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In American pro sports, it doesn’t get much worse than being a fan of the Cleveland Browns or the Detroit Lions. Both teams have yet to reach, let alone win a Super Bowl, and their long-suffering fans have seen chance after chance to do so slip through their fingertips.
It’s no wonder why these franchises make up two-thirds of the NFL’s very own Bermuda Triangle.
As the 2021 NFL season approaches, the Browns and Lions fans would once again hope and pray to finally see a championship run happening for their respective team.
So which of these tortured fan bases deserves a Super Bowl more? It's a tough question; it's like asking which is your favorite child?
Let’s go through the numbers and history of these two longtime NFL franchises to see which of the two fan bases deserves a championship more than the other.
Detroit Lions
As mentioned earlier, the Detroit Lions have never made or won the Super Bowl. The franchise have played 92 seasons and have a woeful win/loss record of 567-681 with 33 ties.
Their NFL playoff record of 7-13 is also not good. The Lions have not won a playoff game since 1991 and have lost eight straight wild-card playoff clashes.
Detroit have won four championships over its history, all before the Super Bowl era (1966 onwards). Their last championship came on December 29th, 1957, when they beat (wait for it) the Cleveland Browns.
The Lions have an impressive 4-1 record in championship games.
Franchise superstars continue to leave
Two of the most famous Detroit Lions players of the modern era, superstar running back Barry Sanders and wide receiver Calvin 'Megatron' Johnson, both retired prematurely. Sanders and Johnson chose to hang up their cleats early rather than continue to play for the poorly-managed franchise.
Longtime franchise-leading quarterback Matthew Stafford was traded this off-season to the Los Angeles Rams. The departure of Stafford, the first overall pick in the 2009 NFL Draft, further cements the Lions as bottom-dwellers in the NFC.
The Detroit Lions head into the 2021 NFL season in the midst of yet another rebuilding mode and look unlikely to be challenging for the Super Bowl title anytime soon.
Cleveland Browns
Like the Lions, the Cleveland Browns have never made or won the Super Bowl. The Ohio-based franchise have played 73 seasons in the league and have a decent 533-509 win/loss record with 14 ties.
The Browns' NFL playoff record(17-21) is not great, though. After waiting 25 years, Cleveland finally won a playoff game last season when they beat the Steelers in the AFC wild-card game.
Cleveland have won eight championships during its history, all before the Super Bowl era. Their last championship came in 1964 when they defeated the Baltimore Colts. The Browns have a decent 8-5 record in championship games.
Franchise left town
The Cleveland Browns franchise went through such a wretched and cursed run during the 70s, 80s and early 90s that even the team's owner couldn’t take it anymore. He decided to move the team to Baltimore.
On November 6, 1995, Browns owner Art Modell announced that he was moving the franchise to Baltimore. The city sued, and the team was eventually reinstated to the league in 1999.
As we look ahead to the 2021 NFL season, the Cleveland Browns have a talented squad and have a chance of making the Super Bowl. Unlike the rebuilding Detroit Lions, Browns fans can hope for another postseason run from their team this year.
Will 2022 be the year long-suffering Browns fans get to celebrate a Super Bowl victory? That remains to be seen.
