Fred Bowen's "The Score" column,
Friday, January 20, 2006, Washington Post

Don't You Just Love a Good Loser?

The National Football League playoffs continue this weekend, and I'm looking for a new team to root for. Maybe the Seattle Seahawks.

Yeah, I know the Seahawks knocked off the Redskins, but it was pretty cool that they won their first playoff game in 22 years. Now the Seahawks are one win away from their first-ever Super Bowl appearance.

One of the great moments in sports is when a team that hasn't won a championship in a long time -- if ever -- finally claims the big prize. Remember how exciting it was when the Boston Red Sox won the World Series in 2004 -- 86 years after their last baseball championship? Or how about last fall when the Chicago White Sox won their first World Series in 88 years?

There are plenty of underdogs and longtime, lovable losers in several sports to root for this year.

The Chicago Cubs haven't won a World Series since 1908. That's probably before your grandparents -- or even great-grandparents -- were born. The Cubbies haven't even been to a World Series since 1945. They have a great park and loyal fans but can't catch a break.

Chicago must be a hard-luck sports town. Its Blackhawks haven't won hockey's Stanley Cup since 1961. Back then, the National Hockey League had just six teams. The other five -- the Montreal Canadiens, Toronto Maple Leafs, Detroit Red Wings, New York Rangers and Boston Bruins -- have each won at least one championship since 1961. But not the Blackhawks.

If you are a men's college basketball fan, please root for Army, The Citadel, Northwestern, St. Francis (New York) and William & Mary. Why? Because those five schools have been eligible to play in the NCAA tournament since 1948 but have not been able to get in. Things are not looking too good for any of the five this season either. Only Northwestern, in the tough Big Ten Conference, has a winning record.

In college football you have to pull for Navy whenever it plays Notre Dame. The Midshipmen have lost 42 straight to the Fighting Irish, the longest losing streak to another school in big-time college football. So what did the Midshipmen do last fall? They signed up to play Notre Dame for 10 more years. Expect more Navy losses.

The biggest sports event of 2006 will be soccer's World Cup. I want the United States to do well, but I'm also rooting for Trinidad and Tobago. With 1.1 million people (the United States has nearly 300 million), the Caribbean country will be one of the smallest in the 32-team tournament.

The people of Trinidad and Tobago were so happy just to qualify for the World Cup that their prime minister declared a national holiday for the day after the team beat Bahrain to get into the tournament. Imagine what might happen if the team wins a game in the tournament!

That's why I love rooting for the underdogs and longtime losers in any sport. When they finally win, it's wonderful.