10 Most Hyped Preseason Title Favorites This Decade so Far
Preseason title favorites have disappointed across multiple sports during the current decade.
There is no one reason for why supposed sports superpowers become letdowns. Injuries and other unforeseen setbacks eliminate momentum had by championship-caliber sides. A favorite, at the start of a season, to be the last team standing gets dethroned by an unexpected opponent. In some cases, a team that is picked by journalists and beat reporters to win it all ends up being an average side.
Professional sports fans living in northeast Ohio have twice had their dreams of being able to attend a championship parade crushed this decade. Both the Cleveland Indians and Cleveland Cavaliers have recently been predicted to win titles, and both failed to reach the mountaintops of their sports, albeit in different ways.
It was less than two full years ago when Real Madrid seemed to have the goods to become a dynasty. The Denver Broncos were looking at a "Super Bowl or bust" situation back in the summer of 2013. Neither of those clubs met such high expectations, although Denver did right that wrong and hoist the Vince Lombardi Trophy in celebration last month.
Making such bold predictions is somewhat similar to a decent recreational league basketball player attempting to drain a free throw while blindfolded. Somebody with experience may be able to get the job done, but doing so is no easy task. Such articles generate page views, and they also spark conversations among fans in the weeks and days leading up to an opening day or opening night of a season.
2014-15 Real Madrid
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Nobody, not even the biggest Real Madrid supporter out there, could have been blamed for believing Los Blancos would be able to run the table for the 2014-15 campaign.
Real won the Copa del Rey and the Champions League during the first half of 2014. Gareth Bale, who had joined Real from Tottenham Hotspur at the end of the 2013 summer transfer window and who buried the game-winning tallies in the Copa del Rey and Champions League Finals, was just 25-years-old and with a single season playing for the Spanish giants on his resume. Cristiano Ronaldo was the best player in the world.
As Matt Law of Sports Mole explained in August 2014, the rich became even richer following that summer's World Cup.
"How do you improve a team that has almost everything? Sign World Cup stars James Rodriguez and Keylor Navas and one of the best midfielders in world football in the shape of Toni Kroos. They have spent a lot of money, but it is now a squad that looks capable of picking up every major trophy next season. They won the Champions League and Copa del Rey last term, but missed out to Atletico Madrid in the league. Second or third will not be good enough this time around, it just has to be first.
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Not only was a La Liga title not in the cards for Real. The club finished the season without winning a single meaningful trophy. Manager Carlo Ancelotti was fired in the spring of 2015, roughly one year after winning the biggest title in all of club football.
As was pointed out by Alex Baker of Yahoo Sports in May 2015, plenty went wrong for Real during the season. Play-making midfielder Luka Modric and forward Karim Benzema suffered injury setbacks at different points of the campaign. Ronaldo lost his world-class form, and that fall from grace may prove to have been the beginning of the end of his prime. Meanwhile, rivals Barcelona had the best attacking trio in the world in Lionel Messi, Neymar and Luis Suarez.
Things at the Bernabeu are not much better as of March 1, 2016, as Ronaldo recently called out teammates after Real lost 1-0 to Atletico Madrid (h/t ESPNFC.us).
2012 Miami Marlins
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Major League Baseball has changed a lot over the past ten years. It would not have been crazy to suggest in the spring of 2006 that a World Series could be "bought" via free agency. The Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees served as examples of clubs that won free agency sweepstakes and subsequently won World Series titles during the latter half of last decade.
The Miami Marlins attempted to copy that formula of building a championship roster before the start of the 2012 season. Miami splashed the cash to acquire shortstop Jose Reyes, starting pitcher Mark Buehrle and closer Heath Bell. The only player the Marlins missed out on, per Jonah Keri of Grantland, was slugger Albert Pujols.
Keri still expected big things out of the Marlins even without having Pujols in the Miami lineup.
"IF EVERYTHING BREAKS RIGHT
Reyes leads a massive offensive improvement, (Josh) Johnson returns to Cy Young-caliber form, the aging and injury-wracked Phillies lose their iron grip on the division, and the Fish win the East. We’re still three years and one league switch away from a Back to the Future prophecy, though.
