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D.C Sports Curse

Started by Jmiles32, May 15, 2017, 11:17:29 PM

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Jmiles32

Why can't in the playoffs...
1. The Capitals get past the 2nd round
2. The Wizards get past the 2nd round
3. The Nationals get past the 1st round
4. And finally the Redskins(when they do occasionally make it) get past the wildcard game?

A popular explanation is that D.C sports teams (Big 4) are cursed for some reason. My guess is that somehow Daniel Snyder is the reason for this curse.
What is your explanation for D.C sports teams lack of recent post season success and when if ever do you think it'll be broken?
Aspiring Transportation Planner at Virginia Tech. Go Hokies!


davewiecking


Alps

1. Ovechkin sucks and is a crybaby and loser and deserves to lose.
2. NBA is rigged for more popular teams.
3. Curse of the Expos. That's all I can think  of.
4. Redskins suck. Also see #2.

How about soccer?

Stephane Dumas

To think then before, the Wizards was named the Bullets, they changed to Wizards when Washington due to the crime wave during the early 1990s. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washington_Wizards

Back in the 1990s, the Redskins won the Super Bowl when they faced another cursed team the Buffalo Bills.

rickmastfan67

Quote from: Jmiles32 on May 15, 2017, 11:17:29 PM
Why can't in the playoffs...
1. The Capitals get past the 2nd round

1. Pittsburgh.  :bigass:  When you almost always lose each series against us (lost 9 out of the last 10), you know you're cursed period. ;)

CNGL-Leudimin

The Nationals have currently the longest active absence from the World Series by virtue of having never reached it since its formation as the Expos in 1969. It used to belong to the Cubs (having not reached the World Series since 1945), however they managed to get there last year (and win it all after more than a century).
Supporter of the construction of several running gags, including I-366 with a speed limit of 85 mph (137 km/h) and the Hypotenuse.

Please note that I may mention "invalid" FM channels, i.e. ending in an even number or down to 87.5. These are valid in Europe.

epzik8

Probably because I'm a Caps, Skins and Nats fan and they don't want me to see my teams get within one round of the championship.
From the land of red, white, yellow and black.
____________________________

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Bruce

D.C. United still has to deal with feral raccoons in RFK Stadium, while sitting near the bottom of MLS standings most years.

Max Rockatansky

Isn't it a little early to start declaring "sports curse" on a city that had a Super Bowl winner in the 1990s?  We aren't talking Cleveland levels of drought here....

jp the roadgeek

Quote from: Max Rockatansky on May 17, 2017, 09:45:39 PM
Isn't it a little early to start declaring "sports curse" on a city that had a Super Bowl winner in the 1990s?  We aren't talking Cleveland levels of drought here....

You mean like 11 months?

Try San Diego or Houston.  San Diego hasn't won anything in 55 years (and even lost 2 teams to boot), and Houston would have nothing since 1960 if Jordan didn't take his baseball sabbatical.
Interstates I've clinched: 97, 290 (MA), 291 (CT), 291 (MA), 293, 295 (DE-NJ-PA), 295 (RI-MA), 384, 391, 395 (CT-MA), 395 (MD), 495 (DE), 610 (LA), 684, 691, 695 (MD), 695 (NY), 795 (MD)

slorydn1

San Diego Padres beat my Cubs to get into the World Series in 1984, and the Chargers made it to the Super Bowl in 1994, and at least to the AFC Championship game as recently as 2007 (keeping in mind the OP's premise of not making it out of the 2nd round of the playoffs).
Please Note: All posts represent my personal opinions and do not represent those of any governmental agency, non-governmental agency, quasi-governmental agency or wanna be governmental agency

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jeffandnicole

Quote from: jp the roadgeek on May 17, 2017, 09:55:12 PM
Quote from: Max Rockatansky on May 17, 2017, 09:45:39 PM
Isn't it a little early to start declaring "sports curse" on a city that had a Super Bowl winner in the 1990s?  We aren't talking Cleveland levels of drought here....

You mean like 11 months?

