# Cleveland Fucking Sports **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [November 3, 2018, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cleveland-fucking-sports/823922 "2018-11-03T04:46:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a183cd/32.png) [@Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barkis_is_Willin)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2018, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cleveland-fucking-sports/823922/21 "2018-11-05T14:45:10Z")
> [@OldGuy](#): > > Of course to be fair the Cleveland Metro area ranks 29th in population as well. It beats only Milwaukee. Ok, but they were consistently selling out back when the Jake was new. The days of Albert Belle and Kenny Lofton. Cleveland has just as an exciting team now, probably even more so with Lindor and company, but they just aren’t drawing. I went to one game in 2018, a Sunday (Mother’s Day, actually), and the place was maybe 1/3 full. ---
**Author:** ![Asimovian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asimovian/32/172_2.png) [@Asimovian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asimovian)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2018, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cleveland-fucking-sports/823922/22 "2018-11-05T15:04:01Z")
I keep telling my wife that when we either win the lottery or retire, we’re going to buy a home in Avon Lake and have Indians season tickets. It’s embarrassing to watch my second-favorite baseball team be so good with so few people in the stands, but at least I’ll appreciate the extra leg and elbow room if I’m there in person. ---
**Author:** ![Jasmine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jasmine/32/2964_2.png) [@Jasmine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasmine)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2018, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cleveland-fucking-sports/823922/23 "2018-11-05T15:25:33Z")
If it makes you feel any better, the Browns are a MUCH better team than the 0-16 version of last year. You can’t expect to go from something that horrendous to a playoff team in one year. Actually, you’re better off losing the close games like you have been and getting high picks to go with Mayfield. That would go a long way in making you relevant next season. ---
**Author:** ![Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a183cd/32.png) [@Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barkis_is_Willin)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2018, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cleveland-fucking-sports/823922/24 "2018-11-05T15:30:02Z")
So far in 2018, the Browns are 17th out of 32 NFL teams in average home attendance. And that’s at 100% capacity. Can’t imagine why anyone would rather go to a Browns game than an Indians game. And I say that as a Browns fan who is not an Indians fan. ---
**Author:** ![ISiddiqui](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/97f17d/32.png) [@ISiddiqui](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ISiddiqui)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2018, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cleveland-fucking-sports/823922/25 "2018-11-05T16:19:42Z")
At least you’ve won some Championships lately. Try being an Atlanta sports fan. ---
**Author:** ![Slash1972](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slash1972/32/6461_2.png) [@Slash1972](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slash1972)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2018, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cleveland-fucking-sports/823922/26 "2018-11-05T19:46:49Z")
I think more 10-cent beer nights would help out the Cleveland teams. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2018, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cleveland-fucking-sports/823922/27 "2018-11-05T20:03:58Z")
> [@ZipperJJ](#): > > I think we need to get ourselves a hockey team. Detroit is a pretty trash place when it comes to sports a lot of the time, but the Red Wings always seem to pick up the slack then the Tigers, Pistons and Lions aren’t running hot. > > I feel you on “Cleveland or bust” tho. I can’t believe I watch the Browns every Sunday. EVERY Sunday. Like if I don’t, they’ll be taken away again. It’s a disease. You can have my St Louis Blues, who have not won the Stanley Cup (and have rarely come anywhere close to the finals) in their 50 years of existence. They’d fit right in! ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2018, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cleveland-fucking-sports/823922/28 "2018-11-05T20:34:24Z")
> [@Fugazi](#): > > Does any other city suffer as much misery as Cleveland? Sure. Toronto is a crazed hockey town, more than any other I know, yet the Maple Leafs have not won the Stanley Cup in 51 years, and in fact in recent decades never even came close. They often don’t even make the playoffs, and this is the NHL, where almost _ **everybody** _ makes the playoffs – 16 teams out of 31 – so you have to be in a special class of major suckage not to even make it to Round 1. Doesn’t keep the Leafs from being insanely popular, though, with tickets always sold out despite having among the highest ticket prices in the league. I don’t know what drives these masochistic fans. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2018, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cleveland-fucking-sports/823922/29 "2018-11-05T20:34:28Z")
> [@ISiddiqui](#): > > At least you’ve won some Championships lately. Try being an Atlanta sports fan. Yes, but were it not for Cleveland Sports, Atlanta Sports wouldn’t even have the [one championship it does have](https://www.baseball-reference.com/postseason/1995_WS.shtml). THANK YOU, Cleveland Sports! ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2018, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cleveland-fucking-sports/823922/30 "2018-11-05T20:55:29Z")
