Being a Valley sports fan sucks.
That statement happens to be true in nearly any given year.
Yes, we have the 2001 Arizona Diamondbacks, along with a number of division titles and conference championship appearances scattered among our "Big 4" pro sports franchises.
But the Phoenix area's championship cupboard is noticeably bare:
-The Suns have been to the NBA Finals twice and the Western Conference Finals nine times but have never won it all.
-The Coyotes won their one and only division championship and made their one and only Western Conference Finals appearance in 2012 but haven't even sniffed the playoffs since.
-The D-backs have won exactly one playoff series since their '01 world title and haven't been to the postseason since 2011.
That's why the Cardinals have a chance to change everything for Valley fans, much like the Royals did for championship-starved Kansas City fans during last season's World Series run.
Two more victories by the Cards -- Sunday at Carolina and in the Super Bowl against the Patriots or Broncos two weeks later -- would be manna from heaven for a fan base that the sports universe has passed over time and time again.
Collectively, the Valley's "Big 4" sports teams are the saddest in the country -- but Is the Valley the saddest sports area in the entire nation? If you ask me (and let's pretend for a moment that you did), it's close.
Here's a look at the top (or bottom) five as it stands in late January.
5. Atlanta
Times have been tough in the ATL. The Braves haven't been to the World Series since 1999 and have lost each of their last six playoff series; the Falcons have never won a Super Bowl; the Hawks haven't been to the NBA Finals since moving from St. Louis in 1968; and the Thrashers left town for Winnipeg in 2011. A world title for any of Atlanta’s remaining “Big 4” teams doesn’t seem to be on its way any time soon.
4. Buffalo
In 1991, Scott Norwood missed a last-second field goal that would've given the Bills their first-ever Super Bowl championship. The Bills were the losing team in each of the next three Super Bowls, as well, and they haven't been to the playoffs since 1999. The Sabres lost the 1999 Stanley Cup in similar heartbreaking fashion. They haven't won a playoff series since 2007 and, like the Bills, they're yet to win a world title.
3. San Diego
The Chargers won the 1963 American Football League championship but have never won a Super Bowl -- and to make matters worse, they were unable to secure financing for a new stadium, which could lead to their relocation to LA along with the Los Angeles-turned St. Louis-turned Los Angeles Rams.
The city's only other Big 4 team has experienced a similar level of futility. The Padres lost to the New York Yankees in the 1998 World Series and haven't returned to the playoffs since that defeat. They are one of eight active MLB franchises to have never won a world title.
2. Phoenix
Of the 13 American cities that have at least one team from every Big 4 sport, Phoenix was the only one to not have a single team advance to the playoffs in the 2012-13 sports season. Remarkably, history repeated itself in 2013-14. The Cardinals ended that streak in 2014-15, but their once-promising season ended with a whimper in the Wild Card round.
If not for injuries to a pair of Cavs All-Stars in the 2015 NBA Finals, the Valley of the Sun would likely have claimed the top spot on this list. The D-backs made some big offseason moves, and the Coyotes are a promising young team -- but this year’s Cardinals team is probably Arizona's most realistic chance at a world title in the near future.
1. Cleveland
The Cavs' disappointment is just the tip of the iceberg for Cleveland fans. There's also the 1997 World Series, in which the Indians were three outs away from beating the Florida Marlins in seven games. And there were the Browns' narrow back-to-back AFC Championship game losses to the Denver Broncos in 1986 and '87. The Browns remain one of just four NFL teams to have never played in a Super Bowl.
Thanks to the futility and misfortune of the Indians, Browns and Cavs, Phoenix fans can take heart in the fact that at least one American sports city will remain sadder than them -- at least for now.