Try San Diego or Houston.  San Diego hasn't won anything in 55 years (and even lost 2 teams to boot), and Houston would have nothing since 1960 if Jordan didn't take his baseball sabbatical.

Before last year, Cleveland had the longest drought of all cities. it wasn't even close to the current longest streak

Jmiles32

Quote from: Max Rockatansky on May 17, 2017, 09:45:39 PM
Isn't it a little early to start declaring "sports curse" on a city that had a Super Bowl winner in the 1990s?  We aren't talking Cleveland levels of drought here....

The thing is though that unlike Cleveland(3 teams), Houston(3 teams), Cincinnati(2 teams), San Diego(1 team), and Buffalo(1 team), Washington D.C has a team from all 4 major sports leagues(not counting MLS) and therefore should have a much greater chance at winning a championship then say Buffalo, yet we still haven't since 1992. Now out of all the cites with 4 major sports teams, technically Minnesota(Twin cities) have had a longer championship drought(the Twins won the World Series in 1991). However unlike a D.C sports team since 1998(Caps), at least the Vikings reached the conference championship/finals more recently in 2009.

I would also argue that even considering how recently all D.C sports teams have been good and made the playoffs(even the Redskins in 2015), their constant under-performing/choking once in the playoffs adds another layer of misery.
Aspiring Transportation Planner at Virginia Tech. Go Hokies!

tchafe1978

Buffalo also has the NHL's Sabres.

Milwaukee hasn't seen a championship since the Bucks won the NBA title in 1972. The city hasn't seen a championship series since the Brewers made the World Series in 1982.

Now it can be argued that the Green Bay Packers are included in the Milwaukee market, as their flagship radio station is in Milwaukee, and the NFL considers Milwaukee as part of their home TV market, and the Packers are certainly the dominant NFL team in Milwaukee. If the Packers are included in the Milwaukee market, then you only have to go back to 2011 for the last time the Packers won the Super Bowl.

Max Rockatansky

Quote from: Jmiles32 on May 18, 2017, 03:11:41 PM
Quote from: Max Rockatansky on May 17, 2017, 09:45:39 PM
Isn't it a little early to start declaring "sports curse" on a city that had a Super Bowl winner in the 1990s?  We aren't talking Cleveland levels of drought here....

The thing is though that unlike Cleveland(3 teams), Houston(3 teams), Cincinnati(2 teams), San Diego(1 team), and Buffalo(1 team), Washington D.C has a team from all 4 major sports leagues(not counting MLS) and therefore should have a much greater chance at winning a championship then say Buffalo, yet we still haven't since 1992. Now out of all the cites with 4 major sports teams, technically Minnesota(Twin cities) have had a longer championship drought(the Twins won the World Series in 1991). However unlike a D.C sports team since 1998(Caps), at least the Vikings reached the conference championship/finals more recently in 2009.

I would also argue that even considering how recently all D.C sports teams have been good and made the playoffs(even the Redskins in 2015), their constant under-performing/choking once in the playoffs adds another layer of misery.

Maybe it's just me showing my age since I vividly remember the Redskins being one of the better teams on an annual basis.  It probably doesn't help that I still see Joe Gibbs in the spotlight regularly still via NASCAR which doesn't help make it feel like a quarter century.  Even still....far from a curse, really I wouldn't say it gets to that territory IMO unless it gets to 40 years or more.

BTW, does anyone really consider championships in the MLS as the same level as the big four sports?  I've always looked at the MLS compared to maybe something akin to Triple A baseball.

Jmiles32

Quote from: Max Rockatansky on May 19, 2017, 05:07:40 PM
Quote from: Jmiles32 on May 18, 2017, 03:11:41 PM
Quote from: Max Rockatansky on May 17, 2017, 09:45:39 PM
Isn't it a little early to start declaring "sports curse" on a city that had a Super Bowl winner in the 1990s?  We aren't talking Cleveland levels of drought here....

