The Jets won it all only once, in Super Bowl III. The local men’s soccer teams, relatively new, have given us nothing except a couple of Supporters’ Shields for best regular-season record. That is a category few Americans fully comprehend, or even wish to contemplate.

Before the Namath-navigated title for the Jets in 1969, more than six years had passed since the Yankees beat San Francisco in the 1962 Series. That was the last time New York endured such a famine. For much of that span, there were only six New York teams: Yankees, Mets, Knicks, Rangers, Giants and Titans/Jets. That wasn’t much of an excuse, however, since they were competing in smaller, pre-expansion leagues and should have won a greater share of titles.

Shame on them.

There is some hope that the current slide can be halted sooner than later. The Giants are probably not strong enough, but then they didn’t look strong enough in the 2007 season, either. The high-scoring Rangers are fun to watch, and have about as good a shot at the Cup as five or six other top N.H.L. teams. The Mets’ rotation, if it ever heals, could carry them back to a World Series.

The greatest disappointment in recent seasons, clearly, has been the Yankees, once our most reliable champions, our crown jewel. Somewhere along the way, Brian Cashman and Hal Steinbrenner began settling for wild-card contention with uninspired, starless rosters. The club has won only one World Series in the past 16 years, which is not the way the Yankees are supposed to operate. Despite promising young players in the pipeline, they still look unprepared to challenge — at least any time soon — the stocked and stoked Red Sox.

How bleak is that? Without the Yankees, we might as well be Philadelphia.

If the current situation with professional sports weren’t maddening enough, there is really no place to hide. It’s not as if we dare widen our rooting interests around here to include the colleges. We might actually find ourselves at a Rutgers football game or another Big East disaster for St. John’s basketball.

We are a people in search of titles, to reinforce the obvious fact that New York is better than every other city in America. We used to be able to prove that with large banners. Instead, as 2016 comes to an end, we may again have to stake our reputation on theater and the fine arts.

We still win Tonys. Practically all of them.