Everyone Gets a Trophy

Last week, the NBA and NHL Stanley Cup Finals concluded with a first-time champion.

That got me thinking about all of the seemingly unlikely sports champions we've seen in recent years. If you rode Marty McFly's DeLorean back to 1995 (the first year of the Raptors' existence) and opened up Gray's Sports Almanac, would anyone believe that..

• The Red Sox will win a World Series. Haha..I'm joking. They'll win four.
• The White Sox will win a World Series - without Frank Thomas.
• The Cubs will win a World Series. Sports Illustrated said this would have happened in 1994. But it will really, actually happen in 2016 (you definitely won't believe what will happen a few days later..) 
• The Phillies will play in back-to-back World Series and win one.
• The Royals will play in back-to-back World Series and win one.
  
  
  

• The Broncos will win back-to-back Super Bowls - with John Elway at quarterback. Years later, when Elway is team president, they'll win another one with Archie Manning's kid at quarterback...
• But first, that Manning kid will lead the Colts to two Super Bowls. They'll win one, and lose the other one to..the Saints. (after an apocalyptic hurricane nearly wipes out New Orleans)
• The Buccaneers will win a Super Bowl..after they ditch the orange creamsicle colors.
• The Rams will win a Super Bowl...but not before they move to St. Louis.
• The Browns will win two Super Bowls...but not before they move to Baltimore. (actually, the Browns history restarts, so technically they didn't win those two Super Bowls..long story)
• The Eagles will win a Super Bowl. And they don't have to move to another city or anything. (And don't get me started on the Patriots...)
  
  
  

• The Bulls will win three more championships with Michael Jordan. (you're right, that's not at all surprising)
• Shaquille O'Neal will sign with the Lakers and win three championships. (yeah, that's no shock, either.) 
• The Warriors will play in five straight NBA Finals and win three (that's..kinda surprising, no?)
• The Cavaliers will make it to four straight NBA Finals - and they'll win one. 
• The Mavericks will win a championship.
• Oh, and that new team in Toronto will win one, too.  

If you're a hockey fan, you're in for a ton of exciting surprises (unless you're Canadian..)

• The Nordiques will win a Stanley Cup...but not before they move to Colorado.
• The Whalers will win a Stanley cup...but not before they move to North Carolina.
• The Lightning will make it to two Stanley Cup Finals, and win one.
• The Kings will make it to two Stanley Cup Finals and win both - without Wayne Gretzky.
• The Blues will win a Stanley Cup.
• The Bruins will win a Stanley Cup - without Ray Bourque. 
• The Blackhawks will return to glory and win three Stanley Cups. 
• The Mighty Ducks will win a Stanley Cup - after they drop the "Mighty" from their name.
• The Capitals will win a Stanley Cup. And they'll beat a first-year expansion team from Las Vegas.

So, sports fan from 1995, that's what the next 24 years has in store for you. Crazy, huh?

Now let's bring it back to the present. It might feel like we've seen every franchise win a championship, or at least play for one. But there are still some teams that haven't won a trophy. 

Which franchise would you like to see win their first trophy, or at least their first in your lifetime? 


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