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Atlanta Named America's Most Miserable Sports City

Largely on strength of Braves' letdown factor, ATL tops list.

Sorry, Atlanta. Forbes just placed you atop its list of America's Most Miserable Sports Cities. Hear that Roddy White (Atlanta Falcons), Paul Millsap (Atlanta Hawks) and Justin Upton (Atlanta Braves)?

In compiling this list, which debuted Thursday, Forbes named ATL No. 1 on its list because the city has just won one championship — the Braves' win in 1995 — in 162 cumulative sports seasons since the 1960s. In other words, Forbes declared Atlanta as America's Most Miserable Sports City because of the fact that its teams — none more than the Braves — have strung their fans along through the years, making multiple post-seasons without securing a title.

Forbes rates that "letdown factor," as they call it, as more painful than cities whose teams just haven't won. Indeed, the Braves have been to 19 post-seasons and only have one title to their name, which is why most of this declaration falls on them. That being said, the Falcons nor the Hawks have helped the cause much either, as each is without titles.

Rounding out the list after Atlanta is Phoenix, Cleveland, San Diego, Buffalo, Houston, Denver, Kansas City, Minneapolis and Philadelphia. Seattle had been near the top of the list for years, but of course its Seahawks Super Bowl win in February helped change that. Maybe LeBron James can help Cleveland remove its name from the list as well, not to mention Peyton Manning with the Denver Broncos.

Forbes only considered major sports cities with at least 75 cumulative years in the MLB, NBA, NFL, and NHL for this list, awarding extra misery points for losing in a championship game, suffering a title drought and having to experience a relocation. 

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(Photos from Left: Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images, Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images, Otto Greule jr.)

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