DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Tailgate Forum Title-starved Ohioans are fighting losing battle

Linkage

Please Note** I did not click on Jules or DM before I posted this.. so there should be no confusion. Thanks!

Tuesday, October 23, 2007 3:36 AM
By Rob Oller
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

Associated Press
Memo to Buckeye Nation: Remember how you felt in the aftermath of 41-14? That's pretty much what Cleveland Indians fans are going through these days.

Rob Oller commentary: Title-starved Ohioans are fighting losing battle

"We are (Not) the Champions"
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
LOSERVILLE, Ohio -- Warning to fans of Ohio sports teams: This column could prove hazardous to your emotional well-being.

The sun shines in Massachusetts today. And Colorado. It is a glorious glow that warms the hearts of fans living in states where winning has been woven into the fabric of everyday life, where the aroma of success inspires positive thought and an optimistic outlook.

The inhabitants of Missouri and Florida know that fragrance, as do residents of Michigan, Texas and North Carolina.

In Ohio, however, there is only an odor of something rotting under a relentless fireball in the sky. It stinks in Cleveland, reeks in Cincinnati and sometimes smells like a meatpacking plant without air-conditioning in Columbus.

This is the stench of worthlessness that many Ohioans whiff in the days after a disaster, whether it is an American League championship series collapse or a Jan. 8 debacle in the desert.

While Florida and New York teams attract honeybees, Ohio teams attract flies.

So let's begin there, with the bugs.

Indians fans hailed it as an act of God when Lake Erie midges descended like locusts upon Jacobs Field during Game 2 of the American League divisional series three weeks ago, causing the Yankees to lose their composure, the game and eventually the series. The swarming pests were considered a plague upon New York and a sign of the pox to come against the Red Sox. Cleveland fans finally would be released to the Promised Land: a World Series appearance and likely championship for a city that has not experienced a world title since 1964, when the Browns topped the NFL.

Unfortunately for Cleveland -- and for Ohio, as we shall see -- the biblical story didn't end with the bugs. The Tribe blew a three-games-to-one lead against Boston and was banished to Loserville, that place where Ohioans have wandered in the wilderness of woulda-coulda-shoulda for most of the past 43 years.

They are not alone. As much as Cleveland draws attention for its heartbreaking defeats -- The Brake joins The Drive and The Fumble in Loserville lore, thanks to Indians third base coach Joel Skinner -- the rest of the state isn't far behind in the race for franchise futility. Since 1964, the line of demarcation for most Cleveland fans, Ohio has produced only five champions at the largest professional or Division I college levels.

Ohio State won two national championships in football (1968, 2002) and the Cincinnati Reds won three World Series titles (1975-76, '90). Not bad, you say? Maybe not when compared with Delaware or Wyoming, but hardly impressive when considering Ohio is the championship trophy cellar dweller among the 11 states that house at least five pro franchises and one major college program (see chart at left).

As for recent history, Ohio has crowned just one champion (OSU in '02) the past 15 years. Illinois, with six major pro teams to Ohio's seven, has six titles during that time.

It gets worse:

The Blue Jackets, who arrived in 2000, remain the only current NHL team without a playoff appearance.
The Crew has never reached the MLS title game.
Ohio is the only state without a Super Bowl winner among the eight states with at least two NFL teams.
If not for Division III Mount Union and Division I-AA Youngstown State -- 13 championships between them -- Ohio would be spelled with two zeros.

All this losing takes its toll on Ohio sports fans, who have been brought up to expect the worst, especially when titles are at stake. When Chicagoans leave their homes in the morning, they may lament another season of suffering through their beloved Cubbies, but they have the 2005 White Sox, Michael Jordan and da '85 Bears on which to fall back. Smug New Yorkers consider themselves winners because their teams have won so many titles. Losing is for losers.

Ohioans, and Clevelanders in particular, take the opposite tack. Their self-esteem always measures a quart low; their optimism drains on a daily basis.

"There's something to that. We root for sports teams because we can identify with them," said Leif Smith, director of psychological services at OSU Sports Medicine. "It usually starts out because of geographic location but then becomes part of our identity. There's a little bit of us in them."

And vice versa. We feel like losers because our teams are losers.

"It's a double-edged sword, because when our teams are good, we feel good," said Smith, who follows the Cubs. "But when they fail, they fail publicly. There's a cloud over us for a while, but we eventually find perspective and realize it's just a game."

Easy for him to say. He had Jordan, not Craig Ehlo.

Rob Oller is a sports fan for The Dispatch.

roller@dispatch.com

Somebody needs a hug.

Well, it isn't the end of the world.

Bu...bu..bu...but the Cleveland Crunch won championships...........

I didn't even bother to read past the first few sentences of the article. I've seen plenty like it before.

The fact is, the Cavs were in the finals, the Indians were in game 7 of the ALCS and now the Browns are showing improvement and many are crossing their fingers for a shot at the playoffs.

When was the last time this was the scenario of any of the three?

The article talks of how sweet the feeling is in Boston and Colorado. Well guess what, one of those teams is going to have their hearts ripped out regardless of how sweet the feeling is right now.


Cleveland professional sports is in high regard at the moment and OSU is strong.

Enough of the crying in the beer stuff.

Well if you would have told me on January 1 that in 2007 OSU would have 2 losing national championship games, a 0-4 Cavalier loss in the NBA finals, and an Indians ALCS loss after a 3-1 series lead, I would have taken it.

There....I said it.....
...and it still sounds wrong.

Kind of depressing, but as a sports fan, I'm quite happy to watch a game during any season, with any sport knowing there's a legitimate chance for my team to win the game. Not knowing for certain if they are going to win is what makes watching sports exciting.

It's all in the cycle,...what goes around comes around.

Media drawing up crap to make itself sell a paper.

These are the same kinds of people (in other cities) that will be bitching up a storm if say the Browns, Tribe and Cavs all get it done next year.

"The Fix was IN,..."

I do not feel any different or less capable because I root for Ohio teams,...what a crock of crap.

Rob Oller is usually a lot better than this,....

I thought this year was a little odd. I love the Buckeyes and we lose in football and basketball. The Cavs get swept by the Spurs, and the Tribe goes down in the ALCS. Maybe the Browns are due to lose in the Super Bowl or AFC Championship game? Just the optimist in me

What? No mention of Kelly Pavlik winning the Middleweight title last month? It's the closest thing we've had to a champion in these parts in ages. And since he's a cool cat, i'll take it!!!

the tides of battle often turn.