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Little broke right for the Marlins. Johnson finished the year with a record of 8-14 (h/t Baseball-Reference). Buehrle was an unspectacular 13-13. Bell accumulated 19 saves, but he was so inconsistent and unreliable that he lost his job halfway through the season.
The Marlins finished with a record of 69-93.
Even worse than the disappointing campaign were the transactions made by the Marlins during the year. Hanley Ramirez was shipped to the Los Angeles Dodgers. Bell didn't make it through the end of the season before he was traded. Reyes, Buehrle and Johnson were dealt to the Toronto Blue Jays.
Sean Gregory of Time blog Keeping the Score referred to these moves as a "salary dump" in his eulogy of the 2012 Marlins.
2013-14 Miami Heat
3 of 10You have probably, by now, seen that well-known video of LeBron James, Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade being introduced to fans of the Miami Heat. It was during that ceremony when James counted up to 7 while discussing how many titles the so-called "Big Three" were going to win while with the Heat.
Things were going according to plan three years into the experiment. After the Heat came up short in the team's first trip to the NBA Finals in 2011, Miami and its trio of superstars won back-to-back titles. Tom Haberstroh, Danny Nowell, Tom Sunnergren, Michael Wallace and Brian Windhorst all predicted that the Heat would complete the three-peat for a 2013-14 NBA preview that was posted on ESPN.com.
The Heat made returning to the NBA Finals for a fourth straight season look easy. Miami won 12 of 15 postseason contest to claim the Eastern Conference crown, and only the San Antonio Spurs stood in the way of the Heat potentially becoming the league's next great dynasty.
Then, as NBA Insider Ken Berger of CBS Sports wrote about at the time, the air conditioning malfunctioned in San Antonio during Game 1 of the NBA Finals. James cramped up and was ineffective throughout the second half, and the Heat dropped the following contest.
While the Heat did well to rally and split the series with a win in Game 2, that would be Miami's best moment of those Finals. San Antonio closed the Heat out with three straight victories, thanks largely to a style of team basketball that was praised by Steve McPherson of Rolling Stone following the Finals.
There is no shame in winning four straight conference championships and two NBA titles in four seasons. This Heat roster will be remembered, though, because it was the last of its kind. James left South Beach to return to the Cleveland Cavaliers in the summer of 2014, and he took with him any hope that Miami would again reign supreme at any point in the near future.
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2013 Denver Broncos
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The Denver Broncos began the 2013 National Football League season with one goal in mind; win the last game of the campaign. Even winning the AFC Championship would be a lackluster accomplishment without capping off the season with a Super Bowl title.
NFL Writer Will Brinson of CBS Sports pointed this out in his preview for the 2013 Broncos.
"Making it into the postseason for the Broncos, Vegas' prohibitive Super Bowl favorites at this point, won't be good enough. The only thing that would be considered a success is a Super Bowl victory for Denver. They're completely capable of it too.
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Quarterback Peyton Manning and the Denver offense were, as Elliot Harrison of NFL.com explained, historically good during the regular season. Manning tossed 55 touchdown passes, a single season record, and the Denver offense entered the playoffs with an aura of invincibility.
Denver downed two of Manning's famous foes in postseason play. First, Philip Rivers and the San Diego Chargers were defeated 24-17. Tom Brady and the New England Patriots, a thorn in Manning's side throughout his career, were little match for the Broncos in a 26-16 contest that was not nearly as close as the score would indicate.
All of Denver's dominance up until the start of Super Bowll XLVIII was erased with the first snap from scrimmage of the Big Game.
That snap sailed past Manning and entered the Denver end zone, and the Seattle Seahawks earned a safety to go up 2-0 12 seconds into the game (h/t Football-Reference.com). Seattle went on to terrorize Manning for much of the evening. The all-time great QB was picked off twice, and one of those interceptions was returned for a touchdown. Manning also lost a fumble.
The Seahawks won 43-8, and Denver's majestic regular season became nothing more than a footnote.
