Worst team the DID win a championship

[Saintsfan]

Which teams do you still wonder how on earth did they go all the way??

I think the Ravens Superbowl team (maybe more specifically their offense in fairness to Ray Lewis et al) would be high on my list.

The Pistons of 89 and 90 (was it) would be high on the list of worst teams to repeat!

A controversial one, given there place in football legend would be the 84 Bears. (Another team without too much offense really!)

So... you really hate defense, huh?

Defense Wins Championships!

I did of course mean the 85 Bears, and on reflection, given that they also had the best rushed in football history around as well, I think maybe I was a bit/lot harsh on them.

I don't have a problem with defense, I guess my issue with some of the teams I mentioned is a lack of balance in their make up. An over reliance on a strong defence, or offense, without much on the other side of the ball is I guess my problem with those teams.

[TFoA]

THE DEBATE IS OVER

There is only one answer to this question and it is the 1937/38 Chicago Blackhawks

They finished in third place with a record of 14-25-9. 11 games below .500 but got into the postseason and won the Stanley Cup.

For once I agree with Tank. No further need for discussion.

Co-sign. You can't argue with finishing 11 games under .500, somehow making the postseason, and winning the Cup. I was seriously going to suggest the '06 baseball Cardinals, but you can't argue with that.

[MDC]

I think this spinoff thread may lead into another incredible spinoff thread:

the most mediocre team to hover around .500 all season and not really do anything special

[scooter13]

THE DEBATE IS OVER

There is only one answer to this question and it is the 1937/38 Chicago Blackhawks

They finished in third place with a record of 14-25-9. 11 games below .500 but got into the postseason and won the Stanley Cup.

For once I agree with Tank. No further need for discussion.

Co-sign. You can't argue with finishing 11 games under .500, somehow making the postseason, and winning the Cup. I was seriously going to suggest the '06 baseball Cardinals, but you can't argue with that.

I was going to put up the '06 Cards as well. Then I read Tank's post.

[GFB]

The Pistons of 89 and 90 (was it) would be high on the list of worst teams to repeat!

Really? I don't think that there should be a list of "worst teams to win back-to-back championships".

Plus, the '04 Pistons were a much worse team those Bad Boys teams... IMO, they would have won 2 or 3 more championships if it hadn't been sandwiched between the Bird/Magic era and the Michael Jordan era, arguably the two most dominate eras in pro basketball...

[rams80]

Maybe the greatest show on turf Rams team would get a mention, given a relatively weak defense as well!

For what it's worth they were the #4 defense in the league statistically that season. Perhaps it was a function of a lot of career years happening simultaneously, but they weren't exactly swiss cheese either.

I will also agree with Tank's nomination and with the 2006 Cardinals.

[jkrdevil]

NFL: 2005 Pittsburgh Steelers

MLB: 2003 Florida Marlins

NBA: 1995 Houston Rockets

NHL: 2006 Carolina Hurricanes

NCAAF: 2006 Florida Gators

NCAAB: 1986 Villanova Wildcats

I know they have fallen off since with one playoff appearance and that they had that big year in part of taking advantage of a NHL not yet adjusted to the new standard, but they had a real good year that year. They finished tied for 3rd in the entire league in points that year.

[Sport]

The 2006 Cardinals are the worst team I've ever see win a championship. I watched every game between them and the Reds that year as well as some of their battles with the Cubs and outside of Pujols it was a lot of ho-hum boredom, and David Eckstein, David :censored:ing Eckstein, how I hate that little man! The Cardinals won a bad division with 83 wins (the Reds finished 4 back after collapsing in August) and took advantage of the crapshoot that is the MLB playoffs.

others:

08-09 Pittsburgh Penguins. They snuck in as a 4 seed and would've been lower had it not been for Philadelphia blowing a few games down the stretch. They were also out of the playoffs pretty late in the season, late enough for Maz to give up all hope. They got hot near the end and I'll give them credit for beating Detroit in Detroit after losing games 1 and 2, but to me they just don't feel like the best team in the NHL should.

the rest I'm just going to list

05-06 Miami Heat

05 Pittsburgh Steelers (Kimo Von Oelhoffen)

02 Anaheim Angels who was even on that team? Oh yeah, David Eckstein

[BaltimoreFan]

Which teams do you still wonder how on earth did they go all the way??