The thing is though that unlike Cleveland(3 teams), Houston(3 teams), Cincinnati(2 teams), San Diego(1 team), and Buffalo(1 team), Washington D.C has a team from all 4 major sports leagues(not counting MLS) and therefore should have a much greater chance at winning a championship then say Buffalo, yet we still haven't since 1992. Now out of all the cites with 4 major sports teams, technically Minnesota(Twin cities) have had a longer championship drought(the Twins won the World Series in 1991). However unlike a D.C sports team since 1998(Caps), at least the Vikings reached the conference championship/finals more recently in 2009.

I would also argue that even considering how recently all D.C sports teams have been good and made the playoffs(even the Redskins in 2015), their constant under-performing/choking once in the playoffs adds another layer of misery.

BTW, does anyone really consider championships in the MLS as the same level as the big four sports?  I've always looked at the MLS compared to maybe something akin to Triple A baseball.

In order for the MLS to ever be at the same level as the big four sports, a couple things will have to happen.
1. Expand to at least 30 or more teams across the U.S, Canada, and possibly Mexico.
2. Become one of the top/best if not the top/best Soccer leagues in world.
3. Maintain stability

Personally I think I will begin to be much more interested in my local MLS team, the D.C United, once they move into their brand new stadium near Nats Park in 2018 replacing the old and outdated RFK Stadium.
Aspiring Transportation Planner at Virginia Tech. Go Hokies!

Bruce

MLS rant incoming!  :poke:

Quote from: Max Rockatansky on May 19, 2017, 05:07:40 PM
BTW, does anyone really consider championships in the MLS as the same level as the big four sports?  I've always looked at the MLS compared to maybe something akin to Triple A baseball.

You're kidding, right? Triple-A baseball is no where near as big as MLS, especially in terms of national and international coverage.

MLS is definitely at the level of NHL at the very least. Its average attendance is above the two indoor leagues, with similar sized stadiums for the most part (only a few are above 22,000) and some teams outdraw MLB teams in the same market.

The wages in MLS are a bit low (average of $100K, even counting multi-million contracts and such), but it's growing at a quick pace. The league is only 21 years old and looks to be staying.

Quote from: Jmiles32 on May 19, 2017, 08:53:41 PM
In order for the MLS to ever be at the same level as the big four sports, a couple things will have to happen.
1. Expand to at least 30 or more teams across the U.S, Canada, and possibly Mexico.
2. Become one of the top/best if not the top/best Soccer leagues in world.
3. Maintain stability

Personally I think I will begin to be much more interested in my local MLS team, the D.C United, once they move into their brand new stadium near Nats Park in 2018 replacing the old and outdated RFK Stadium.

1. MLS is already planning to expand to 28 teams by 2020, and have several cities competing for the last positions, including Miami, San Diego, Detroit, Sacramento, Cincinnati, St. Louis and Tampa.

Mexico already has their own large and successful league (Liga MX, and lower divisions) that cannot be merged into the US/Canada system. In soccer, having a single league for two nations by itself is highly unusual (only the English system and Australia's A-League share the distinction) and trying to merge the larger clubs from Mexico in would kill the league.

MLS teams do get to play against Mexican (and Central American) clubs in the regional Champions League and get regularly whopped (but it's improving, with more and more semifinalists from MLS).

2. Becoming the top league in the world is pretty much an impossible goal. The largest leagues have been in continual operation since the late 19th century and have deep histories. They attract more investment because of that history, with large fanbases able to bankroll huge player salaries (England's Premier League averages $3 million per player...including the bench!).

MLS can become a regional power (once they surpass Mexico) and is starting to snipe younger talents from South America away from European leagues, which is a promising start.

3. MLS is pretty damn stable if you compare it to historic American leagues. The NASL (think Pele and the NY Cosmos) expanded too quickly and without a good salary cap system (very unusual in soccer). MLS, meanwhile, has a decent grasp of its finances and hasn't been exactly one to take huge risks (bringing over Beckham is an exception that paid off exceptionally well). The quality of play has noticeably improved, even since I started watching in 2009. Really, the only thing MLS is really lagging behind is in TV viewership, a statistic that is increasingly becoming irrelevant in the face of internet streaming.

