The Blackhawks are looking hot on the ice, and with half a season yet to play, they appear to be making a strong run toward the playoffs. Although they are arguably one of the best teams in the NHL, fans must remember that this is Chicago, and the city’s teams have a history of meltdowns. Here’s a countdown of the top 10 ways Chicago’s sports teams usually let down their fans.
Source: baseball-reference.com
10. Sometimes it’s not the team’s fault
In 1994, Frank Thomas (above) and the White Sox were on their way to winning their division and were one of the favorites to reach the World Series. However, a baseball strike led to the season’s premature halt. The Sox ended their season 21 games over .500 with 49 games left to play.
9. No, really!
It’s not always the team’s fault. Since its beginning in the Arena Football League in 2001, the Chicago Rush have won four division titles and a league championship in 2006. After Rush won its fourth division title in ’08, the league canceled the 2009 season and declared bankruptcy. The league returns in April as Arena Football One, but it will have to prove it can draw more fans this time if it hopes to survive.
8. Anything but super
The Bears made the journey to the Super Bowl after the 2006 season. Defense and special teams carried them through postseason despite spotty play by an offense led by Rex Grossman. But the Bears’ lack of balance finally caught up to them in the Super Bowl, which they lost 29-17 to the Indianapolis Colts.
7. No business being there
Even with a 41-41 record, the Bulls made the 2009 playoffs as a seventh seed. They almost pulled off the impossible by forcing the No. 2 Boston Celtics into a seven-game series before being eliminated.
6. Who coined this scenario?
After winning the World Series in 2005, the White Sox made their next postseason appearance in 2008, when they hosted a one-game tiebreaker and beat the Minnesota Twins. The Sox caught a break by not playing in the Metrodome, where the Twins had an 8-1 record against the Sox that season (10-9 overall). Yet wins didn’t decide who got the home-field advantage, a coin toss did, and the Sox ended up going to the playoffs … where they lost 3-1 in a first-round series against the Tampa Bay Rays.
5. The choke
Before Dec. 21, the Bulls’ biggest blown lead was against Utah in 1998 (31 points), second only to Denver dropping a 36-point advantage to the Jazz in ’96. Last month, the Bulls lost a 35-point lead to Sacramento, getting outscored 58-19 on their way to a 102-98 loss.
4. Perfection? Maybe not
Mark Buehrle (left) became the 18th pitcher to throw a perfect game as the Sox beat the Tampa Bay Rays 5-0 on July 23. At the time, the Sox were 50-45 and Buehrle’s record was 11-3. But Buehrle didn’t get a win in his next eight starts and the Sox finished with a losing record (79-83).
3. Let-me-downs
Alfonso Soriano, Nomar Garciaparra, Kosuke Fukudome, Kevin Gregg and Milton Bradley (to name a few). Certainly there are enough examples of disappointments to go around for each of Chicago’s teams, but all of the ones mentioned above have played for the Cubs — all within in the last decade.
2. Change for a quarter(back)
After Jim McMahon left in 1986, the Bears have used 24 different starting quarterbacks. The team currently put its stock in “savior” Jay Cutler (below), but he led the league in interceptions with 26 — six more than rookies Mark Sanchez and Matthew Stafford.
1. The drought
No team in any sport goes 100 years without winning a championship … unless it’s the Cubs. The Cubs haven’t won a championship since 1908, and whether or not the goat gets the blame, 100 years is a long time. Keep in mind, they’re still counting.