I think the Ravens Superbowl team (maybe more specifically their offense in fairness to Ray Lewis et al) would be high on my list.

A controversial one, given there place in football legend would be the 84 Bears. (Another team without too much offense really!)

Both of those teams has two of the greatest defenses of all-time. They put up good games against anyone they played including the Greatest Show on Turf. Just because they weren't flashy and lit up the scoreboard, doesn't mean they weren't great teams.

[Red Wolf]

LSU's most recent football title was the very definition of lucky. For one, they lost two games to not-so-amazing Kentucky and Arkansas. They probably should have lost to Alabama and Auburn and had a lot more trouble with Tennessee than they probably should have.

That really was an odd year. How many teams rotated in and out of #1 and #2? I remember USF, Boston College, Oregon, USC, Missouri, West Virginia, Cal, and probably some more all in the top spots at some point.

[DG_ThenNowForever]

Haven't looked up the stats, but isn't it true that neither the 87 Twins or 88 Dodgers were all that awesome?

[maz]

08-09 Pittsburgh Penguins. They snuck in as a 4 seed and would've been lower had it not been for Philadelphia blowing a few games down the stretch. They were also out of the playoffs pretty late in the season, late enough for Maz to give up all hope. They got hot near the end and I'll give them credit for beating Detroit in Detroit after losing games 1 and 2, but to me they just don't feel like the best team in the NHL should.

Here we go again.

After searching, I have seen one instance where I have outright said something of the "giving up" nature on the pens. That was in a post after a loss to Florida in January. (the game where Crosby Jumped MacLean). And all I said was "Pens are done", which was a throwaway comment made in the heat of the moment. If there's one thing about my thoughts on the pens at that point is that they were always very drastic after a win or loss, either way, and made out of pure emotion, and never should have been taken very seriously, not at least until a day after a game ended. And honestly, with the problems they had in the lockeroom, and with Michel Therrible as coach proverbially beating his head against the wall forcing the same awful strategies over and over and continuously alienating his players, who are starting to point the finger at each other, who would blame anyone on giving up.

I also remember one instance where I said they might be better off rebuilding for the next season, which, however, is not long after a post in which I say I thought they still had an outside shot at the division. Both posts were made in February. Either way, this is not me "giving up all hope".

So, finally, I never gave up all hope on the pens. My blind optimism most of the time should make that unlikely enough. And had I given up on them, it certainly was not without reason.

In any case, it wont happen again. The end of this past season, and the playoffs, caused me to mature very much as a fan and taught me to always be optimistic, cautious or otherwise, and that anything can happen, so never give up. That, and the pens wont be in danger of missing the playoffs this coming season in the first place.

So, sorry to derail the thread, but I really do not appreciate being accused of something I didn't do, and/or being told I cant enjoy my team's victory because of my alleged action, like I have been ever since the pens beat Washington.

[DEAD!]

THE DEBATE IS OVER

There is only one answer to this question and it is the 1937/38 Chicago Blackhawks

They finished in third place with a record of 14-25-9. 11 games below .500 but got into the postseason and won the Stanley Cup.

For once I agree with Tank. No further need for discussion.

Co-sign. You can't argue with finishing 11 games under .500, somehow making the postseason, and winning the Cup. I was seriously going to suggest the '06 baseball Cardinals, but you can't argue with that.

Well, I was going to suggest the 1916 Fitzroy Lions....

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1916_VFL_season

[rmered]

THE DEBATE IS OVER

There is only one answer to this question and it is the 1937/38 Chicago Blackhawks

They finished in third place with a record of 14-25-9. 11 games below .500 but got into the postseason and won the Stanley Cup.

For once I agree with Tank. No further need for discussion.

Co-sign. You can't argue with finishing 11 games under .500, somehow making the postseason, and winning the Cup. I was seriously going to suggest the '06 baseball Cardinals, but you can't argue with that.

Well, I was going to suggest the 1916 Fitzroy Lions....

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1916_VFL_season

I saw the title and thought of this season.

Glad someone beat me to it, actually.

Came last, going 2-9-1, but because of WW1 and reduced teams they made the finals.

They played the side who finished second, and who they had a 0-3-1 record against, and beat them.

This meant they played Carlton, the side who finished first, in the Final. They had a 1-3 record against.

They beat them in week 2, and the way the league was structured, the side who finished first, at the end of the regular season got a chance to challenge the winner of the finals to a Grand Final.

