Saturday, January 17, 2009
Championships by our regional professional sports teams have become precious treasures. In the past 20 years, there have been three (thanks Penguins and Steelers).
Competing for championships is another story. In that same time frame, all six of the regional teams (Pittsburgh’s Steelers, Penguins and Pirates and Cleveland’s Browns, Cavaliers and Indians) have had opportunities to finish on top.
Obviously, it’s not that easy. There is no guarantee that teams that are strong enough to contend for multiple seasons will ever win it all (case in point — the Indians from 1995-99).
All things considered, sports fans here have had a lot championship-contending contests to root for (or against).
Right now, two teams have excellent chances of going the distance.
Cavs curretly hottest NBA team
In Cleveland, the Cavaliers are as hot as any NBA team. If they can earn home-court advantage for the playoffs, Cleveland could celebrate its first championship since December 1964. Imagine what that celebration would be.
In Pittsburgh, the Steelers on Sunday are hosting their sixth AFC Championship Game since January 1995. When you consider how the NFL salary cap and free agency works overtime to create parity, that’s an amazing accomplishment.
And it means nothing, as far as Super Bowl trips are concerned. In the five most recent AFC Championship Games played at Heinz Field or Three Rivers Stadium, the home team only won once.
Nothing is guaranteed, not even with home-field advantage.
The element of surprise is what makes watching sports fun. Three years ago, the Steelers qualified as the AFC’s sixth seed, meaning they would host no playoff games no matter how far they advanced.
After upsetting the Bengals in Cincinnati, the Steelers stunned the top-seeded Colts in Indianapolis’ RCA Dome then earned the franchise’s sixth Super Bowl appearance by ousting the Broncos in Denver.
The Steelers’ 21-10 win over Seattle in Super Bowl XL was our most recent championship. In 1991 and 1992, the Penguins won the Stanley Cup.
That’s it for recent crowns.
Many have come close to a title
But there have been close calls.
In January 1990, the Browns dropped their third AFC Championship Game in four seasons, all to John Elway’s Broncos. (The consolation for Browns fans was that the Broncos went 0-3 in those Super Bowls).
In Pittsburgh that year, the Pirates won the first of three straight National League East Division titles. Back then, only four Major League Baseball teams qualified for the playoffs so the Pirates were just four wins from the World Series.
It didn’t happen as the Bucs fell to the Cincinnati Reds in six games in 1990 and the Atlanta Braves in seven games in 1991 and 1992. They haven’t contended since.
In 1992, the Steelers took a chance on a relatively unknown coach to replace 23-year legend Chuck Noll. Bill Cowher guided the Steelers to the postseason in each of his first six seasons.
In 1994, MLB was shut down by a players strike while the National Hockey League owners locked out their players. And the Steelers and Browns were actually competitive at the same time.
Both made the playoffs, with the Browns ousting the New England Patriots in the last NFL playoff game in Cleveland. Six days later, the Browns lost to the Steelers. Eight days later, the San Diego Chargers bounced the Steelers.
The most fascinating year for area fans was 1995. The Indians snapped a 41-year drought by winning the American League pennant, then falling to the Braves in the World Series.
A week later, Cleveland fans were stunned when Browns owner Art Modell announced he was moving the team to Baltimore to become the Ravens.
Adding insult to injury, the Steelers won the AFC Championship Game to earn another Super Bowl trip. Their loss to the Cowboys in January 1996 is their only one in the NFL’s grand finale.
The Indians went back to the World Series in 1997 and the American League Championship Series in 1998, losing both. In October 2007, the Tribe had a 3-1 ALCS lead over the Boston Red Sox, but lost Game 5 at home to Josh Beckett then were swept at Fenway Park.
The Cavs earned their first NBA Finals appearance in June 2007, but were swept.
The Pens advanced to the NHL’s Eastern Conference Finals in 1996 and 2001. Last spring, the Pens earned their franchise’s third Stanley Cup Finals appearance, falling to the Detroit Red Wings in six games.
Since the creation of the replacement expansion team in 1999, the Browns have one playoff appearance (a January 2003 loss to the Steelers).
The most successful franchise is obviously the Steelers, who are one win away from a seventh Super Bowl.
If we’ve learned anything over the past 20 years, nothing is guaranteed ... except that our teams often have a shot.
XTom Williams is a sportswriter for The Vindicator. Write him at williams@vindy.com.