for it in its trophy room.

Mid-to-Late '90s Cleveland Indians

It breaks my heart to add my favorite team to watch while growing up—the mid-'90s Cleveland Indians.

Pretending to be players such as Jim Thome, Manny Ramirez and Albert Belle while at the plate or pitchers Charles Nagy and Jose Mesa on the mound, the Tribe was as stacked a team as any during that era.

Too bad they never won it all.

After winning five straight AL Central Division titles from 1995 to 1999, the Indians may have reached the World Series in '95 and '97, but they came up empty-handed both times.

With so much firepower in their lineup, middle-school-aged me thought they would surely win a title at some point. Yet, here I am at 30 years old, still waiting for my championship.

Mid-to-Late '90s Utah Jazz

The first of a few cases of Michael Jordan getting the better of a team, the Utah Jazz of the mid-to-late '90s was a team as talented as any in the entire league.

Boasting future Hall of Famers John Stockton and Karl Malone, the Jazz mixed other talents alongside and reached the postseason in each year the dynamic duo played together.

After finally reaching the NBA Finals in back-to-back seasons in 1997 and 1998, the Jazz ran into that Jordan guy, getting beaten in six games on both occasions to prevent the team from winning their first NBA championship.

Although they got close twice, both Stockton and Malone would end their careers without a ring.

Any Philadelphia Flyers Team After 1975

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Similar to the aforementioned San Jose Sharks, the Philadelphia Flyers have had numerous playoff berths since the team's last Stanley Cup championship in 1975—31 to be exact.

With all of those opportunities to win another title, the Flyers have come up short each time, even though they've entered the second season as favorites on a few occasions.

Unlike the Sharks, though, the Flyers have at least reached the Cup Finals six times, which, although impressive, probably stirs up bad memories for Flyers fans.

Despite the team changing players, coaches and front-office folks in the 40 years since they were last champs, the result has stayed the same.

Any Dallas Cowboys Team After 2005

The Dallas Cowboys might be recognized as America's Team, but as most of us know, they haven't produced many results since their last Super Bowl win in 1996.

So why are the teams after 2005 the only ones making this list? Because 2006 was the season Tony Romo took over the full-time starter's role at quarterback, causing many Boys fans plenty of heartache in his postseason career.

Even as he exorcised his playoff demons this season by winning a Wild Card Game against the Detroit Lions, Romo failed to lead Dallas any further, losing on the road to the Green Bay Packers the following weekend.

The Cowboys are either loved or hated, so seeing them come up short each year is either a blessing or an absolute curse—which is the same feeling sports fans will have when they finally do win another Super Bowl.

Early-to-Mid '90s New York Knicks

Whether it was Michael Jordan or Reggie Miller, the New York Knicks of the early-to-mid '90s constantly left the hardwood with their heads hanging down after another brutal loss.

While the team did reach the NBA Finals in 1994 and 1999—losing to the Houston Rockets and San Antonio Spurs respectively—Patrick Ewing and his mates never got the opportunity to slip on a championship ring.

The most heartbreaking loss may have come during Game 7 of the Eastern Conference semifinals versus the Indiana Pacers, as Ewing missed a gimme finger roll that rimmed out and ended New York's season in shocking fashion.

Oregon Ducks Football

David J. Phillip/Associated Press

From Akili Smith to Joey Harrington and finally to Marcus Mariota, the slick-wearing Oregon Ducks football team has never won a national championship—but they've had a number of chances with big names at quarterback.

Going 186-66 over the past 20 seasons, the Ducks have been one of the most consistent programs in all of college football, earning a reputation for an explosive offense and, as already mentioned, those colorful uniforms.

Yet, they're still lacking the holy grail—a national title; they've gone 0-2 in their only trips to the final game.

Oregon is fun as hell to watch and should remain toward the top of the rankings in coming years. But they won't truly join the elite until they cop that ring.

Portland Trail Blazers

For adding the Portland Trail Blazers onto this list following the Oregon Ducks, one might think that I have it out for the state of Oregon.

But I promise that's not the case.

It's just that the Blazers have had about as much luck as the Ducks have over their history, only winning one NBA championship in 45 seasons in the league.

With 30 playoff appearances and two Finals losses in that time frame, the Blazers have proved to be one of the more consistent franchises, yet continue to falter on the big stage.

Their last real chance at winning it all came in 1992, when, led by Clyde Drexler, a guy whose name has been mentioned a few times in the piece—Michael Jordan—held Portland to capture his second straight title.

Mid-to-Late '80s Cleveland Browns

The Cleveland Browns might be one of the most putrid franchises in the NFL these days, but during the '80s, the Dawg Pound actually had a lot to cheer about.

With the Brownies reaching the playoffs seven times during the decade, they built quite the reputation for winning—as hard as that might be to believe.

During a five-year run from 1985 to 1989, Cleveland even made it to three AFC Championship Games.

Unfortunately, they have a big donut in the win column from each.

Famous plays like The Drive and The Fumble happened in back-to-back seasons versus the Denver Broncos, preventing Cleveland reaching that coveted Super Bowl and possibly proving that God does in fact hate Cleveland.

Early-'90s Buffalo Bills

Due to some technical difficulties—and by the word "technical," I mean I must have still been hopped up on meds from the night prior—the Buffalo Bills of the early '90s were forgotten about.

So thank you to all those who put me in my place in the comments section.

In saying that, there might not be a more deserving team on this list than the Bills teams that went to four-straight Super Bowls, only to strikeout on each attempt.

In baseball, someone who bats for an average of .250 isn't considered to be all that bad. But for those Bills teams, even going one-for-four was asking too much, as they got outscored by a total of 66 points in the four Big Games against the New York Giants, Washington Redskins and Dallas Cowboys in back-to-back years.

Even after going a combined 49-15 in the regular season from 1990 to 1993 and having a handful of future Hall of Famers, the Bills never got that coveted championship ring.

Houston Cougars Men's Basketball

Ah, yes, the infamous Phi Slama Jama.

Led by Clyde Drexler and Hakeem Olajuwon, the Houston Cougars reached three straight NCAA Final Fours and two straight title games—and they left without a championship in each.

Arguably one of the most exciting teams in college hoops history, the Cougars gained acclaim for their high-octane offense and ridiculous dunks, making fans believe they were a dynasty in the making.

Unfortunately, dynasties are only recognized when titles are won—and since Houston could never finish the task, they have to be considered as the greatest team to come up short.