Stuck on second: Christopher Bell has plenty of company

Christopher Bell has finished runner-up seven times already during the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season.

While many drivers would give anything for that sort of resume, the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing driver is itching to return to Victory Lane for the first time since the Bristol Night Race last September.

Fortunately (or unfortunately) for Bell, there are many instances in sports where teams and athletes can’t get over the hump and are stuck in a loop similar to Phil Connors in the movie Groundhog Day.

Now, cue Sonny & Cher’s “I Got You Babe” and let’s dive into some history of misfortune.

The Jim Kelly-led Bills competed in four consecutive Super Bowls in the early 1990s. The team’s best chance at hoisting the Lombardi Trophy came in Super Bowl XXV following the 1990 season as Buffalo had the rival New York Giants on the ropes in the closing seconds of the game.

Running back Thurman Thomas rushed for 11 yards to get kicker Scott Norwood in field-goal range. While a 47-yard attempt hardly seems extraordinary today, it was rare to see field goals of that distance in this era.

Norwood attempted the kick that would’ve given the Bills their first Super Bowl win, but instead, the ball went “wide right” of the field-goal post and the Giants won 20-19.

It only got worse for Buffalo as the Bills would get beat by 10-plus points in their following three Super Bowl appearances, including a 35-point drubbing by the Dallas Cowboys in Super Bowl XXVII.

Ask Josh Allen if it’s gotten any better for the Bills today.

The Lakers were the first professional basketball team to build a dynasty in the league’s infancy in the 1950s — winning five of the first eight titles.

But then a big man by the name of Bill Russell took over the NBA with the Boston Celtics and etched his name into the history books in a feat that will likely never be repeated.

The Celtics won every NBA title but one in the 1960s. During this time, the Lakers lost seven consecutive NBA Finals matchups to Boston, and then one more to the New York Knicks in 1970.

After eight Finals losses in the span of 14 seasons, the Lakers returned to glory in 1972, knocking off the Knicks.

For as big as football (“soccer”) is in England, it really is astonishing that the results don’t match the passion in the history of the “Three Lions” on the men’s side.

No titles in the UEFA European Championship and you have to go all the way back to 1966 for England’s sole triumph in the World Cup.

Recently, it seems England has to give its fanbase one heartbreak after another going back to its semifinal loss in the 2018 World Cup to Croatia.

Kieran Trippier got a goal through in the fifth minute to put England up 1-0 before Ivan Perišić leveled the match in the second half, and then Mario Mandžukić put the game away during extra time in the 109th minute to send Croatia to the World Cup Final.

Same story for England in the Euro 2020 final. Luke Shaw got the scoring started against Italy in the second minute to put England up 1-0, but the “Three Lions” eventually lost in penalty kicks.

In a 2022 World Cup quarterfinal, Harry Kane had a chance to level with France in the second half with a penalty kick and shanked it over the net.

England returned to the Euro Final in 2024 and lost to Spain, which would win the World Cup in 2026.

And then there was this year’s World Cup semifinal against Argentina. After a scoreless and heated first half, Anthony Gordon put England up 1-0 before Argentina had an endless amount of chances late and scored two goals to send Argentina to the Final.

Before earning his first career O’Reilly Auto Parts Series win at EchoPark Speedway back in February, Creed was NASCAR’s Exhibit A of a bridesmaid.

He tallied 15 runner-up finishes in the series between 2022 and 2025 until finally breaking through with Haas Factory Team early this season.

The good and bad news for Creed is that he’s finished second only once since his maiden victory (Kansas).

The NHL went through a big expansion in 1967, adding the Minnesota North Stars, Los Angeles Kings, Philadelphia Flyers, Pittsburgh Penguins and California Seals, along with the St. Louis Blues.

Right from the jump, the Blues found themselves in the Stanley Cup Final — becoming the first expansion team of the four major North American professional leagues to reach the championship round in their inaugural season. For context, this has only happened one other time and that was also in the NHL when the Vegas Golden Knights accomplished the feat in 2018.

The Blues were swept in their first appearance by the Montreal Canadiens.

They were also swept in the Stanley Cup Final in the following two seasons by the Canadiens and Boston Bruins.

Still an impressive feat for the first three seasons of your existence! (And they eventually won the Stanley Cup in 2019 after a seven-game classic against the Bruins.)

A gluttonous addition to this list, but had to throw it in for personal flair.

There were many Dodgers fans who gave up hope after the team lost back-to-back World Series to the Houston Astros and Boston Red Sox (under questionable circumstances … allegedly …) respectively in 2017 and 2018. Those two appearances in the Fall Classic came after disappointing runs from 2013-2016.

As all hope seemed lost, look what has happened since October 2020. Not too shabby. And perhaps good news for Bell — history suggests these streaks eventually end.