The new DC United Stadium looks pretty good (though not as good as the original renderings). Many of the new MLS stadiums (built for the league's exclusive or primary use, no more sharing with NFL teams) are pretty nice:

Orlando City



San Jose



Kansas City



And when needed, MLS teams can always move into an NFL stadium for additional capacity.

Seattle



Orlando



Montreal



---

Before anyone mentions it, promotion and relegation will never happen in MLS under the current model. Why would an owner risk their team falling into the much smaller second division and lose out on their investment? It will take decades to slowly introduce and implement.

dvferyance

#17
Quote from: tchafe1978 on May 19, 2017, 04:19:05 PM
Buffalo also has the NHL's Sabres.

Milwaukee hasn't seen a championship since the Bucks won the NBA title in 1972. The city hasn't seen a championship series since the Brewers made the World Series in 1982.

Now it can be argued that the Green Bay Packers are included in the Milwaukee market, as their flagship radio station is in Milwaukee, and the NFL considers Milwaukee as part of their home TV market, and the Packers are certainly the dominant NFL team in Milwaukee. If the Packers are included in the Milwaukee market, then you only have to go back to 2011 for the last time the Packers won the Super Bowl.
The Packers don't count for Milwaukee because they aren't a Milwaukee team they are Green Bay's team. I don't get what is there not to understand about that. So what if they are in the same state. Cleveland dosen't count for Cincinnati. Kansas City dosen't count for St Louis. Dallas doesn't count for Houston and so on. There may be lots of Packer fans in Milwaukee and a radio affiliate but so what there are Packer affiliates in the UP of Michigan Iowa and South Dakota as well as many Packer fans there. Now when the Packers once played some games in Milwaukee I guess you could kind of count them. But if they don't play in that city they can't be counted as belonging to that city regardless of fan base or radio affiliates.

hotdogPi

Quote from: dvferyance on May 25, 2017, 01:23:32 PM
Quote from: tchafe1978 on May 19, 2017, 04:19:05 PM
Buffalo also has the NHL's Sabres.

Milwaukee hasn't seen a championship since the Bucks won the NBA title in 1972. The city hasn't seen a championship series since the Brewers made the World Series in 1982.

Now it can be argued that the Green Bay Packers are included in the Milwaukee market, as their flagship radio station is in Milwaukee, and the NFL considers Milwaukee as part of their home TV market, and the Packers are certainly the dominant NFL team in Milwaukee. If the Packers are included in the Milwaukee market, then you only have to go back to 2011 for the last time the Packers won the Super Bowl.
The Packers don't count for Milwaukee because they aren't a Milwaukee team they are Green Bay's team. I don't get what is there not to understand about that. So what if they are in the same state. Cleveland dosen't count for Cincinnati. Kansas City dosen't count for St Louis. Dallas doesn't count for Houston and so on. There may be lots of Packer fans in Milwaukee and a radio affiliate but so what there are Packer affiliates in the UP of Michigan Iowa and South Dakota as well as many Packer fans there. Now when the Packers once played some games in Milwaukee I guess you could kind of count them. But if they don't play in that city they can't be counted as belonging to that city regardless of fan base or radio affiliates.

The Patriots count for Boston, even though they're closer to downtown Providence than downtown Boston.
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Traveled, plus US 13, 44, and 50, and several state routes

I will be in Burlington VT for the eclipse.

tribar

Quote from: 1 on May 25, 2017, 01:27:02 PM
Quote from: dvferyance on May 25, 2017, 01:23:32 PM
Quote from: tchafe1978 on May 19, 2017, 04:19:05 PM
Buffalo also has the NHL's Sabres.

Milwaukee hasn't seen a championship since the Bucks won the NBA title in 1972. The city hasn't seen a championship series since the Brewers made the World Series in 1982.

