I wasn’t sure, until an article in Newsday confirmed my suspicion, but New York sports fans are in fact in the midst of their longest championship drought in over a century. The 16 years (1905-1921) between baseball’s New York Giants World Series titles stands as the only period more futile than what we are currently witnessing: also-rans since the football Giants were Super in February 2012.
To make matter worse, so few of our teams are even close. Without the Yankees and the local soccer clubs, this lot would break a misery index.
Ah, but it’s the holidays, a time to cherish all that is good in our lives. Even though no parades are imminent, there are some positive trends that bode well for the future. The basketball and hockey franchises appear to be run professionally, which is a huge change from recent dumpster fires. The Jets have a young quarterback to build around for the first time in what seems like forever.
Ok, the Mets and the Giants are stuck in mud, but we can still count on the Yankees to own the summer and early fall while those two train wrecks get their acts together.
It was Mets reliever Tug McGraw who coined the rallying cry, “Ya Gotta Believe!” in 1973, and I can’t think of a better way to describe what it feels like to be a New York sports fan in 2018.
Even though, in the end, those Mets didn’t win it all either.
And with that brief note of positivity, I give you my seventh annual list of players and moments for which New York sports fans give thanks:
20. The Brooklyn Nets will possess their own first-round draft pick. First time since 2013 I can write that.
19. Islanders management reconstruction. All Star center John Tavares may have departed in free agency, but the Isles scored big by luring Lou Lamoriello to run the front office and by signing reigning Stanley Cup winner Barry Trotz to coach.
18. The projected $109 million in salary cap space for the Jets next offseason. Who will decide how to spend it and who will fit the pieces together on the field have yet to be determined.
17. Lunch-pail Rangers. In what was supposed to be a rebuilding season at the Garden, rookie coach David Quinn has his club above .500 by enforcing a strict work ethic.
16. Kristaps Porzingis (Knicks) and Caris LeVert (Nets) will return from their respective injuries in 2019 ready to lead their young clubs to higher levels.
MORE: Schmeelk: Knicks Should Make Offer On Bradley Beal
15. You can argue that the Giants should have drafted a quarterback, but Saquon Barkley is surely worthy of a second-overall selection. Get him an offensive line.
14. It may seem like heresy at Madison Square Garden, but the Knicks are now rebuilding the right way. In the offseason. they hired David Fizdale to develop their young players and upper management has avoided the idiotic moves that tie-up future salary cap space and/or gamble away draft picks.
13. Mathew Barzal is running away with the Calder Trophy. The creativity on display from the Islanders' center every night is reason enough to buy a ticket at…
12. Nassau Coliseum, which will host 21 Isles games this season, splitting dates with Brooklyn’s Barclays Center. Enjoy the renovated Old Barn while you can—shovels in the ground for the new arena in Belmont are expected in early 2019.
11. Jason Kidd (Nets) and Martin Brodeur (Devils), the greatest players in New Jersey’s pro sports history, inducted into their respective sports’ Halls of Fame. I would be remiss if I didn’t include Rod Thorn, the Nets’ GM during the Kidd era, with this group.
10. Red Bulls striker Bradley Wright-Phillips’ 100th goal in 159 games, the fastest in MLS history.
9. A huge victory that did not occur on a playing field: the Supreme Court’s knockout punch to allow sports gambling in New Jersey.
8. Jacob deGrom on the Mets’ hill every fifth day. The NL Cy Young winner probably isn’t going anywhere now that his former agent, Brodie Van Wagenen, was named the team’s new GM.
7. Jets GM Mike Maccagnan’s trade prior to April’s NFL Draft to move up from sixth to third. The bet paid off when USC’s Sam Darnold fell, finally giving this tortured team a franchise quarterback to build around.
6. The new Baby Bombers in the Yankees’ middle infield, featuring Miguel Andujar and Gleyber Torres. Andujar, who was robbed of the AL Rookie of the Year award, hit 27 homers, becoming another threat in a lineup that hit a…
5. Record-breaking 267 home runs. And the Yanks did it despite very off years from Greg Bird and Gary Sanchez, and despite major injuries to Aaron Judge and Sanchez.
MORE: Keidel: With Paxton Trade, Yanks Gain Ground On Sox
4. Taylor Hall’s Hart Trophy-winning performance for the Devils down the stretch of the 2017-18 season, carrying the team on his back to their first playoff appearance in six seasons.
3. With such slim pickings this year, we’re going with a soccer story as our top sports moment—the Red Bulls capturing the Supporters’ Shield as MLS’ top regular season team. NYRB are our last hope to break the curse this year, with the first leg of their Eastern Conference Finals against Atlanta beginning Sunday.
2. The legions of New York sports fans, like you, who are so devoted to their teams that they can’t get enough content on outlets like wfan.com.
And, as always,
1. My wonderful family, with extra thanks to my put-upon wife, who indulge me in my illogical passions for my favorite teams. Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family. May 2019 literally be a banner year in New York.