Curses! Why Cleveland Sports Fans Deserve to Be Miserable

A Lifetime of Tough Luck, Bad Breaks, Goofs, Gaffes, and Blunders

by Tim Long

  • Format: Softcover, 144 pages, 5 x 8 inches
  • Illustrations: 24 Line drawings
  • ISBN: 978-1-59851-018-8
  • Price: $9.95
Description

Here's one championship title we Cleveland fans can grasp and proudly hold aloft: Most Miserable.

Boston fans no longer have their Curse to bemoan— and anyway, they've got those Patriots Super Bowl trophies. (Aargh!— Bill Belichick!)

Chicago fans? Don't start. The Cubs, yes— but what about all those unbeatable Bulls teams? (Ugh!— The Shot!)

No, Cleveland owns bragging rights when it comes to the biggest, longest, worst drought in professional sports championships.

And it's not just The Fumble, The Drive, The Catch, Game Seven, and all our other big-game losses. We've endured enough bad luck, dumb trades, dud draft picks, and just plain goofy moments to keep us crying in our beers for decades.

And they're all collected here.

Could this little book end the worst championship drought in major league sports? Honestly, no. But it will give you something fun to read while you're waiting for the Browns, the Tribe, the Cavs, or someone in Cleveland to finally win the Big One!

It may not take away the misery, but at least it offers a little humor to go with the groans!

Book Excerpt:
Biggest Bummers

Did you just cringe when you read those two words? Did you close your eyes for a second and contemplate skipping this section? Because there is no more angst-filled description of a Browns game than “ The Drive.”

The Browns were confident of a trip to the Super Bowl before the 1986 AFC Championship game against the Denver Broncos, and it seemed a certainty with only 5:32 left to go in the game. Cleveland had just scored on a 48-yard touchdown pass from Bernie Kosar to Brian Brennan to go up 20-13. Now Denver was planted on their two-yard line with 98 yards to go for a tie. Then Denver was at the Cleveland 40-yard line facing a second down and 10 yards to go with 1:52 remaining. Elway was then sacked for an eight-yard loss by defensive tackle Dave Puzzuoli. How much more promising could it be? California dreamin' (as in Pasadena, site of that year's Super Bowl) swept away the iciness of Cleveland Municipal Stadium. The Broncos were third and 18 at midfield, with less than two minutes to go, and they needed a touchdown to tie. From the packed home crowd to the 60 million NBC television viewers, the consensus had the Browns taking this one from the Broncos.

Alas, Denver did tie it, and Elway's march to paydirt was memorialized in the damning phrase known simply as, “ The Drive.” Cleveland coach Marty Schottenheimer said after the game, “ We had them third and 18, but they got the first down. There were others, but that [play] may have been the most important.”

Thrust into overtime, the Browns won the toss and would own the pigskin first. Surely a Mark Mosely field goal could win this in OT, just as it had . . . [ Read More Free Samples ]

Reviews
Sure to produce lots of screams (or at least groans) by recalling the funny, frustrating and downright weird trades, injuries, collapses and other misfortunes that have stalked Cleveland's pro sports franchises for what feels like ages. — The Chronicle-Telegram
A light-hearted approach to the heartbreak sports brings true fans. — Morning Journal
[This book] can serve as an athletic exorcism for a city in dire need of banishing sports demons . . . [it's] really about bonehead front office moves, strokes of tragedy and just sheer bad luck . . . Long presents the subject matter in a breezy, fun way. — Cleveland Magazine
Tim Long has written a book about Cleveland sports that sports lovers and non-sports lovers will cherish . . . it's funny and intelligent . . . In just a few pages, Long captures the mood of Browns fans and even non-fans when Modell turned his back on Cleveland . . . a well-written book with Cleveland sports history thrown in with a bit of humor . . . It's all there, and more, in this gem of a book. No kidding, it's interesting and fun reading even if you don't know a football from a basketball. — Medina County Gazette
Covers the gamut of Cleveland sports woes, from bad trades, bad draft picks, bad timing and just plain bad luck that seems to have plagued this area for decades. — Maple Heights Press
About Tim Long
Tim Long

Tim Long, a native Clevelander, is a graduate of St. Edward High School, John Carroll University, and Cleveland State Graduate School of Business. As a youth he became infected with serious cases of “Indians Fever” and “Browns Blues,” and learned quickly that rooting for Cleveland teams is not for the faint of heart. A Cleveland sports memorabilia collector and student of Cleveland sports for more than 30 years, he is also the author of Browns Memories, Indians Memories, and The Cleveland Sports Trivia Quiz. More About Tim Long

Contains References to:

Al Lerner, Art Model, Bill Belichick, Cleveland Browns, Cleveland Cavaliers, Cleveland Indians, Davis Cup, Dawg Pound, George Steinbrenner, Jacobs Field, Jim Brown, Kardiac Kids, Lebron James, Michael Jordan, Municipal Stadium, Paul Brown , Ray Chapman, Rocky Colavito, Super Joe Charboneau, Tim Couch, Vernon Stouffer, Wightman Cup, ,

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