2015-16 Chelsea
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Chelsea, in comparison to some of the other larger clubs in the world, were relatively quiet during the 2015 summer transfer window. Nobody could blame the Blues for approaching business in such a manner at the time. Chelsea not only won the Premier League for 2014-15. The club set a single-season record for sitting atop the league table for 274 days (h/t DailyMail.co.uk).
Some, such as Matt Jones of World Soccer Talk, expected back in August 2015 that Chelsea would be even more dominant during the 2015-16 campaign.
"In recent weeks, Mourinho has calmly asserted his confidence in the team’s solidity. “You are speaking with the manager of the best team in England – we have no fragilities,” he told the press following a 4-2 loss to New York Red Bulls in the International Champions Cup.
Chelsea’s real strength lies in depth. Having stated that both Victor Moses and Bertrand Traore will not be going out on loan, Mourinho is illustrating a true commitment to his current players. And while many are doubting the Colombian’s ability to legitimately contribute, Mourinho has heralded Radamel Falcao’s loan deal as great business. That he should come third in the striker pecking order, behind Diego Costa and Loïc Remy, says quite a lot about the versatility of this Chelsea team.
Overall, Chelsea will look to improve upon last year’s efforts. For some, that means winning all possible silverware, while for others it could simply mean fending off challenges by other Premier League title contenders. I, for one, expect them to repeat as champions of England and also expect them to go at least a round further in the Champions League.
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Who could have guessed that a preseason loss to the Red Bulls of Major League Soccer would be a sign of things to come?
Chelsea were a disaster right out of the gates, beginning 2015-16 by securing only 11 points in 10 league games (h/t DailyMail.co.uk). Mourinho bizarrely clashed with physio Eva Carneiro, who left the club in September. Chelsea and Mourinho parted ways in December, and Graeme Souness of Sky Sports was but one pundit who believed that Mourinho could only blame himself for how the situation played out.
""I think I know that (Mourinho) has lost his dressing room and that some major players in the dressing room have given up on him. And if you fall out with two or three of the main men in the dressing room, that would quickly become all of the dressing room. And I think that has happened."
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Souness continued.
""I think he has fallen out with major, senior players there and it has come back and bit him big style. They do not have quality in every position, they have quality twice over in every position. So if they were only 75 percent at it those players, they should still be sitting in a healthy position."
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Chelsea were in a relegation battle when Mourinho left/was shown the door. As of the posting of this piece, Chelsea have risen back to the middle of the Premier League table and far away from the drop.
2015 Cleveland Indians
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You don't say the phrases "no-hitter" or "perfect game" when one of those are occurring on any baseball diamond. You don't say "shutout" in the dressing room before playing a hockey game. You never want to see your favorite team on a cover of Sports Illustrated.
Cynics who don't believe in fate would say that such notions are silly superstitions. Fans of the Cleveland Indians may not agree.
As Ben Reiter of SI.com pointed out in March 2015, the 1987 edition of the Indians were featured on an SI cover and picked to win it all. Those Indians lost 101 games, and that cover is but one example of a supposed "SI Jinx."
Reiter explained in that same piece why SI believed in the 2015 Indians so much that the magazine again dedicated a spring-time cover to the club.
"The offense is loaded once more behind in-their-prime (if underappreciated) stars like MVP candidate Michael Brantley, Yan Gomes, Jason Kipnis, Carlos Santana and newly imported slugger Brandon Moss. This time, though, led by reigning Cy Young Award winner Corey Kluber, they have the pitching staff to match—we’re sure of it. After last year’s All-Star break the rotation led the majors in strikeout rate (9.33 per nine), home run rate (0.56 per nine) and FanGraphs’ WAR (11.0), while trailing only the Nationals in ERA (2.95). And none of its members, which also include Carlos Carrasco and Trevor Bauer, are yet 29. In an era in which it seems most everyone has a shot at a ring, the Indians will win their first in 67 years.
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For Cleveland fans everywhere: Thanks for nothing, SI.
Two things in particular stand out for why the 2015 Indians went a lackluster 81-80 (h/t Baseball-Reference). Cleveland won 7 of the club's first 21 regular season games, and the Tribe won 39 of 80 home contests for a home winning percentage of .488.
