Just this past week, ESPN.com released its first regional site, or city to be more specific.The city they chose? Chicago. Which, needless to say, got me thinking. Why?
Of all the markets ESPN could have chosen, what made Chicago stand out and ultimately how does it stand up amongst the best sports towns in America?
After looking at it all, Chicago is up there no doubt. However, ESPN, they are not even in the top-5. I am positive that ESPN will get sites like Chicago’s for all or most of the major sports cities in America. Well, I decided to make it easy for them with my top-10 sports cities in the U.S. list.
This has almost nothing to do with opinion, so don’t hate me when I release this list. I did it based on a formula. You must note that this list has nothing to do with a team’s history… it is all current. New York City has almost 50 Championships in all, but that means almost nothing.
The formula is set on a few things. The city will get points for how many TEAMS it has. A city has four teams, four points. The city will get points for how many SPORTS the team represents. We are only basing this on the main four sports – pro baseball, basketball, football, and hockey... NO collegiate sports. A city has three sports, three points. The city will also receive points for the star system I made up. I rank each team in each city and give them stars (1-5). After that, I took all of the teams’ rank and average them to get a city rank. I doubled that number and give the city those points too. If a city gets three out of five stars, I doubled that to give the city six more points.
If there is a tie, it goes to the city’s star rating. After that it goes to number of sports, then teams. It isn’t really as confusing as it seems, so let’s just look at the teams.
10. St. Louis, Missouri
Teams: Cardinals (4 stars), Rams (1), Blues (4)
If there was anyway I could import a system to put the fans into the equation, St. Louis would be WAY up there. STL’s fans are the best in America, bar none. The Rams killed them if you look at it. When the Rams were good, this was the best sports city in America. They were given that title in 2000, but since then the Rams have fallen. The Cards and Blues are doing what they need to do, but the Rams are certainly weighing the city down here.
# of teams: 3
# of sports: 3
# of stars x 2: 6
TOTAL: 12
9. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Teams: Pirates (1), Steelers (5), Penguins (4)
Pittsburgh got the tiebreaker over St. Louis on the fourth one. Both teams have same number of teams and sports, and even have the same rating. After that, we go to which city has the best team. Pittsburgh has a five-star team in the Steelers, so they get the bump. Just like the STL, there has to be a team to ruin it. The Steelers and Pens are near the top of their respective sport, and really save this city.
# of teams: 3
# of sports: 3
# of stars x 2: 6
TOTAL: 12
8. Denver, Colorado
Teams: Rockies (2), Broncos (3), Nuggets (4), Avalanche (1)
If Denver did not have any one of these teams, they wouldn’t even be on this list. There teams are not better than St. Louis’ or Pitts’, but they have four teams and four sports… which picks them up two more points than the previous two cities received. The Nuggets are in the NBA playoffs right now and are the highlight of this city. Thank Chauncey for that one though.
# of teams: 4
# of sports: 4
# of stars x 2: 6
TOTAL: 14
7. Detroit, Michigan
Teams: Tigers (3), Lions (1), Pistons (4), Red Wings (5)
Detroit isn’t called “Hockeytown” for nothing. The people of Detroit go absolutely crazy over hockey. The whole city embraces the Red Wings. But, don’t think that it ends there, as the Pistons and Tigers are both pretty decent. The Pistons may be on the decline, but they can still play with the best of them. During the past several years, Detroit has built a hard-working, blue collar basketball team, which reflects the people of Detroit. The Lions have been a poor team for a long time, but Lion fans are still common throughout the city.
# of teams: 4
# of sports: 4
# of stars x 2: 6
TOTAL: 14
6. Chicago, Illinois
Teams: Cubs (4), White Sox (2), Bears (3), Bulls (4), Blackhawks (4)
Despite what ESPN thinks, Chicago stands at No. 6 mainly because they do not have a dominant team… just a few good teams. Now, you may say the Cubs deserve that fifth star, but it isn’t happening. They are off to a little bit of a slow start this year (few games behind my Cards) and are playing well below expectations. Not to mention the fact that they choke every September, including last year. Right now, the main focus of Chicago is actually not on the Flubbies. The Blackhawks and Bulls are in the playoffs right now, which helps the city on this list.
