Dark Times: When A City’s Sports Go Bad
Published by Seth Doria on April 22, 2009
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Chicago Bears
2008 was a really bad year for the Seattle. The Sonics were stolen by Clay Bennett and moved to Oklahoma City. The Seahawks suffered through injuries to finish 4-12, their worst record since 1992, and had to watch the Arizona Cardinals of all teams go to the Super Bowl. The Mariners became the first baseball team with a $100 million-plus payroll to lose 100-plus games. The University of Washington finished as the only winless team in college football at 0-12.
Factor in all the rain and general gloominess of the Pacific Northwest, and that’s one pretty damn depressing year.
But it was just one year. The Seahawks might have stunk last season, but they were coming off five consecutive playoff appearances. The Mariners may have stunk last season, but they were 14 games over .500 in 2007. So it’s not like generations of Seattle fans have grown up without a taste of success.
As you will see with the following examples, some cities have had longer and more depressing stretches. And some have had even worse years than Seattle in 2008.
So take heart, Seattle fans. It can always get worse.
Much worse.
We’ll take this in chronological order. And remember, it’s not always the fans of bad teams who suffer the most. Sometimes the worst pain comes from failed expectations and the agony of almost.