Manager Terry Francona must find ways to improve upon those facets of the upcoming season if the 2016 Indians are do accomplish anything of note.
2014-15 Cleveland Cavaliers
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One could understand why some would believe that a curse hovers over the Cleveland Browns, Cleveland Indians and Cleveland Cavaliers. The last time any of those team won a title was back in 1964. It was 1948 when the Indians last won a World Series. The Cavaliers have never won it all.
Hope sprung eternal when the Cavs landed LeBron James in the 2003 NBA Draft. James was as good and maybe even better than Cleveland fans could have hoped, but the Cavs never put enough talent around the superstar. James announced in the summer of 2010 via The Decision that he was leaving Cleveland for the Miami Heat.
After never winning a title while with the Cavs, James and the Heat won back-to-back championships and made four straight trips to the NBA Finals to the dismay of the Cleveland faithful.
James' emotional return to Cleveland and to the Cavaliers, a move he announced in the summer of 2014, was not just about the homecoming of a great player. It was one of multiple transactions that created the best roster in the history of the Cavs.
James wasn't the only superstar in Cleveland wine and gold this time around. Kyrie Irving was already with the Cavs, and the team then pulled off a trade for Kevin Love to form a new "big three." Three-point shooter J.R. Smith, guard Iman Shumpert and center Timofey Mozgov joined the Cavs during the season.
A Cleveland team picked by multiple NJ.com writers back in October 2014 to win it all had been bolstered months before the playoffs, and the Cavs had momentum at the start of postseason play.
There was to be no parade in Cleveland in June. Love suffered a separated shoulder in the opening round of the playoffs, an injury that ended the forward's season. Irving went down to a serious knee injury late in Game 1 of the NBA Finals. Those setbacks proved to be too much, as the Golden State Warriors closed the Cavs out with three straight victories to take the series 4-2.
2015 Green Bay Packers
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It was known late last August that the Green Bay Packers would be without wide receiver Jordy Nelson for 2015 after Nelson suffered a torn ACL in a preseason contest. That did not stop Don Banks, Michael Beller, Melissa Jacob and Austin Murphy from predicting that the Packers would win Super Bowl 50 for a NFL preview that was posted on SI.com.
Banks explained his pick in that piece:
"Even without injured receiver Jordy Nelson, Green Bay still has the NFL's state-of-the-art offense and the game's best quarterback playing in the prime of his career in Aaron Rodgers. The Packers defense and special teams conspired to fuel that epic collapse at Seattle in the NFC Championship Game, but Green Bay is too talented and too motivated to be denied this season. It took longer than most of us expected, but the Packers will earn their second Super Bowl ring of the Mike McCarthy-Rodgers era.
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One can usually break down stats to discuss why a team wins or loses. There were forces at work this mere mortal cannot comprehend during that crazy playoff game involving the Packers and the Arizona Cardinals last January.
Chris Chase of USA Today expertly broke down the biggest plays from that contest. Green Bay quarterback Aaron Rodgers converted on 4th-and-20 when backed up into his end zone with under 1:00 left on the clock. Rodgers then connected on a Hail Mary as time expired to bring the Packers to within a point.
Instead of trying to catch the stunned Cardinals off-guard with a two-point attempt, Green Bay played it safe and kicked the game-tying extra point. The overtime coin toss had to be redone because the coin didn't flip, the Cardinals picked up 75 yards on the first play from scrimmage of the overtime period, and Arizona scored the game-winning touchdown two plays later.
Would Green Bay have been crushed by the dominant Carolina Panthers in the NFC Championship Game? Maybe. The Packers would have been playing with house money had they converted a two-point conversion with no time left against Arizona, and that could have made Green Bay a dangerous side for that game in Carolina.
2015-16 Barcelona
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Unlike Chelsea during the current European season, Barcelona are not failing to meet high expectations.
Both Guillem Balague and Graham Hunter of Sky Sports predicted before the season that Barcelona would retain their La Liga crown for another season. Balague offered the following on Barcelona:
"There are lots of ifs at Barcelona. If they can be strong defending and effective upfront, if rotations work, if they are still hungry, if they look after the details, and if they get their minds right, then Barcelona are still going to be the team to beat.
