After Philadelphia 76ers fans found out that Ben Simmons will be out for three months, it only felt right to pick out the most cursed franchises in sports.
Ben Simmons was supposed to be the person who could guide the Philadelphia 76ers back to the promised land. As a number one overall pick, he came with plenty of superlatives. He was compared to Allen Iverson, since he was the last first overall pick the 76ers had. He was compared to Shaq, because he went one-and-done at LSU. And he was compared to LeBron James because they spent time together in the offseason.
But when Sixers fans found out that Simmons would go through foot surgery and miss the first three months of the season, it was an all too familiar feeling. Simmons became the fourth straight first-round draft pick from the 76ers to get hurt, joining the company of Jahlil Okafor, Nerlens Noel, and Joel Embiid before him. And even when he does come back, getting hurt like that before stepping onto the court can only have an adverse effect on your career.
This news hurts hard for 76ers fans, but they’re hardly the only fanbase that gets tortured like this. For your sadistic pleasures, here are the five most cursed franchises in sports.
5. Cleveland Indians
The Cavaliers may have won a title, but Cleveland sports are still by and large a joke. That’s because the Browns are a factory of sadness, and the Indians are the same but on a much smaller scale.
The film Major League was practically based on the futility of the Cleveland Indians, while they have their own version of the Bambino Curse called Rocky Covalito. It stipulates that ever since the Indians traded Covalito for Harvey Kuenn, they’re not allowed to win anything. And since they haven’t won a World Series since that trade, it’s stood up while the Bambino Curse has been broken.
Playoff appearances are few and far between for the Indians, and whenever they do get there, it ends in heartbreaking fashion. But the worst one of them all had to be when Jose Mesa blew a save in Game 7 of the 1997 World Series.
The Indians are gearing up for the playoffs this year, but it’s really par for the course for Cleveland that they can have one of their best seasons in years yet still be far down in the pecking order in terms of getting to the World Series.
Honorable Mention: The Chicago Cubs for Steve Bartman and having a World Series drought that has lasted over 100 years, but they’re trying their absolute best to end that this season.