So they had to play them the next week as well. And they won again, scoring the second highest Grand Final score ever to that point.

Last, and First, in the same season.

[Wheelhouse]

others:

08-09 Pittsburgh Penguins. They snuck in as a 4 seed and would've been lower had it not been for Philadelphia blowing a few games down the stretch. They were also out of the playoffs pretty late in the season, late enough for Maz to give up all hope. They got hot near the end and I'll give them credit for beating Detroit in Detroit after losing games 1 and 2, but to me they just don't feel like the best team in the NHL should.

hahahahahaha

"I don't think they deserved to win the championship, all they did was fight back from an 0-2 defecit against the defending champions, a team consistently recognized as one of the best organizations in the league"

it's still so awesome

[rmackman]

Some people have mentioned both the 97 and 03 Marlins in this thread. I get that neither team had gaudy numbers, but it's hard to say they were the worst to win a championship. One team was loaded with weapons/talent (1997), and in 2003 the team was loaded too...it's just the players were beginning to become all-stars at that point. Now they're stars for other teams.

I mean look at the 1992 Blue Jays. Nobody mentioned them, but:

Pos R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO BA OBP SLG

C Pat Borders 47 116 26 2 13 53 1 33 75 0.242 0.290 0.385

1B John Olerud 68 130 28 0 16 66 1 70 61 0.284 0.375 0.450

2B Roberto Alomar 105 177 27 8 8 76 49 87 52 0.310 0.405 0.427

SS Manuel Lee# 49 104 10 1 3 39 6 50 73 0.263 0.343 0.316

3B Kelly Gruber 42 102 16 3 11 43 7 26 72 0.229 0.275 0.352

LF C. Maldonado 64 133 25 4 20 66 2 59 112 0.272 0.357 0.462

CF Devon White# 98 159 26 7 17 60 37 47 133 0.248 0.303 0.390

RF Joe Carter 97 164 30 7 34 119 12 36 109 0.264 0.309 0.498

DH Dave Winfield 92 169 33 3 26 108 2 82 89 0.290 0.377 0.491

Only three starters on that team had decent batting averages.

[rainmaker17]

Some people have mentioned both the 97 and 03 Marlins in this thread. I get that neither team had gaudy numbers, but it's hard to say they were the worst to win a championship. One team was loaded with weapons/talent (1997), and in 2003 the team was loaded too...it's just the players were beginning to become all-stars at that point. Now they're stars for other teams.

You're right. The Miami Heat winning in '06 is way worse!

[Saintsfan]

Which teams do you still wonder how on earth did they go all the way??

I think the Ravens Superbowl team (maybe more specifically their offense in fairness to Ray Lewis et al) would be high on my list.

A controversial one, given there place in football legend would be the 84 Bears. (Another team without too much offense really!)

Both of those teams has two of the greatest defenses of all-time. They put up good games against anyone they played including the Greatest Show on Turf. Just because they weren't flashy and lit up the scoreboard, doesn't mean they weren't great teams.

I guess there is an extent to which any team that wins a championship has a claim to greatness. As I said, maybe I was a bit harsh on the Bears, but the Ravens never seemed to have any great offensive weapons, and certainly in Football, I think part of true greatness is having weapons on both sides of the ball.

One of the other criteria bubbling away in my mind is longevity, and the Ravens didn't seem to have a long period of success, even with the likes of Ray Lewis still being around.

Maybe I am just a sucker for glitzy glamorous offense.

[pcgd]

Homer alert!

Although the Cardinals had very few wins that season, they did have a pretty good lead going into the final 12 games. They were up by 7 games and had 80 wins, but went on a 7 game losing streak. Even going .500 over those last 12 would have had them at 86...not great but hardly worst ever. But they did go 3-9 over the last 12 and barely kept the Astros at bay...

I mean, how bout a little hate for the '87 Twins? Winners of 85 games (which was 6 more than their Pythagorean W-L!) At least the Cardinals 83 wins were right around where they should have been (Pythagorean W-L 82-79)...it wasn't their fault the Central sucked worse than usual that year...

I'm not saying they were a great championship team or that they weren't a bad one, but I think because it just happened is the reason its being mentioned so much.

[cgcrusader13]

I may be biased as a die-hard Ravens fan but didn't this so called terrible offense score 34 points in the Superbowl and have a young and healthy Jamal Lewis in the backfield?