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What is fascinating about this Barcelona team is that it not only survived a setback that could have slowed any club in the world. That "problem" may, when all is said and done, helped unveil a new best footballer in the world.
Lionel Messi suffered a knee injury in September that ultimately kept him on the shelf for nearly two months. Neymar was there to fill the hole created by Messi's absence, and the Brazilian enjoyed his best run of club football since signing for Barcelona in 2013.
JJ Bull of The Telegraph wrote about how Neymar received assistance from his fallen teammate during the fall months.
"In Messi's absence this season, Neymar has scored 13 goals in 14 games and created an astonishing 55 chances - when playing with Messi, he created only 82 over the entirety of 2014/15.
But, where certain other world stars might become jealous, petulent or unsupportive of teammates who legitimately threaten their status as the main man (I'M TALKING ABOUT RONALDO), Messi has actively helped to develop Neymar into an individual superstar and a real team player.
Just as Ronaldinho took Messi under his wing at Barcelona, Messi has mentored Neymar and you can see the effect it has had on the Brazilian. We now know that when Neymar is the focus of the Barcelona team he can produce numbers just like his mentor but, crucially, knows the team comes first.
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The attacking trio of Messi, Neymar and Luis Suarez is a whole unit as the start of spring looms ahead. Barcelona were, as of March 2, at the top of the league table and ahead of second-place Atletico Madrid by eight points (h/t SkySports.com). Barcelona will once again play in the Copa del Rey Final in 2016, and they will be in the quarterfinals of the Champions League so long as they avoid a complete meltdown in the second leg against Arsenal (Barcelona defeated Arsenal 2-0 at the Emirates in the first leg).
2016 Chicago Cubs
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We end this piece with a different type of preseason title favorite: A club that has not yet taken the field.
Predictions that the Chicago Cubs will win the World Series have, in the past, been like the football held by the character Lucy. Fans hoping to celebrate that first Chicago World Series victory since 1908 have been Charlie Brown, and the Baseball Gods have been Lucy pulling the ball away as Charlie Brown swings at the ball, misses and lands painfully on his backside.
No wonder an emotionally-broken fan of the Cubs may have scoffed upon learning that the club was, according to ESPN Staff Writer David Purdum, the consensus favorite to win the World Series at multiple Las Vegas sportsbooks back in late February.
It makes sense that bettors would be keen on showing faith in the Cubs. A youth movement helped turn the 2015 Cubs into a team ready to immediate compete for a title, and Chicago ripped off 97 regular season wins. The Cubs then defeated division rivals the St. Louis Cardinals in the National League Divisional Series, but the dream run was cut short when Chicago was swept by the New York Mets in the NL Championship Series.
Jake McCarthy of The Sports Xtreme has provided reasons for why Chicago fans should be optimistic at the start of March (h/t UPI.com).
"Last year's standout newbies -- third baseman and NL Rookie of the Year Kris Bryant, shortstop Addison Russell and catcher/outfielder Kyle Schwarber -- return with a valuable year of experience.
The Cubs also didn't stand pat. They hit the free agent market to fill starting pitching and the bullpen holes while bolstering their bats and defense.
They added right-hander John Lackey (13-10, 2.77 ERA); infielder Ben Zobrist, who moves over from World Series champion Kansas City; and right fielder Jason Heyward, a top defensive outfielder with the St. Louis Cardinals who has three Gold Gloves.
It creates an intriguing mix with returning mainstays like first baseman Anthony Rizzo, catcher Miguel Montero and veteran starting pitchers Jake Arrieta (the 2015 Cy Young Award winner) and left-hander Jon Lester.
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The usual suspects will be looking to extend the World Series drought of the Cubs past 2016. Those same Mets that swept the Cubs out of the NLCS could be even better this year if the young guns in the team's rotation remain healthy and improve during the season. You can always count on the Cardinals to be in it to win it come September.
What say you? Will this be the year when the Cubs stop being a punchline and become known as world champions for the first time in over a century?
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