Surviving the Drought: Cleveland Sports Fans Since 1964

How unique are Cleveland sports fans? Well, answer this question: how exceptional is the fact that a city with three major league franchises has not won a championship since 1964? And, how distinctive is it that when the Browns, Indians, or Cavs came close to winning it all, victories were snatched away from their diehard fans in most improbable ways?

For Cleveland sports fans, the last 48 (and counting) years has been a long odyssey through the desert in search of a championship. Since the clock ticked off the unlikely Browns’ victory in the 1964 NFL Championship against the mighty Johnny Unitas and the Baltimore Colts, who could have known that Cleveland teams would suit up for more than 9,500 games and not come away with the title of “champion?”

Surviving the Drought tells the story of what it’s like to be a Cleveland sports fan through the voices of those who have lived and died with their favorite teams. The book celebrates their impressive perseverance. It compares Cleveland sports to other cities' and revisits the heartbreaks, but focuses mainly on the fans' hope, occasional poor judgment, and the creative coping mechanisms they’ve employed over the last four-plus decades.