Die-hard sport fans don’t root for their teams to lose.
Until they’re about to make history, that is.
With the Chicago White Sox poised to capture the record for most losses in a modern MLB season with only a few games left on the schedule, some fans of other historic losing teams — for better or worse — might know how Sox fans are feeling this week.
“Once you’ve been down so long, what’s a little lower?” asked Michael Campbell, a lifelong Detroit Lions fan who moved to Chicago from Michigan shortly before the team went 0-16 in 2008.
From the NFL’s 2008 Lions and 2017 Cleveland Browns, who completed “perfect” 0-16 seasons, to an early 1970s Philadelphia 76ers squad that finished 59 games behind the league-leading Boston Celtics, the White Sox are on the verge of joining an exclusive fraternity of North American professional sports losers.
Trey Burke, a dedicated Browns fan who moved to Lakeview in 2021 after graduating from college in Ohio, said Browns fans were hugging each other after the team lost its last game in 2017, and even held a parade to celebrate the season.
“There was literally a parade for a perfect 0-16 record, which is sad, but it’s good that you can find some good out of the terrible,” said Burke, 25.
Matthew Grezlik, 44, grew up a Lions fan and moved to Chicago from Michigan in 2004. Grezlik said he was disappointed when the Browns became the second team in NFL history to lose 16 games.
“Frankly, I would almost rather us be the only 0-16 team,” said Grezlik, who lives in Sauganash. He later pointed out that “no one is going to remember a 1-15 team, but everyone will remember 0-16.”
Mike Singer, 63, said he grew up just outside of Philadelphia and was in fifth grade during the 1972-73 NBA season, when the Philadelphia 76ers were defeated 73 times, more than any other team in NBA history since the introduction of the 82-game season.
“I remember wanting to go to a game because I just wanted to go to a game,” said Singer, who has lived in Chicago since 1994 and currently resides in Lakeview. “My father was like, ‘They’re terrible. We’re not going to waste our money.’”
Burke, who wasn’t dissuaded from being a Browns fan after the team’s 2017 campaign, said there’s advantages of being a fan of a team that’s hit rock bottom. For starters, there’s no way the White Sox will be this bad again next year, he said.
In the meantime, Sox fans can go see their team play for discounted tickets. Burke said he paid $1.50 to see the Sox play the Cleveland Guardians this month.
Record breaking and silver linings aside, what the White Sox are doing can still get a little depressing, Burke said.
“When you watch the White Sox on the TV, it’s kind of sad how many fans aren’t there and how empty the stadium is,” he said.
Grezlik said the sore spot from this year’s season may one day turn into a badge of honor for White Sox fans — just as the Lions’ rocky past is a badge of honor for people from Detroit.
“We were the economic butt of every joke forever, the crime butt of every joke forever, and then you throw in a 0-16 team in 2008,” Grezlik said. “And now look at us. The city of Detroit is thriving, and we’re Super Bowl contenders. I think that’s an awesome comeback story.”
The White Sox might be able to follow a similar path as the Lions if they get a new owner, Grezlik added.
Campbell, who lives in Norwood Park, said he doesn’t think the White Sox performance should reflect poorly on Chicago.
“I would never say that the Lions’ performance or any of our other teams’ performances are reflective of the city as a whole,” said Campbell, 50.
He added the Chicago Cubs were “perennial losers for years.”
