Happy Black Friday everyone! I hope your Turkey Day was fun; mine was. Today on "Brownie Thoughts" we'll be looking at a dreary subject. Sorry to add insult to injury to the Browns' season but this is a pretty interesting point to the Cleveland Curse. So bear with me.
Now, when I ask what franchise has it the worst, I mean in terms of playoff appearances, championship appearances and championship titles, which is ultimately what every fan base wants for it's said franchise. We'll look at the Cleveland Cavaliers, Cleveland Browns and Cleveland Indians. After I give postseason specs and championship specs, etc. I will announce which franchise I think has it the worst. This post will be short, sweet and to the point.
1. The Cleveland Cavaliers - In their history, the Cavaliers have made it to the postseason 17 times. For the past 6 seasons, the Cavaliers have become a powerhouse in the NBA, mainly due to acquiring LeBron James. The Cavaliers won the East Conference Championship but lost in the Finals in the 06' - 07' season. In their most recent postseason, the Cavaliers made it to the East Conference Finals, after going into the postseason as the #1 seed and sweeping the first two rounds, only to lose to the Orlando Magic in six games. Even with one of the most prolific players in NBA history in LeBron James, the Cavaliers still can't claim a title. Ouch.
2. The Cleveland Indians - In their history, the Indians have made it to the postseason 10 times. The Indians have a total of two World Series wins, but both occurred before the 1950s. After 1950, the Indians made it to the World Series a total of three times, only to lose in all of them. In their most recent postseason in 2007, the Indians lost a heartbreaking series to their arch rivals, the Boston Red Sox. The Indians have recently hired a new manager. Hopefully it equates to winning a World Series.
3. The Cleveland Browns - In their Super Bowl era history, the Browns have made it to the postseason 13 times. Now, I understand that we're proud of our many AAFC and pre Super Bowl era championships, but for all intents and purposes, Super Bowl era playoff bouts are all I care about. The Browns have never made it to a Super Bowl in their 13 tries. The two most notable playoff games were the AFC Conference Championship games against the Denver Broncos in the late 1980s. John Elway has forever been since then wrtten into Browns' Infamy. Both games were so notable, both were titled. The 1987 game is referred to as "The Drive" because of a late fourth quarter drive by the Broncos that sealed their Super Bowl bout. The 1988 game was referred to as "The Fumble" because running back Earnest Byner lost a fumble trying to score a game - tying touchdown at the 3 yard line with 1:12 left in regulation. Such is the fate of the Browns...
Now what do I think. Obviously, I'm a Browns fan. I have been all my life. It's the only sport I really know crap about or really care about until one of the other franchises makes it to the postseason. But in all honesty, I think the Cleveland Cavaliers have it the worst. At least at present, the Cavaliers have the most chance of winning a Championship out of any of the three. They've come so close to victory so many times recently only to come up short. The other two franchises, well, I expect them to go down the crap shoot, so I feel numb when I see a losing record, not remorse or sadness. And that's why I think the Cavaliers have the worst part of the curse; something bitter sweet tastes a lot worse than nothing at all.
Hope you guys enjoyed this round of "Brownie Thoughts!" Tune in next week, same Dawg time, same Dawg channel.