MIAMI _ The 50-Year Championship Drought Club is no place to be for a proud pro football franchise.
The Chiefs turned in their membership card Sunday, ending five decades without a Super Bowl title by defeating the San Francisco 49ers 31-20 on Sunday in Super Bowl LIV. Kansas City left the group of NFL, NBA, NHL and Major League Baseball teams that either haven't won a title or haven't captured one since 1970.
The Vince Lombardi Trophy, Stanley Cup, the Larry O'Brien NBA Championship Trophy and the Commissioners Trophy for the World Series winner are hoisted and kissed _ and in hockey's case, filled with champagne.
But you have to win one to celebrate with it. And the Chiefs did on Sunday with a Lombardi Trophy presentation, confetti, and the game's MVP honor handed to Patrick Mahomes.
And a half-century is a dry spell that feels like a desert.
The sports calendar of 1969-70 started with 85 teams in the NFL, baseball, NBA/ABA and NHL. Since then, 19 franchises, including the Chiefs, have come up empty.
The Chiefs won Super Bowl IV on Jan. 11, 1970, following the 1969 season. Sunday's game against the San Francisco 49ers at Miami's Hard Rock Stadium marked Kansas City's first appearance in pro football's championship game since then.
Among NFL teams, several teams have gone longer without a Super Bowl title. The Cardinals (three cities), New York Jets, Cleveland Browns and Detroit Lions have been around as long as the Chiefs, who played their first three years as the Dallas Texans.
The Jets won Super Bowl III _ the first NFL title game to be called the Super Bowl _ the Browns won the last of their four NFL championships in 1964. The Lions won the last of their three in 1957.
Since the Texans/Chiefs were founded with the AFL in 1960, the Buffalo Bills, LA/San Diego Chargers, Minnesota Vikings, Atlanta Falcons and Cincinnati Bengals have denied their fans a championship longer than the Chiefs. The Bills and Chargers won AFL championships in the 1960s.
But the last five years have brought good news for long-suffering fan bases.
The Royals ended a 29-year drought when they captured the 2015 World Series.
Others who've broken spells since then broke through droughts that were more long-standing. The Chicago Cubs ended 108 years of misery with their 2016 World Series title.
The Cleveland Cavaliers entered the NBA in 1970 and behind LeBron James won their first NBA championship in 2016.
The Houston Astros, born in 1962, won the World Series for the first time in 2017.
The Philadelphia Eagles' Super Bowl victory for the 2017 season was the franchise's first since the 1960 NFL title.
The last two Stanley Cup champions were of the first-time, long-time variety. The Washington Capitals entered the NHL in 1974 before hoisting the Cup for the first time in 2018. Last season's champion St. Louis Blues, launched in 1967, waited even longer.
The Chiefs' Super Bowl appearance means the state of Missouri completed a major-league championship sweep over the previous decade among current teams. The Cardinals won the 2011 World Series, the Royals in 2015 and the Blues in 2019.
And now the Chiefs.
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DROUGHTS OF AT LEAST 50 YEARS, BY FRANCHISE
Last championship/entered the league
1947 NFL Cardinals (Chicago/St. Louis/Phoenix/Arizona)
1948 MLB Cleveland Indians
1951 NBA Kings (Rochester Royals/Cincinnati Royals/Kansas City/Sacramento)
1957 NFL Detroit Lions
1958 NBA Hawks (St. Louis/Atlanta)
1961 MLB Rangers (Washington Senators/Texas)(ASTERISK)
1961 NFL Minnesota Vikings(ASTERISK)
1961 NFL Tennessee Titans (Houston Oilers/Tennnessee)
1963 NFL Chargers (San Diego/LA)
1964 NFL Cleveland Browns
1965 NFL Buffalo Bills
1966 NFL Atlanta Falcons(ASTERISK)
1967 NHL Toronto Maple Leafs
1967 NBA Denver Rockets/Nuggets (ABA/NBA)(ASTERISK)
1968 NFL Cincinnati Bengals(ASTERISK)
1968 NBA Phoenix Suns(ASTERISK)
1969 NFL New York Jets
1969 MLB San Diego Padres(ASTERISK)
1969 NFL Kansas City Chiefs
(ASTERISK)Never won a championship
