DEUCES WILD
By Harold McIlvain II
It’s an utter fascination.
The New Jersey Nets are taking the nation by storm. It isn’t because of victories. And isn’t because a 44-year-old Russian tycoon owns the team. Or because Jay-Z is still a part owner.
It’s actually because they just keep losing.
The Nets probably aren’t very exciting in New Jersey, but they’ve captured national attention by losing a record number of games to start an NBA season. It takes the perfect storm to lose 17 straight games, and with only 17 games down, it looks like they have a lot more losing in front of them.
Media and fans alike are paying attention to see how far this team can fall after starting 0-17.
The losing isn’t because of a lack of talent, as the team has young up-and-comers Brook Lopez, Chris Douglas-Roberts, Devin Harris and Rafer “Skip to my Lou” Alston. No big names or All-Pros, but that core can eventually win a game someday.
It’s still interesting nonetheless. There is a strange allure to watching losing teams for sports fans.
Dealing with losing is an interesting concept. Some fans just give up and show no support, while others like to see the lows to thoroughly enjoy the highs. And then there are Cubs fans, who are in a class by themselves.
But when taking a look at recent teams that have been epicly terrible, our generation has been pretty lucky to be able to watch the worst of the worst in several sports.
Below are some blasts from the past who were not successful, but will always be remembered for constantly finding a way to lose:
Seattle Mariners, 2008, 61-101 record: It might have been a sign of bad things to come for the Mariners when adding Carlos Silva for starting pitching depth sounded like a good idea. Or it could have just been having Richie Sexson on roster.
This team was not historically too terrible, as Seattle only lost a little more than 100 games. But the Mariners were the first team in MLB history to lose over 100 while spending over 100 million dollars. The Washington Nationals, whose payroll was half of Seattle’s, finished with one fewer victory.
After falling out of the playoff race late in 2007, Seattle had hopes of an American League West title with the roster addition of ace Erik Bedard. But the organization did so by trading prospect Adam Jones, who is shaping into a potential All-Star.
Detroit Lions, 2008, 0-16 record: This was a magical season for football fans. Honestly, was there anyone (outside of Detroit) who didn’t want to see this happen?
And it was fitting that it happened to the Lions. It was the perfect blend of lack of talent at the skilled positions – including the quarterback position, as Dan Orlovsky and old man Jon Kitna started 11 games, while Daunte Culpepper came out of retirement to start five.
It got to the point where they even let Rudi Johnson touch the ball at running back. The strange part was the Lions’ premium players – wideout Calvin Johnson and tailback Kevin Smith – did pretty well that season, as Johnson finished with 1,331 yards and 12 touchdowns and Smith finished with nearly 1,000 yards on the ground.
The only thing learned from watching Lions football this year? Garbage time counts, especially in fantasy football.
New England Patriots, 1990, 1-15 record: As strange as it seems, the Patriots have not always been this good – evident by their first season of the 90s.
With winning names like Steve Grogan, Marvin Allen, Mosi Tatupu and Hart Lee Dykes, how did this manage to be so bad? It’s a mystery to any football fan. Except for those who actually watched any of their games.
But this team proves more than just a point of how a franchise can turn things around in the span of a just a few years. Today’s Patriots prove throwback uniforms are not always a good idea.
Seriously, you want Tom Brady, he of three Super Bowl rings, dressed up like those losers? Forget about it. It isn’t a good concept to throw back to a less successful time in team history. I’m talking to you, Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Creamsicle? Really?
Detroit Tigers, 2003, 43-119 record: This team was a game away from being the worst baseball ball record in history, but they received a nice consolation prize for just being the worst American League club ever.
The ‘03 Tigers had Brandon Inge, Carlos Peña and Dmitri Young. The team’s .240 average and 5.32 ERA for the season didn’t add up to many wins.
But who was the biggest loser this year? It was poor Mike Maroth, who lost 21 games to become the first 20-game loser since 1980. Think about it. It’s difficult to be healthy through the whole season and constantly take the ball and get a loss.
It didn’t help that he allowed a league-high 34 home runs that season. Some guy named Chris Gomez only hit one home run that year. Guess who it was against? Poor Mike Maroth.
There are plenty of books on team’s undefeated seasons, and plenty of Disney movies about overcoming the odds. But where would those winners be without so many losers behind them?
Harold McIlvain II is the assistant sports editor for The Arkansas Traveler. His column appears every other week.