Playoffs?? PLEASE!!

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Fall 2013 marks the 30th anniversary of my first relationship with a pro ball team in Cleveland. I fell quickly, without fear or expectation. That's how nine year olds do it, you know. I'm not even sure I knew how newly-fangled indoor soccer actually was, or that the club names and orange ball were considered uncoventional. Purists called it "human pinball" and the league's demise was always just around the corner, but, in these parts, Kai Haaskivi and Keith Furphy were household names along with Andre Thornton and Brian Sipe. And the playoffs were a foregone conclusion for each of the five seasons I obsessively followed the Force. The MISL tournament was always filled with magic and heartbreak in Richfield, and the drama was my childhood drug. But it wasn't until I latched onto the Browns, Cavs and Indians that I realized just how rare playoff excitement can be in Cleveland. Well into my adult years, I'd drop everything for "meaningful games" or schedule vacation days months in advance even at the faintest future whiff of postseason play for any of our teams.

The chart below reveals a special stat from CST. If the Tribe falls short of a wildcard birth, it represents the only time in our collective lives as Cleveland sports fanatics that three calendar years will pass without a playoff appearance from either the Browns, Cavs or Indians. So just in case you were wondering about the most torturous era...it wasn't the Drive-Fumble-Shot trifecta or the three years without the NFL or LeBron leaving amidst the painful Indians rebuild and Browns coaching/QB carousel. Nope, the hardest times are right fucking now. Save us, Tito.

1983 

1984 

1985 Cavs

1986 

1987 Browns

1988 Browns, Cavs

1989 Browns, Cavs

1990 Browns, Cavs

1991

1992 Cavs

1993 Cavs

1994 Cavs

1995 Browns, Cavs, Tribe

1996 Cavs, Tribe

1997 Tribe

1998 Cavs, Tribe

1999 Tribe

2000

2001 Tribe

2002 

2003 Browns

2004

2005

2006 Cavs

2007 Cavs, Tribe 

2008 Cavs

2009 Cavs

2010 Cavs

2011

2012

2013 ???

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49ers (+ 3) over Seahawks, 2 dimes
Saints (-3.5) over Bucs, 1 dime

Last week: 3-0 (+3 dimes)

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Who is the Vox?
SamVox is not a professional handicapper, but a premier one. He has been gambling his entire adult life and has experienced every sickening turn and nasty twist of fate that occurs during a football season. What distinguishes the Vox is his amazing intuition, astoundingly long memory, attention to detail and preparation, aversion to propaganda and access to the industry's sharpest bettors. He is a two time Pick'Em champion and went 125-107-11 against the spread with his Vox Lox over five seasons for a net profit of over 30 units. His critically-dismissed Vox in the Box column also appears here at CST.