Now it can be argued that the Green Bay Packers are included in the Milwaukee market, as their flagship radio station is in Milwaukee, and the NFL considers Milwaukee as part of their home TV market, and the Packers are certainly the dominant NFL team in Milwaukee. If the Packers are included in the Milwaukee market, then you only have to go back to 2011 for the last time the Packers won the Super Bowl.
The Packers don't count for Milwaukee because they aren't a Milwaukee team they are Green Bay's team. I don't get what is there not to understand about that. So what if they are in the same state. Cleveland dosen't count for Cincinnati. Kansas City dosen't count for St Louis. Dallas doesn't count for Houston and so on. There may be lots of Packer fans in Milwaukee and a radio affiliate but so what there are Packer affiliates in the UP of Michigan Iowa and South Dakota as well as many Packer fans there. Now when the Packers once played some games in Milwaukee I guess you could kind of count them. But if they don't play in that city they can't be counted as belonging to that city regardless of fan base or radio affiliates.

The Patriots count for Boston, even though they're closer to downtown Providence than downtown Boston.

That's because they're the NEW ENGLAND Patriots. They represent a region, not a city like the Packers.

jp the roadgeek

Quote from: tribar on May 25, 2017, 04:22:36 PM
Quote from: 1 on May 25, 2017, 01:27:02 PM
Quote from: dvferyance on May 25, 2017, 01:23:32 PM
Quote from: tchafe1978 on May 19, 2017, 04:19:05 PM
Buffalo also has the NHL's Sabres.

Milwaukee hasn't seen a championship since the Bucks won the NBA title in 1972. The city hasn't seen a championship series since the Brewers made the World Series in 1982.

Now it can be argued that the Green Bay Packers are included in the Milwaukee market, as their flagship radio station is in Milwaukee, and the NFL considers Milwaukee as part of their home TV market, and the Packers are certainly the dominant NFL team in Milwaukee. If the Packers are included in the Milwaukee market, then you only have to go back to 2011 for the last time the Packers won the Super Bowl.
The Packers don't count for Milwaukee because they aren't a Milwaukee team they are Green Bay's team. I don't get what is there not to understand about that. So what if they are in the same state. Cleveland dosen't count for Cincinnati. Kansas City dosen't count for St Louis. Dallas doesn't count for Houston and so on. There may be lots of Packer fans in Milwaukee and a radio affiliate but so what there are Packer affiliates in the UP of Michigan Iowa and South Dakota as well as many Packer fans there. Now when the Packers once played some games in Milwaukee I guess you could kind of count them. But if they don't play in that city they can't be counted as belonging to that city regardless of fan base or radio affiliates.

The Patriots count for Boston, even though they're closer to downtown Providence than downtown Boston.

That's because they're the NEW ENGLAND Patriots. They represent a region, not a city like the Packers.

And Cincinnati, St. Louis, and Houston have/had their own teams, so those are bad comparisons, much as Baltimore would be for Washington.  Milwaukee has never had a separate team from the Packers, and yes, Milwaukee is closer to Chicago, but I've always considered Milwaukee to be a de facto Packer city, much as I consider Memphis to be a Titans city.
Interstates I've clinched: 97, 290 (MA), 291 (CT), 291 (MA), 293, 295 (DE-NJ-PA), 295 (RI-MA), 384, 391, 395 (CT-MA), 395 (MD), 495 (DE), 610 (LA), 684, 691, 695 (MD), 695 (NY), 795 (MD)

Jmiles32

Quote from: dvferyance on May 25, 2017, 01:23:32 PM
Quote from: tchafe1978 on May 19, 2017, 04:19:05 PM
Buffalo also has the NHL's Sabres.

Milwaukee hasn't seen a championship since the Bucks won the NBA title in 1972. The city hasn't seen a championship series since the Brewers made the World Series in 1982.

Now it can be argued that the Green Bay Packers are included in the Milwaukee market, as their flagship radio station is in Milwaukee, and the NFL considers Milwaukee as part of their home TV market, and the Packers are certainly the dominant NFL team in Milwaukee. If the Packers are included in the Milwaukee market, then you only have to go back to 2011 for the last time the Packers won the Super Bowl.
The Packers don't count for Milwaukee because they aren't a Milwaukee team they are Green Bay's team. I don't get what is there not to understand about that. So what if they are in the same state. Cleveland dosen't count for Cincinnati. Kansas City dosen't count for St Louis. Dallas doesn't count for Houston and so on. There may be lots of Packer fans in Milwaukee and a radio affiliate but so what there are Packer affiliates in the UP of Michigan Iowa and South Dakota as well as many Packer fans there. Now when the Packers once played some games in Milwaukee I guess you could kind of count them. But if they don't play in that city they can't be counted as belonging to that city regardless of fan base or radio affiliates.

