Blame John Elway. Accuse LeBron James. Point the finger at Art Modell. Condemn Willie Mays.
Somebody must be held responsible for the ugly mess in Cleveland.
Consider:
Here in Denver, fans are apoplectic about the state of the Broncos, concerned about the sliding Avalanche, and worn out by Melodrama and the impending collapse of the Nuggets. But compared to Cleveland, we’re in sports nirvana.
For 86 years, Boston Red Sox fans were haunted by Babe Ruth’s ghost. From 1918 until 2004, the Red Sox failed to win a World Series, and woe begotten Boston fans blamed it on the sale of the Ruth to the hated Yankees in 1920.
But The Curse of the Bambino was nothing compared to the hex that’s been laid on the poor souls who reside in northeast Ohio. Through the decades, Boston still thrived on the Celtics’ dynasties, great Bruins teams, and in recent years, the Patriots’ reign under Tom Brady.
So Bostonians had nothing to cry about. But Clevelanders? They’ve shed enough tears to fill the Cuyahoga River. The last time the Browns won the NFL title game? That would be in 1964 when Jim Brown was hammering defenses into submission.
The Indians? They haven’t won a World Series since 1948. They lost 93 games last season and averaged just 17,435 fans, the worst home attendance in the majors.
So who’s to blame for the Cleveland curse? Take your pick:
So spare me tales of woe from whiny Red Sox fans. Don’t shed tears for Cubs fans who’ve made crying in baseball an art form for more than 100 years. (Chicago, after all, has championships from the Bears, Bulls and White Sox).
Cleveland, home of the Dawg Pound, is America’s true underdog city.
Trivia time
What NFL team holds the record for most consecutive losses? (Answer below)
Polling
When neither the Packers nor the Steelers brought cheerleaders to the Super Bowl, last week’s “Lunch Special” poll asked readers if NFL teams should even have cheerleaders. About 56 percent said yes, 12 percent said no (finding cheerleaders sexist and objectionable) and 32 percent said they didn’t care.
Quotable
“I played with a Tiger that struck the ball very well, was a complete gentleman, a class act, easy going and put me at ease. One of the larger-than-life figures was very down to earth and very accommodating to somebody that came in to do this.”
— Lt. Col. Michael Rowells, a 47-year-old Mississippi native stationed in Afghanistan after winning a chance to play a round of golf with Tiger Woods in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
Reader’s rant
“That sure didn’t take long. Lawyers must have been waiting outside the stadium gates from about halftime onwards.”
— Chad M, posting on the story about a class-action lawsuit that accuses the NFL, the Dallas Cowboys and team owner Jerry Jones of deceiving hundreds of fans who bought Super Bowl tickets and had no seats, or were dissatisfied with their seats at Cowboys Stadium.
In case you missed it
Greg Biekert, the Longmont High School graduate and former star for the Colorado Buffaloes, was named the Oakland Raiders linebackers coach Tuesday.
Biekert, who always played with incredible passion and toughness, was a middle linebacker for the Raiders from 1993 to 2001.
Trivia answer
From 1976-77, the Tampa Bay Bucs lost 26 games in a row. They went 0-14 in 1976 and lost their first 12 games in 1977. The Bucs’ ineptitude led coach John McKay to offer up some classic quotes:
“Well, we didn’t block real good but we made up for it by not tackling,” McKay said during the winless 1976 season.
“I’m in favor of it,” McKay said when asked about the execution of his team’s terrible offense.
“You do a lot of praying, but most of the time the answer is ‘no,’ ” McKay, describing how coaching an expansion team is like a religious experience.
Patrick Saunders: 303-954-1720 or psaunders@denverpost.com
