Tortured fanbases

[DevilHorns]

For those readers of ESPN's Page 2, specifically this article:
http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2...9&sportCat=nfl
I was wondering what people think about tortured fanbases, specifically, which fanbase is the most tortured?

I have to say the Buffalo Bills with a stunning 4 super bowl losses in a row in the 1990s are my winner (or loser, hehe) for creating a devastating amount of pain.

Also, having a consistently crappy team (a la Detroit Lions) IMO doesn't equate to a premier tortured fan base since without thoughts of hope and promise, there's not enough to bring down.

[Verga3]

Cubbies always WIN this one....

[OZZIE4DUKE]

Used to be the Red Sox fans, but unfortunately (since they won a couple of Series) now the Cubbies win hands down. It is the only thing they win. Year after year after year...

[Bostondevil]

Prior to 1991, Duke was a tortured fan base. You can look it up. And coming from a Durham native who was the only Duke fan in her grade in elementary school, you can take the tortured part literally. 8 points in 17 seconds, shudder, I still have nightmares. Stomach punch of the highest order. I've never bothered to categorize Louisville 72 - Duke 69. It hurt too much.

(Yeah, 3 Nat. Championships makes it all easier to bear.)

[OZZIE4DUKE]

Prior to 1991, Duke was a tortured fan base. You can look it up. And coming from a Durham native who was the only Duke fan in her grade in elementary school, you can take the tortured part literally. 8 points in 17 seconds, shudder, I still have nightmares. Stomach punch of the highest order. I've never bothered to categorize Louisville 72 - Duke 69. It hurt too much.

(Yeah, 3 Nat. Championships makes it all easier to bear.)

And you didn't even mention your two World Series titles

[weezie]

Also, having a consistently crappy team (a la Detroit Lions) IMO doesn't equate to a premier tortured fan base since without thoughts of hope and promise, there's not enough to bring down.

Yah, well, up until fairly recently, the same could have been said about the Aints.
Detroit, stand up!
Blazin' ya with me?!

[DukieInKansas]

Yah, well, up until fairly recently, the same could have been said about the Aints.
Detroit, stand up!
Blazin' ya with me?!

I'd give you a vote, Weezie, but I got to go with the kansas city chefs.

[Mal]

No offense to the Bills or anything, and I sympathize with them, but come talk to me after you've lost four Super Bowls and lost four legendary Conference Championship heartbreakers to go with them. And a fifth in a humiliating blowout. And you have something along the lines of the Herschel Walker trade, the Love Boat incident, failing to get your first round draft pick in two years in a row, and becoming one of just two teams to start a season 6-0 yet fail to make the playoffs.

Before the Bills started their admittedly amazing run of Super Bowl losses, the Vikes had already lost four. Since then, the Bills have pretty much done nothing while the Vikings have lost three more NFC Championships to make it five total. I mean, did Buffalo have a winning season the last decade? You can't be truly tortured if there's no reason to expect much throughout the season.

I can go along with the Cubs, though, just because of the length of time since the last World Series. I mean, 100 years is pretty astounding when you think about it. There have been an awful lot of really, really crappy Cubs teams in that intervening century, but with baseball that seems to play the opposite way. A pennant chasing team is just so precious. That somehow makes the quiet, desperate hopefulness during those years when the Cubs are good, drawn out over 6 excruciating months before the inevitable epic collapse, that much more compelling. At least a football season's pretty much done in 4 months, and you only have to pay attention once a week. The torture inflicted by baseball has to generally surpass that of any other sport.

[snowdenscold]

British tennis fans are up there... you should have seen how excited they all got for the Australian Open final - only to have their hopes and dreams crushed as expected.

[allenmurray]

My son roots for NCSU in basketball, Duke in football, and the Cubs in baseball. He self-tortures.

[roywhite]

I'll go with kind of an outside choice here---South Carolina Gamecock fans. They really, really care about football but don't win conference championships, or go to major bowls, or finish in the Top 10. They've had a few "saviors" including Lou Holtz and the Ole Ball Coach Spurrier, but that just serves to get their hopes up.

They haven't won much in basketball either. Frank McGuire's teams, for all their noteriety, never made a splash in the NCAA; a few years ago Eddie Fogler had a #2 seed that was ousted early in the NCAA tournament.

Could be the curse of Paul Dietzel and Frank McGuire for leaving the ACC.

[BD80]

For those readers of ESPN's Page 2, specifically this article:
http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2...9&sportCat=nfl

...
Also, having a consistently crappy team (a la Detroit Lions) IMO doesn't equate to a premier tortured fan base since without thoughts of hope and promise, there's not enough to bring down.

That is what makes Lions fans so tortured. For some reason, there are thoughts of hope and promise every year!

[dukegirlinsc]

British tennis fans are up there... you should have seen how excited they all got for the Australian Open final - only to have their hopes and dreams crushed as expected.

Agreed. I have a feeling they'll be tortured for a while, especially when Nadal comes back full-force.

[blazindw]

Lions fans remember the 90s where we seemed to rally to win the division or the last playoff spot on the last game of almost every season, only to play the exact same team the 1st week in the playoffs and lose. Also, no one can tell me that sitting through an 0-16 season wasn't the epitome of torture, because it was, I can assure you. Weezie's on my level too.

Also, while the Pistons did win a title in 2004, reaching 6 straight conference finals, losing 4 and losing 1 NBA Finals was quite torturous as well.

[rthomas]

Pittsburgh Pirates.

[weezie]

Weezie's on my level too.

True indeed...and blazin', if the Lions ever get to the Largest Bowl of All, you and I will have to meet and collapse with tears into a huge Lion hug.
Or at least you can help this old lady into the stadium, maybe steady my walker.


(But the Pirates are a good losing example, too.)