The Chicago Cubs have not won a championship in more than a century, but fans in the Carolinas are feeling more pain than those in the Windy City this year.
Villanova's three-point shot to upend North Carolina in the final seconds of Monday's NCAA men's basketball championship extended an unfortunate run for sports teams from the Carolinas. The Tar Heels, the National Football League's Carolina Panthers and college football's Clemson Tigers have all lost national championship games since January.
But it's worse than that. The strength of those teams may make the defeats sting a little worse: North Carolina came into the game as a No.1 seed and 2.5-point favorite before losing 77-74.
The Panthers, meanwhile, rolled into February's Super Bowl with a 17-1 record and as a 5.5-point favorite. The Denver Broncos befuddled the Charlotte-based team's offense on the way to a 24-10 win.
Clemson, located a couple hours southwest of Charlotte in South Carolina, went undefeated through 14 games before losing to Alabama in January. The Tigers were 6.5-point underdogs and lost 45-40.
But it's not all grim for sports fans from the region. The National Basketball Association's Charlotte Hornets recently clinched a playoff spot.
Stephen Curry, who grew up in North Carolina and went to Davidson University in the state, is leading the Golden State Warriors, who have a chance to post the NBA's best-ever regular season record. They are favored to win their second straight title.