IMO not only are the Packers both Green Bay and Milwaukee's team, they are the state of Wisconsin's team, as I have never met an NFL fan from that state that doesn't love Packers. Maybe just maybe there might be a few Wisconsin born Vikings fans close to the Twin Cities, but I doubt it. However there definitely aren't any Wisconsin born Bears fans as they've been god awful of late and if both I-41 and I-43 terminating right before the Illinois border is any implication, I'd say those two states don't like each other.
Aspiring Transportation Planner at Virginia Tech. Go Hokies!

Big John

Quote from: Jmiles32 on May 25, 2017, 07:09:15 PM

IMO not only are the Packers both Green Bay and Milwaukee's team, they are the state of Wisconsin's team, as I have never met an NFL fan from that state that doesn't love Packers. Maybe just maybe there might be a few Wisconsin born Vikings fans close to the Twin Cities, but I doubt it. However there definitely aren't any Wisconsin born Bears fans as they've been god awful of late and if both I-41 and I-43 terminating right before the Illinois border is any implication, I'd say those two states don't like each other.
And Wisconsin has a term for Illinoisans: FIB http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=FIB

Alps

Quote from: Jmiles32 on May 25, 2017, 07:09:15 PM
Quote from: dvferyance on May 25, 2017, 01:23:32 PM
Quote from: tchafe1978 on May 19, 2017, 04:19:05 PM
Buffalo also has the NHL's Sabres.

Milwaukee hasn't seen a championship since the Bucks won the NBA title in 1972. The city hasn't seen a championship series since the Brewers made the World Series in 1982.

Now it can be argued that the Green Bay Packers are included in the Milwaukee market, as their flagship radio station is in Milwaukee, and the NFL considers Milwaukee as part of their home TV market, and the Packers are certainly the dominant NFL team in Milwaukee. If the Packers are included in the Milwaukee market, then you only have to go back to 2011 for the last time the Packers won the Super Bowl.
The Packers don't count for Milwaukee because they aren't a Milwaukee team they are Green Bay's team. I don't get what is there not to understand about that. So what if they are in the same state. Cleveland dosen't count for Cincinnati. Kansas City dosen't count for St Louis. Dallas doesn't count for Houston and so on. There may be lots of Packer fans in Milwaukee and a radio affiliate but so what there are Packer affiliates in the UP of Michigan Iowa and South Dakota as well as many Packer fans there. Now when the Packers once played some games in Milwaukee I guess you could kind of count them. But if they don't play in that city they can't be counted as belonging to that city regardless of fan base or radio affiliates.

IMO not only are the Packers both Green Bay and Milwaukee's team, they are the state of Wisconsin's team, as I have never met an NFL fan from that state that doesn't love Packers. Maybe just maybe there might be a few Wisconsin born Vikings fans close to the Twin Cities, but I doubt it. However there definitely aren't any Wisconsin born Bears fans as they've been god awful of late and if both I-41 and I-43 terminating right before the Illinois border is any implication, I'd say those two states don't like each other.
Don't mind david. I think he hates the Packers specifically because he's from Wisconsin.

SP Cook

Placing soccer on the same level as the big 4 sports is apples to oranges.  While, yes, there are some players playing in Japan (baseball) or Russia (hockey) that are good enough to play in MLB or the NHL; the big 4 sports represent the peak of those sports worldwide.  95 to 100% of the best players in the big 4 sports are playing in the big 4 USA/Canada leagues.  Zero % of the world's best soccer players play in the USA/Canada. 

If you are going to count niche sports like soccer, then you would also have to count other niche sports with teams in DC like rugby, lacrosse, team tennis, and so on. 




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