Baseball loves itself a good title drought. This is the sport in which a faction of Chicago Cubs fans legitimately worried about the so-called “lovable losers” losing a piece of their identity if the team actually won the 2016 World Series, while the 2004 Boston Red Sox’ championship run has been lionized by multiple books and a mediocre Drew Barrymore–Jimmy Fallon rom-com that made multiple references to Johnny Damon’s backside.
But ask any fan whose team has yet to hoist that piece of metal signifying a World Series championship, and they’d tell you that the lore steeped upon persistent losing is anything but lovable.