I have an odd sports question about cities...

[bjornolf]

What's with all these cities/areas that have these long droughts of success, followed by championships in multiple major sports? I mean, you got the Broncos breaking through in the late 90's followed within a couple years by Colorado winning the Stanley Cup. Boston was in the toilet as far as championships go, then you get the Patriots with their run a few years ago, then the Red Sox break the "curse", followed closely by the Celtics. Then you have the Phillies with the world series, and the Iggles have a shot to break through as well in the same year. I think there are other examples as well, but I can't think of any right now. Did the Rays win one within a few years of the Bucs' Super Bowl, or am I thinking of the Marlins (I have trouble keeping track of all the new teams in baseball and who's won what)? We could even expand it to the state of Florida, man have they been lucky the last five years or so. You got the Bucs, the Rays or Marlins (now that I think about it, I think it was the Marlins), and UF in both football and basketball. That's pretty wild.

It just seems odd to me. How can teams be so close (or even stink in some cases) for so long, then suddenly it seems a city is blessed with championship after championship across multiple sports? I can see it happening in one sport, but to have multiple teams in the same area do it within a few years (sometimes in the same year), and to have it happen so often in the last decade or so, just seems odd to me. Gives me hope for a Caps/Skins combo in the next few years!

Any thoughts/comments/other examples?

[TillyGalore]

What's with all these cities/areas that have these long droughts of success, followed by championships in multiple major sports? I mean, you got the Broncos breaking through in the late 90's followed within a couple years by Colorado winning the Stanley Cup. Boston was in the toilet as far as championships go, then you get the Patriots with their run a few years ago, then the Red Sox break the "curse", followed closely by the Celtics. Then you have the Phillies with the world series, and the Iggles have a shot to break through as well in the same year. I think there are other examples as well, but I can't think of any right now. Did the Rays win one within a few years of the Bucs' Super Bowl, or am I thinking of the Marlins (I have trouble keeping track of all the new teams in baseball and who's won what)? We could even expand it to the state of Florida, man have they been lucky the last five years or so. You got the Bucs, the Rays or Marlins (now that I think about it, I think it was the Marlins), and UF in both football and basketball. That's pretty wild.

It just seems odd to me. How can teams be so close (or even stink in some cases) for so long, then suddenly it seems a city is blessed with championship after championship across multiple sports? I can see it happening in one sport, but to have multiple teams in the same area do it within a few years (sometimes in the same year), and to have it happen so often in the last decade or so, just seems odd to me. Gives me hope for a Caps/Skins combo in the next few years!

Any thoughts/comments/other examples?

It's in the water. When the water is bad, teams are bad, when the water is good, teams are good. [/sarcastic comment]

On a serious note, when I lived in the Boston area 10 + years ago, the water was bad and so were the teams. The Pats started changing that just as I left, but the water is probably still bad.

[rockymtn devil]

The Avs actually won the Stanley Cup before the Broncos won their Super Bowls and then, they won at least another Cup.

If your theory is correct, the people of Cleveland really need the Cavs to win the NBA title this year. Other than Ohio State winning the 2002/3 BCS Title, they haven't had a lot to cheer about for like half a century.

[hurleyfor3]

If your theory is correct, the people of Cleveland really need the Cavs to win the NBA title this year. Other than Ohio State winning the 2002/3 BCS Title, they haven't had a lot to cheer about for like half a century.

And those of us from the original City of Champions like it that way.

[blazindw]

I wouldn't say that the bad water spreads to all a city's teams. Case in point: my hometown, Detroit. The Lions have been terrible for eons, but in the past decade, we've seen the Pistons, Wings, and even the Shock win championships (yes, I claim the Shock). And the Tigers have made a World Series. I think our rule of thumb is you don't drink anything the Lions have been near.

[captmojo]

I think our rule of thumb is you don't drink anything the Lions have been near.

Water buffalo have known this for ages yet they continue the futility of this exercise.

I saw a first on TV last week that blew my mind. A buffalo calf that escaped a tug-of-war between lions and a crocodile. The lions won the tug and then came the real shocker , the previously watering herd of buffs turned as a group, attacking and defending the calf, sending the lions scurrying away for their lives. I nearly fell off my seat in laughter and amazement. They finally understood that they outweigh those lions by 2000lbs and THEY HAVE HORNS! I loved it.



Sorry. Had nothing to do with cities. I just felt compelled to tell what I saw.

[blazindw]

Water buffalo have known this for ages yet they continue the futility of this exercise.

I saw a first on TV last week that blew my mind. A buffalo calf that escaped a tug-of-war between lions and a crocodile. The lions won the tug and then came the real shocker , the previously watering herd of buffs turned as a group, attacking and defending the calf, sending the lions scurrying away for their lives. I nearly fell off my seat in laughter and amazement. They finally understood that they outweigh those lions by 2000lbs and THEY HAVE HORNS! I loved it.



Sorry. Had nothing to do with cities. I just felt compelled to tell what I saw.

I've actually seen that clip before long ago. They beasted the lions!

[captmojo]

I'm glad I wasn't the only one who saw it. It was, after all, unbelievable. I think it was amateur photo'ed.

[juise]

I'm glad I wasn't the only one who saw it. It was, after all, unbelievable. I think it was amateur photo'ed.

It was big on YouTube for a while. I have seen it on a few top YouTube clip lists.

[bjornolf]

The Avs actually won the Stanley Cup before the Broncos won their Super Bowls and then, they won at least another Cup.

sorry, I was thinking about the '01 Avalanche championship. I'd forgotten about the earlier one. Still feeds into my point, I suppose. It just amazes me how many recent examples we have of one team's success in an area seemingly inspiring the other teams in that area to success. The point about detroit was a good one, too. On top of that, was there any correlation between the success of the Mavs, the Cowboys, and the Stars in Dallas? I don't think any of them have won championships, but they were all contenders a few years ago. Are there any examples of one team stinking dragging down the others around them? That would be the interesting flipside.