We’re not piling on the Pirates. We think they’re starting to make some good decisions in order to bring the franchise back to the respectable level. Still, 17 straight losing seasons is something that has to be looked at. There’s a few other franchises that we’ll mention in the same argument with the Pirates but we’re going to leave this one up to you people. How would you list these franchises in the annuls of meekness?
We look forward to your answers in the comments. Write-ins are accepted. We have a feeling some of you will take one of the honorable mentions just to spite us.
Pittsburgh Pirates…It’s pretty obvious:
- 17 straight losing seasons.
- All of the bad trades, most notably this one.
- Building a brand new park and filling it with less than 14,000 people per game.
- Letting the best player in the last 20 years leave. Ever if he ‘roided.
Detroit Lions:
- Only franchise to go 0-16 in NFL history.
- One playoff win in the history of the franchise.
- Allowing Matt Millen to preside over one of the worst runs in NFL history for so long.
- The numerous draft busts including this one.
Charlotte Bobcats
- It’s Charlotte. Name a franchise that’s had success there. We’ll wait.
- The coaching carousel.
- Never, in the history of the team had a winning season.
- Jordan choosing who to draft. Adam Morrison? Really?
Los Angeles Clippers
- 2nd worst record in NBA history 12-70 in 1986.
- Never won an NBA Title.
- Yaroslav Korolev.
- Donald Sterling.
Washington Nationals
- One reason and one reason only. Why the hell would you relocate a team to a city that has no native population but is instead a city full of transplants? Please explain how you plan to develop a fanbase in an environment like that.
Mentions: Phoenix Coyotes, The entire idea of the MLS, Cleveland Browns, and yes, the Chicago Cubs.
come holla at me when the pirates are year 101 of a world series title drought. that is more sad than anything
After responding to the TBL thread on the subject with some serious vitriol, my commenting box has gone away. UHOH!
There are no natives in D.C. who can support sport franchises? You are an idiot. Stop rehashing the same old tired garbage.
I’m not going to call you an idiot, but I am going to agree with Michael. DC is a big market. Bigger than Montreal, no offense to the Quebecois. And we have a TON of home-grown fans who would slit your throat over, let’s say, the Redskins. Not that this reflects well on us as human beings, but the point is that New York and LA and Chicago are cities full of transplants that also happen to support enormous home-grown fan bases for sports teams, and DC is not that much different. The Nationals’ problem, not to put too fine a point on it, is “sucking”. Sucking super duper hard. Alienating what fans there were after the .500 season in ‘05, when I saw a stadium packed full of DC faithful cheering the last game of a 10-0 home-stand. Yes, we’re gonna be fickle and fair-weather until we see the owners commit to an intelligent business and baseball model. But you’re dead wrong if you don’t think DC has a large number of ready-made, home-grown sports fans. Way more than, say, the Jacksonville Jaguars, which for some reason I don’t see on this list.
Appreciate the feedback guys, but WaPo says that less than 26% of the people that live in DC are actually from Maryland or VA.
As for the Redskins, they’ve built that fanbase over decades. So have the Caps, Wiz/Bullets and Orioles. The Orioles are getting better too. Moving a franchise to an area where there is an established fanbase of baseball fans less than 15 miles from your new stadium just isn’t a great idea.
The Jags have been to an AFC title game too. They are a mess as well, though.
how about this bad Pirates trade: http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/news/030722ramirez.html
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