Toronto: Where Do We Rank in the List of Most Cursed Sports Cities?

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When I first came to Toronto in late-2006, I fell in love with the local sports scene right away. More specifically, I was impressed by the passion and loyalty of the fans, although I was somewhat confused by their ever-present sense of impending doom.

I found this to be particularly confusing, given how the local sports teams were doing at the time. The Toronto Blue Jays had just finished second in their division for the first time since 1993, the Toronto Maple Leafs would go on to just miss out on the playoffs and the Toronto Raptors were on their way to the first divisional title in franchise history.

Little did I know how naive I was being. It’s only as a result of following Toronto’s sports teams ever since, that I now realise how tortured Torontonians truly feel when it comes to supporting their local franchises.

Apr 21, 2015; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Raptors fans brave heavy rain as they arrive for game two of the first round of the NBA Playoffs against Washington Wizards at Air Canada Centre. Mandatory Credit: Peter Llewellyn-USA TODAY Sports

So, I’m sure you’re wondering why the hell I’m telling you all something that you already know? Well, I’m glad you asked.

I’ve just finished reading an article by nytimes.com, where they asked who are the most cursed sports cities in America? Counting down, the top three ended up being Buffalo, Atlanta and Cleveland – no surprises there.

Now, I’d hate to be accused of being sadistic or anything, but I thought it would be “fun” to see where Toronto fits into this equation?……..Okay, fine! Maybe I am being slightly sadistic.

However, when your city has the longest drought since you last won a Stanley Cup, you’re worthy of being considered for the list. Oh, and let’s not forget the Blue Jays have the longest current streak without a baseball postseason appearance.

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For the record, there are two main statistical metrics that were considered in this survey: 1) The combined number of seasons since a city’s last championship across the four major sports and 2) The percentage of seasons over the last 50 years they have ended up with a title.

With that said, we can now reveal how Toronto compares to the 13 American cities listed in the survey. And while it’s still depressing – remember, this is the 13 worst American sports cities – it’s not quite as bad as you’d think.

First of all, Toronto has endured 63 years since their last major championship – the Blue Jays World Series win in 1993. This would put them in eighth place on the list for longest championship drought.

The second metric found that Toronto has a title-winning percentage of 2.8. Amazingly, this puts them in joint-fourth place with Cincinnati for the best winning percentage.

Of course, these resulted are influenced by the fact Toronto has only three major sports teams, while the Blue Jays and Raptors have only been in existence for 38 and 20 years respectively. Regardless, the results mean Toronto sports fans aren’t quite as cursed as they think they are.

In fact, while we’re on this positive run, let’s include the Toronto Argonauts CFL-record 16 Grey Cups and the Toronto Rock’s six Champion’s Cups, tied for most in the NLL. No one’s saying you shouldn’t ask for more from your sports teams, but heck, maybe it’s time we all stopped feeling so sorry for ourselves.

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