Buffalo Is No Cry Baby: Fans Overdue for Championship

Cleveland desperate for a title? Philly overdue? How about Buffalo? Give the Queen City some love.

ESPN's First Take recently ran a pretty interesting and well-put-together chronicle that Philadelphia has gone 25 years without winning a professional sports championship. In this mini-documentary were the reasons why the Philadelphia faithful is due for one of their teams to win it all.

With the Phillies now in the World Series, this has to be the one for the City of Brotherly Love, or the "brothers" supposedly can be angry with good reason.

In recent sport memory, curses and cities in unbearable droughts have been brought to the front of our attention as a fan nation. With the Boston Red Sox's magic run in 2004 and dominance in 2007, we heard about the erasing of the "Curse of the Bambino" more than the batting averages of the players on those very teams.

As the Cubs controlled the N.L. Central, only to inflict more pain on their Wrigleyville crowd in the playoffs once again, we were often reminded of the year 1908. Cleveland has even been thrown into the mix of most-passionate-yet-often-disappointed fans, as the city hasn't seen a title since the pre-merger NFL title win of the Browns in 1964.

If you don't want to count the NFL pre-merger title, you must rewind back to 1948, when the Indians took home the World Series trophy.

Fans across the nation are seemingly always trying to find reasons why "they" are the most loyal fans in the U.S. Because of this, I feel the need, as a lifelong fan of Buffalo sports, to explain the legitimate reasons why the City of Buffalo should be at the top of the list, and why Buffalo fans are the most loyal.

Before I begin, I am not knocking any of the aforementioned cities, as those specific fanbases have been there for the "good and the bad of it" and do deserve a title. I am here to solely shed light on something that has been somewhat kept in darkness.

We aren't just talking teams here, we are talking entire cities. So any Cubs fans can't argue. You've had the Bulls with their two three-peats in one decade and some guy named M.J. Ever heard? You danced the Super Bowl shuffle in 1985, en-route to the Bears' most recent title.

Even with those teams, I'm going to discount the White-Sox's title in 2005, because if you're a Cubs fan, chances are you don't like the Sox. Regardless, you've witnessed some winning.

Moving on to Philly, we've heard its been 25 years, but everything hasn't been all that bad. You were there when your Flyers won the 1975 Stanley Cup. Also, the Phillies did take home the title in '80.

The city with the supposed most pain felt would be Cleveland. The Browns, as beloved as they are, haven't won a post-merger NFL title, and the Cavs have no titles to speak of. If a late-'40s World Series victory is your city's most recent title, you're pretty loyal. I feel your pain and hope for the best.

So, at first glance, Philly and Cleveland have to be a top the list of "Most Due" sports cities. 25 years with four professional teams is a quite a while, and in Cleveland, matters are even worse. But, the underlying message here is that these cities HAVE won titles. Let's not get too greedy. If you're older than 28 and from Philly, your team has at least one a title.

With all other cities aside, I'm going to get right to the point. Buffalo has not won a legitimate title. Ever. The Bills won back-to-back AFL titles in 1964 and 1965, but since the merger, nothing. Similarly, the Buffalo hockey team has never won a title, either. No Sabre has ever hoisted the Stanley Cup over his head and lapped the rink in victory.

Also, that 1975 Stanley Cup that the Flyers took back to Philly was won over, yes, the Buffalo Sabres, again crushing one of the many times hopes were high. 

Another aspect that can't be ignored is the way teams have lost. Granted, every fan across the country has a handful of heartbreaking losses his team has suffered in his memory bank during playoff or champion time, but let's reflect.

1991 - Buffalo Bills - Start of "AFC Dynasty". Trip to Super Bowl. MVP Thurman Thomas. Scott Norwood misses last-second, potential game-winning field goal wide right.

1992 - 1994 Buffalo Bills - Three more years of dominance in the AFC. Offense and defense in prime. Future Hall of Famers line the field. Three straight Super Bowl loses. All in embarrassing fashion.

1999 - Buffalo Sabres - Deep team with Satan, Grosek, Juneau, Peca, and Barnes. Hasek in net. Reach Stanley Cup Finals. Won Game One. "NO GOAL" in Game Six, series-clinching loss.

2000 - Buffalo Bills -  Rob Johnson behind center. Moving on to divisional round after late FG. Music City Miracle. Ouch.

Sure, many cities have suffered more painful losses, but it's really hard to rival what is stated above. I've seen that the city of Philadelphia, with their four professional sports teams, has endured 100 seasons without a winner. I can see how that may hurt, just a little bit. The thought here is, with so many teams in the cities with numerous pro teams, at least someone's got to win right? That must be a tough pill to swallow.

Conversely, I look at Buffalo having disadvantage from the start. Cities like Boston, New York, Philly, and Cleveland get three, four, and in NYC's case, five chances to win a title each year. When the Sox lose, Bostonians can count on the Celts, Bruins, or Pats to take back a title to Beantown.

Buffalo has two. This makes the success of the Bills and Sabres' seasons more critical. If the Bills lose, then it's all eyes on the Sabres for the early summer months. If June passes without a Stanley Cup, then it's over.

For all these reasons, I am taking a firm stand. Buffalo is the "Most Due" city with the most loyal fans. Buffalonians are as tough as their gritty city. At the start of each season, there is a re-birth of hope, only to mourn at the end, "There's always next year." And they mean it. You can count on it, take it to the bank. Use any other cliche that comes to mind. But one thing is certain: The Buffalo fans are there.