25 Hardest Teams to Root For

After the Houston Oilers decamped to Nashville,Tennessee, in 1997 to become the Tennessee Titans, the NFL awarded the city of Houston a franchise that became the Texans. The Texans become the second NFL team to ever win their NFL debut by defeating the Dallas Cowboys on Sept. 8, 2002. There have been fewer highlights since then. Though they have won their division five times, the Texans have missed the playoffs in 12 of their 18 seasons, and have yet to advance to a league championship game. But with emerging star quarterback Deshaun Watson and five-time All-Pro defensive end J.J. Watt, the Texans will likely continue to be contenders and may not make this list next year.

The Baltimore Orioles may not seem like a tough team to cheer for with three World Series titles, but the club also lost four championship series and their latest World Series was almost 36 years ago. The Orioles lost 115 games in 2018, the most since the team moved to Baltimore 66 years ago. The franchise got off to a rocky start as the St. Louis Browns. The team missed the postseason for over 40 straight seasons. After losing the 1944 World Series, the franchise missed the postseason for another two decades. In the midst of the losing streak, the Browns picked up and left for Baltimore after the 1953 season.

Cleveland sports franchises have a history of treating their fans to crushing disappointments. The most recent example was when the Indians lost the 2016 World Series in extra innings at home to the Chicago Cubs. The Indians now own the longest world championship drought in baseball at 70 years. They also lost the Word Series in 1997 and 1995.

The Seattle Pilots moved to Milwaukee to become the Brewers in 1969. In the 50 years the Brewers have been in Milwaukee, they have made the postseason five times and played in one World Series, losing to the St. Louis Cardinals in seven games in 1982. The Brewers won the National League Central division last year but lost to the Los Angeles Dodgers in the championship series. They are contending for the division again this year.

The Jaguars came into the NFL in 1995. Since then, they have made the playoffs seven times and reached the AFC Championship game three times, including in 1997, just their second year of existence. In their most recent championship game appearance in 2018, the Jags held a 10-point lead in the fourth quarter but were overtaken by the New England Patriots.

After losing the first iteration of the Jets, which went to Phoenix in 1996, Winnipeg got a team named the Jets back in 2011, when the Thrashers left Atlanta. Unfortunately for Jets fans, the Thrashers were one of the worst franchises in the NHL, only making the playoffs once in 11 seasons. Things are looking up for Winnipeg, though, as the Jets had their best ever performance during the 2017-2018 season, winning 52 games and reaching the NHL conference finals. The Jets again reached the playoffs this year — the first time the new Jets qualified for the postseason for two years in a row.

The Detroit Lions have struggled mightily in the Super Bowl era and have rarely given their fans reasons to be optimistic. The Lions have only made the playoffs a dozen times over the past 53 seasons, and they’ve never made it to the Super Bowl. In fact, the Lions have only played in one NFC Championship game, in 1992. In 2008, the Lions became the first team to go 0-16.

In the 30 years the Hornets have been in the National Basketball Association, they have made the playoffs 10 times but have never advanced beyond the Eastern Conference semifinals. The Hornets, paced by high-scoring forward Glen Rice, had their best regular-season record in 1996-97, winning 54 games.

Though the Atlanta Falcons have been an NFC contender since they drafted quarterback Matt Ryan, they have never been able to bring a championship to Atlanta. The Falcons seemed poised to win the first Super Bowl in franchise history in 2017 but blew a 28-3 lead in the second half, giving the New England Patriots yet another title. The Falcons failed to make the playoffs last year.

Before moving to Memphis after the 2000-01 season, the Vancouver Grizzlies were an abysmal expansion franchise. The team never won more than 23 games in a season and never finished higher than sixth in their division. The Grizzlies have had some winning seasons since moving to Memphis, but they almost always lost in the first round of playoffs. The team has failed to make the playoffs the last two years. Billionaire owner Robert Pera, the founder and CEO of wireless equipment maker Ubiquiti Networks, has been criticized by local media for being an absentee owner.

Few franchises in sports had a more agonizing stretch than the Buffalo Bills in the early 1990s. The Bills, led by Hall of Fame quarterback Jim Kelly, lost four straight Super Bowls starting in 1991. The situation went from bad to worse, as the Bills missed the playoffs for 17 straight seasons before finally ending the drought in 2017. The Bills returned to their losing form last year and missed the playoffs.

Under head coach Marvin Lewis, the Cincinnati Bengals made the playoffs seven times in 13 seasons. They lost in the wild card round each time. After 16 seasons at the helm of the Bengals, Cincinnati fired Lewis this past December after three straight losing seasons. At the time, he was the second longest-tenured coach in the NFL, behind Patriots coach Bill Belichick. In the 1980s, Cincinnati got to the Super Bowl twice but lost to the San Francisco 49ers each time.

The Rays, who made their MLB debut in 1998, never won more than 70 games in a season until 2008. That year, they reached the World Series for the only time in their history, and lost to the Philadelphia Phillies. Led by Cy Young award winner Blake Snell, the Rays have held their own in the competitive American League East, and as of May 13, they were leading the division. A drawback for the Rays is they play at Tropicana Field — the Chicago Tribune rated the domed stadium as the worst in the MLB.