> [@](#): > > Quoth **Jasmine** : > > If it makes you feel any better, the Browns are a MUCH better team than the 0-16 version of last year. Yes, but a team consisting entirely of three mallards with head colds and an arthritic naked mole rat would also be a much better team than last year’s Browns. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2018, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cleveland-fucking-sports/823922/31 "2018-11-05T21:00:34Z")
> [@Shoeless](#): > > You can have my St Louis Blues, who have not won the Stanley Cup (and have rarely come anywhere close to the finals) in their 50 years of existence. They’d fit right in! Funny, when I was a kid I was a huge Blues fan. I needed a hockey team and Brett Hull was my dude. I guess I know how to pick ‘em… ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2018, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cleveland-fucking-sports/823922/32 "2018-11-06T14:33:08Z")
> [@BlankSlate](#): > > Looks like the fans are part of the problem. The Indians spend money, field championship caliber teams and not enough people turn up. > > Indians’ payroll/attendance ranking > > 2012 $68.9m/29th > 2013 $89M/28th > 2014 $84m/29th > 2015 $87m/29th > 2016 $118m/28th > 2017 $151m/22nd > 2018 $150m/21st 1. Cleveland has a very small attendance capacity in their stadium; it’s been reduced over the years in remodeling. 2. Attendance is drifting downward. So Cleveland has moved up in these rankings despite having fewer seats to sell to Americans less willing to buy baseball tickets. ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2018, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cleveland-fucking-sports/823922/33 "2018-11-06T19:43:16Z")
> [@ISiddiqui](#): > > At least you’ve won some Championships lately. Try being an Atlanta sports fan. …or a Cincinnati sports fan. The Bengals are 0-7 (!!!) in the playoffs under Marvin Lewis, the worst playoff coaching record in the history of the NFL), the Reds last won the World Series in 1991 (which is also the last time the Bengals won a playoff game) and haven’t won a playoff series since 1995. The best professional sports team in this city is FC Cincinnati, a minor league soccer team (although they are very good and joining the MLS next season). Being a Bengals fan is just as frustrating as being a Browns fan with just a handful more wins. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2018, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cleveland-fucking-sports/823922/34 "2018-11-06T19:45:41Z")
> [@FoieGrasIsEvil](#): > > Being a Bengals fan is just as frustrating as being a Browns fan with just a handful more wins. The Curse of the Orange Helmets. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2018, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cleveland-fucking-sports/823922/35 "2018-11-06T20:41:59Z")
> [@FoieGrasIsEvil](#): > > …or a Cincinnati sports fan. The Bengals are 0-7 (!!!) in the playoffs under Marvin Lewis, the worst playoff coaching record in the history of the NFL), the Reds last won the World Series in 1991 (which is also the last time the Bengals won a playoff game) and haven’t won a playoff series since 1995. It was 1990, just to add a year to your misery. The thing is, Cincinnati only has two teams in the Big Four sports leagues, increasing the odds of not winning at all in at least one sport. Here are all the cities, so far as I can recall, with a team in the big four: New York, of course. Last won a major championship in 2012 when the Giants won the Super Bowl (assuming we count New Jersey but whatever.) Los Angeles. Last won a championship in 2014, the Kings. Chicago. Last won in 2016, the Cubs. The SF Bay area, which is cheating a little but so what. Warriors last year. Dallas. Last won in 2011, the Mavericks. Boston. A couple of weeks ago. Denver. Broncos won the Super Bowl in 2016. Detroit. Red Wings hoisted the Cup in 2008. Miami. Won the NBA in 2013. Philly, of course. Won the Super Bowl last year. Phoenix. The city’s only championship was in 2001, the Diamondbacks. Washington, just won the Stanley Cup last year. Minneapolis, Twins on the Series last in 1991. The biggest media market in the footprint of these leagues that doesn’t qualify is either Toronto (which of course has a CFL team, not an NFL team) or, you could argue, Houston (no NHL.) So among the four sport cities, Minnesota is the most suffering. Granted, the individual fan might have different priorities. Being a basketball fan in New York City has not exactly been a continuous delight in the last four decades. ---
**Author:** ![BlankSlate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blankslate/32/80_2.png) [@BlankSlate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlankSlate)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2018, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cleveland-fucking-sports/823922/36 "2018-11-06T23:12:43Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > 1. Cleveland has a very small attendance capacity in their stadium; it’s been reduced over the years in remodeling. > > 2. Attendance is drifting downward. > > So Cleveland has moved up in these rankings despite having fewer seats to sell to Americans less willing to buy baseball tickets. Okay, let’s look at home attendance as a [percentage](http://www.espn.com/mlb/attendance): 2001: 93% 2007: 66% 2018: 55% This is not happening with other contending teams. Look at Milwaukee. Okay, I’m done with this subject. 😛 I didn’t really care all that much in the first place. Cleveland: if that’s the best you can do, you deserve to lose the Klubot. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cleveland-fucking-sports/823922.md?page=1)