The Haves and Have Nots
Written by Ben Pogany
“The Torture Has Ended!” So read the sign propped up by a boy no older than ten, his face cloaked in the signature and inexplicably black beard of Giants’ closer Brian Wilson, the man who moments earlier had overwhelmed the heart of the Rangers’ lineup to carry his team of misfits to a World Series title. For whatever “torture” a ten-year-old boy could have possibly suffered in his short communion with the team, the message was no less true; the San Francisco Giants, at long last, were world champions. The catharsis, over a half century in the making, could now begin.
Several months ago, I wrote about how the preceding period had felt like the return of the status quo. The Yankees had just captured another World Series title, the Lakers and Dukies were back atop the basketball universe, and Alabama had just rolled over the Longhorns to claim their nation-leading thirteenth football championship. Lately though, there’s been an unmistakable shift occurring. From sport to sport, it seems that the downtrodden are finally getting their due. The Saints won their first and only Super Bowl in their 53-year sad, sorry run in the National Football League, the Chicago Blackhawks ended a half-century drought to grab their first Stanley Cup since the '60-'61 season, Spain won its first World Cup since they starting giving them out way back in 1930, and now the San Francisco Giants have shocked the world, capturing their first Series title since their New York counterparts did so in ’54. Let the champagne flow.
Of course, on the other side of all this is the Texas Rangers, who will go wanting for at least one more year. Having just turned fifty, the Rangers (originally the expansion Washington Senators) join an elite group for whom torture is a way of life. There’s always next year…
Longest Professional Sports Droughts
(Teams that have existed 50 years or more)
1908- Chicago Cubs
1947- Arizona Cardinals (formerly Chicago Cardinals)
1948- Cleveland Indians
1951- Sacramento Kings (formerly Rochester Royals)
1957- Detroit Lions
1958- Atlanta/St Louis Hawks
1960- Philadelphia Eagles
1961- Tennessee Titans (formerly Houston Oilers)
1961- Texas Rangers (formerly Washington Senators)
1963- LA/San Diego Chargers
1964- Cleveland Browns
1965- Buffalo Bills
1967- Toronto Maple Leafs
1968- New York Jets
1969- Minnesota Vikings (won final NFL championship game; went on to lose to Chiefs in Super Bowl IV)
1969- Kansas City Chiefs
1970- St Louis Blues
