Now that the Cubs are finally big winners, American pro team sports need to find their new biggest losers. Being as lovable, too? That's the difficult part.
It's hard to feel sympathy and any love for the East Coast markets, because New York, Philadelphia and Washington won't shut up about it. Relocated or expansion teams don't have enough history of pain for their current cities. Winning something as the late as the 1980s still doesn't seem that long ago.
MORE: How long has it been since your city won a championship?
So the answer lies in the most passionate fan bases in sports-driven cities, a la the Windy City. Five teams have strong cases, but there's no doubt one NFL team stands out more than everyone else.
5) Toronto Maple Leafs, NHL
Playoff drought: 3 seasons
Last playoff series win: 2004
Last Stanley Cup: 1967
Why they could be most loved: The Leafs, despite the awkward plural, have one of the most iconic logos in sports. In ice hockey-mad Canada, their sweaters represent the essence of just that. While the other "Original Six" teams have enjoyed some recent Cup magic, some multiple times, the Leafs have had trouble of late even getting an opportunity to make a run. The Blue Jays are very good again and the Raptors are off to a fast start, but this literally is the team that carries the flag in our northern neighbors' most populated city.
Why they aren't: Canadians in other cities tend to treat Toronto like our New York. There are plenty of haters in Montreal and elsewhere who want to see the Leafs remain a national embarrassment.
4) Cleveland Indians, MLB
Playoff drought: 0 seasons
Last league championship: 2016
Last World Series win: 1948
Why they could be most loved: They were about to get off this list, and then the Cubs had go to ruin it, piling on their pain after what last happened in 1997 against the Marlins. They're another proud Midwestern mecca that has all sports rocking the heartbeat of the city.
Why they aren't: As much as everyone in Cleveland wanted the Tribe to win, they still got a pretty sweet championship in '16 with the best basketball player on the planet already ending the city's overall title drought. And for the love, how can an outsider really pull for a team that throws Chief Wahoo in your face so much?
3) Detroit Lions, NFL
Playoff drought: 1 season
Last playoff win: 1991
Last NFL championship: 1957
Whey they could be most loved: The Pistons have been Bad Boys when winning titles. The Tigers have had their strong seasons of late, even if there hasn't been anything to show for it since 1984. The Wings have got their Cups and their new digs.
As for the LIons, from that Honolulu Blue through the Thanksgiving tradition, Detroit could desperately use them to drive the Motor City to gritty success. Ford all is over their field, and the Lions are the ones who fully embody the blue-collar comeback spirit fueled by the auto industry.
Why they aren't: They play in a division with the Packers, Bears and Vikings. That's a lot of people in the upper Midwest who are fine having the team saddled in between to keep getting buried. The Lions also can get easily lumped into the same hate of their other three pro teams in their city. Plus, the Lions can get lumped right into with the outside MIchigan and Michigan State football hate.
2) Buffalo Bllls, NFL
Playoff drought: 16 seasons
Last playoff win: 1995
Last NFL championship: 1965
Why they could be most loved: Buffalo has some of the same Lake Erie stuff that Cleveland has going on, only with more brutal winters and only one other pro team, the NHL's Sabres, for which to root. The Bills are Buffalo. Seeing former coach Marv Levy bless the Cubs so well is a reminder of how tough those four consecutive Super Bowl losses were, especially to the hands of three glamorous NFC East teams. Then there's how they're still having a Music City Miracle hangover all these years later, and something always happening to squash playoff hopes.
Why they aren't: They get a ton of reverse hate from New England and New York in the same division, and the bonus fact that Rex Ryan is now the face of the franchise isn't all that endearing. As passionate as their fans are, their bad behavior doesn't want to make you send good vibes their way.
1) Cleveland Browns, NFL
Playoff drought: 13 seasons
Last playoff win: 1994
Last NFL championship: 1964
Why they could be most loved — and are: Talk to fans in Cleveland, and there are more than a few who would actually trade a Cavs title and a Indians' World Series appearance for the Browns getting to a Super Bowl. As long as the Indians' drought of winning it all has been, they at least have good recent memories. They also didn't have to see the franchise relocated in a cold manner and have to see that team in the division every year as the Ravens, already twice Super Bowl winners.
The Browns also keep going backward, just when you thought it couldn't be any worse. This 0-9 season is happening with no victory in sight. Baltimore, Pittsburgh and Cincinnati now treat Cleveland games as their NFL free bingo spaces. In theory there should be nasty rivarlies with those teams, but the Browns aren't competitive enough to make it feel that way. Everything looks lost, just not the games and championship chances. There are still questions as to whether the ownership and front office has a real plan to turn it around.
You non-Clevelanders can hate LeBron James because he's so awesome and he doesn't play for your team. You can also hate the Indians for a variety of reasons, beyond the logo and the name.
But when it comes to the Browns, there are the last team standing looking for that once-in-a-lifetime magic than can only match the Cubs. That makes them easily the new Cubs.