The Florida Panthers have made the playoffs just five times in the 24 years of the franchise’s existence. In the Panthers’ third season in 1995-96, the team made the Stanley Cup Finals but lost. Since then, they’ve never made it past the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs.

The Minnesota Timberwolves are the epitome of a boom or bust franchise. The team missed the playoffs in its first seven seasons. After drafting Kevin Garnett, the T-wolves made the playoffs eight straight years, but they were bounced in the first round seven times. Since then, Minnesota had a 13-year playoff drought before snapping it in the 2017-2018 season, led by All-Star center Karl-Anthony Towns. This past season, the T-wolves reverted to form and failed to make the playoffs.

When fans call a team’s stadium the “Factory of Sadness,” you know the franchise is struggling. After the 1995 season, the Browns moved to Baltimore, leaving Cleveland without an NFL team for three years. Ever since the team came back in 1999 they’ve been terrible, making the playoffs just once and posting only two winning seasons. They became the second team ever to go 0-16 in 2017. The Browns drafted Baker Mayfield first overall in the 2018 NFL Draft, and the quarterback has given fans hope. Mayfield set the rookie record for touchdown passes with 27 last year, helping Cleveland win seven games, the most since 2014.

Arizona isn’t known for its cold weather nor for its hockey, and with the Arizona Coyotes it’s easy to see why. The Coyotes have never won a Stanley Cup or even appeared in the finals. Most of the Coyotes’ playoff appearances actually came when the franchise was known as the Winnipeg Jets. The Jets left Canada in 1996. Arizona has not made the Stanley Cup playoffs since the 2011-12 season.

The Los Angeles Clippers were originally known as the Buffalo Braves before becoming the San Diego Clippers. They later moved to Los Angeles and have never been able to achieve the success or notoriety of their crosstown rivals, the Lakers. The Clippers were the laughing stock of the NBA for years, but they have made the playoffs in seven of the last eight years.

This year is the 50th anniversary of the greatest moment in Jets’ history, the stunning upset of the Baltimore Colts in Super Bowl III. That has been the apex of the franchise. The Jets reached the AFC Championship game four times since then, and most recently in consecutive years in 2010 and 2011, but failed to return to the Super Bowl. Unfortunately for the Jets, they play in the same division as the New England Patriots, maybe the greatest football dynasty in NFL history.

The Arizona Cardinals may not jump to mind when thinking of the most downtrodden NFL franchises, but they’ve been difficult for fans to cheer for in many ways. Initially from Chicago, the Cardinals moved to St. Louis after the 1959 season, then left for Arizona 29 years later. The Cardinals have struggled on the field, only making the playoffs eight times in the Super Bowl era, the fewest times of any team that has been around that long. They have failed to make the playoffs the last three seasons. The best season the Cardinals ever had led to a heartbreaking last-minute loss in the Super Bowl against the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2009.

No team in basketball has disappointed fans as much as the Sacramento Kings. Once a proud franchise that won a championship in 1951 as the Rochester Royals, the Kings have rarely made it to the playoffs since the NBA-ABA merger in 1976. The Royals moved to Cincinnati, then Kansas City, before settling in California as the Kings in 1985. The Kings made the playoffs eight straight times starting in 1999, but they never got to the NBA Finals. Since that run, the Kings have missed the playoffs for 13 straight years. It can be tough to stay engaged with a team that struggles so much. Forbes in 2016 ranked Kings fans as some of the least engaged in the NBA due to poor ticket sales and social media interaction.

No team in Major League Baseball loses more frequently than the San Diego Padres. The team’s all-time winning percentage of .462 is the lowest of any franchise. The Padres only make the playoffs about once a decade on average. Led by Hall of Famer Tony Gwynn, San Diego managed to get to two World Series, but the team played poorly in both. The Padres lost in five games in the 1984 World Series and were swept in the 1998 Fall Classic.

The Marlins ownership apparently cannot stand prosperity. The team has won the World Series twice, the first time in 1997, just four years after the franchise came into existence. However, then-owner Wayne Huizenga sold or traded many of the players who delivered the first World Series title. In 2003, the Marlins won the championship again, but failing to reach a deal with the city for a new stadium, then-owner Jeffrey Loria also sold off players after 2005 to cut payroll. New ownership led by former Yankee Derek Jeter has continued the tradition, trading players such as former National League MVP Giancarlo Stanton.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers won their only Super Bowl in 2003, but they have not reached the playoffs since 2007, when they lost the wild card game. The Bucs were hoping that quarterback Jameis Winston, drafted out of Florida State University, would return Tampa Bay to the Super Bowl. That has not worked out so far. Winston has only led the Bucs to one winning season. He started last season under suspension for violating the league’s personal conduct policy.

Despite having players such as Ken Griffey Jr., Alex Rodriguez, and Ichiro Suzuki in their primes, the Seattle Mariners have made the MLB playoffs just four times. Those four appearances came in a stretch of seven years and ended the year the team won 116 games — the most in any one season in baseball history. Still, the team lost in the American League Championship Series. The Mariners lost long-time fan favorite Ichiro, who announced his retirement this year after 14 seasons with the team.