MCWS loss continues tough stretch for Florida teams

At the beginning of April, both the ninth-seeded Florida Atlantic Owls and the fifth-seeded Miami Hurricanes fell in their NCAA men's basketball tournament Final Four contests against San Diego State and UConn respectively.

The Owls' loss was especially painful, as they were defeated on a buzzer-beater. The Hurricanes, meanwhile, were handled easily by the Huskies in a 72-59 final.

In the NBA and NHL, both the Miami Heat and Florida Panthers made stunning runs to their respective championship rounds as a No. 8 seed and in the Panthers' case, the final wild card team to qualify. The Heat stunned the top-seeded Milwaukee Bucks, fifth-seeded New York Knicks and second-seeded Boston Celtics, before falling to the Western Conference's No. 1 seed -- the Denver Nuggets. The Panthers shocked the record-breaking Boston Bruins squad before eliminating the Toronto Maple Leafs and Carolina Hurricanes, and then fell to the Vegas Golden Knights.

Florida's slew of near-title moments is similar to how Philadelphia sports teams have had a near-magical sports year filled with deep playoff runs and championship round appearances.

In November, the Philadelphia Union fell to Los Angeles FC in the MLS Cup, 3-0 in penalty kicks. Hours after the soccer team's defeat, the Philadelphia Phillies lost Game 6 of the World Series to the Houston Astros to conclude the Fall Classic.

In the NFL, the Philadelphia Eagles coasted through the regular season and all the way to Super Bowl LVII, before seeing the Kansas City Chiefs storm back from a 10-point halftime deficit to win the Lombardi Trophy. In the NBA, the Philadelphia 76ers blew a 3-2 series lead to the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference semifinals to fall in seven games.