# of teams: 5
# of sports: 4
# of stars x 2: 6
TOTAL: 15
5. Los Angeles-Anaheim, California
Teams: Dodgers (4), Angels (4), Lakers (5), Clippers (1), Kings (2), Ducks (3)
Unfortunately for LA, this is based on the current world of sports. Therefore, they don’t get the Rams who were once based Hollywood. If this list took history into affect, they would probably be No. 2. However, who says this town needs the NFL? Los Angeles is home to some of the most successful sports franchises in the game today. The Los Angeles Lakers are on their way to the NBA Finals, and are favored to win the entire thing. They are the most complete team in the NBA, and will likely take on The King for the Championship.
# of teams: 6
# of sports: 3
# of stars x 2: 6
TOTAL: 15
4. Atlanta, Georgia
Teams: Braves (3), Falcons (4), Hawks (4), Thrashers (3)
In years past, everybody crowned Atlanta as the WORST sports city in America… but things have changed. Atlanta has always been good, but Falcons have sucked – before last season – for a while. The Hawks were once the worst team in the NBA, and the Thrashers had no identity what-so-ever. However, the Falcons and Hawks are both playoff teams with great futures. The Thrashers are also on the rise, ending the year on a high note and totaling almost 80 points in the standings. People have been hating on ATL for a while now, but the Braves are no longer the only good team in the city.
# of teams: 4
# of sports: 4
# of stars x 2: 8
TOTAL: 16
3. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania is going to end up being the only state with two cities in the top ten, and I think that says a lot for the state. Different from the cities on the back end of this list, Philly is one of the only cities that simply does not have a bad team. With the baseball season still very young, you have to look at last year… and the Phillies won it all. Donovan McNabb is getting old and does not have many days left as the starting QB in Philly, but he can still get it done and the Eagles are still a pretty good football team. Just like Chicago, Philadelphia currently has two teams in the playoffs. The city is on a serious high when it comes to sports, and why should we be surprised? They just have four really good teams. Period.
# of teams: 4
# of sports: 4
# of stars x 2: 8
TOTAL: 16
2. New York, New York
Teams: Yankees (5), Mets (4), Giants (3), Jets (2), Knicks (1), Nets (2), Rangers (3), Islanders (1)
New York is the only city in the U.S. to be home to two teams in each of the major American professional sports leagues. Without a doubt, baseball is the city's most popular sport with the success of the New York Yankees and New York Mets. The Yankees are predicted by most to win the World Series with the acquisitions of Sabathia, Burnett, and Tex. When it comes to basketball the Knicks embarrass NY. They are not as bad as they were the past two years, they have a new coach, but they still suck. While most people think Knicks with NBA and NY, the New Jersey Nets have also developed a strong fan-base. The Nets have a stud PG running the show right now and have potential to be a serious playoff team. The NFL still remains as the Jets and Giants still garner the city’s attention, but each fall having to compete with the Yankees each October for media coverage. The Giants are pretty good, with a solid team all-around, but the Jets are in big trouble.
# of teams: 8
# of sports: 4
# of stars x 2: 6
TOTAL: 18
1. Boston, Massachusetts
Teams: Red Sox (5), Patriots (5), Celtics (5), Bruins (5)
Well this is completely ridiculous if you think about it. I’m not sure if any city, at any point in time, has ever had the dominance that Boston currently has. The Red Sox are the best all-around team in the MLB. The Patriots are the best team in the NFL when they have Brady hooking up with Moss. You may think they are a four-star team right now, but they won 11 games last year with the best player in the NFL watching instead of playing as the Pats’ QB. The Celtics are battling it out with the Bulls right now, and up 2-1. With Kevin Garnett, they may be challenging the Lakers again in the Finals. The Big-FOUR (Rondo) is amazing, and when they are all out there… they are simply dominant. The Bruins are also in the playoffs right now as the No. 1 team in the East. I don’t think there is any room for argument with this. If so, comment or email me because I would LOVE to hear it. When the four teams in your city are the best teams in their respective sport… you get this honor. Hands down.
# of teams: 4
# of sports: 4
# of stars x 2: 10
TOTAL: 18
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Justin Hulsey
StLDieHard24@gmail.com
FANdemoniumsSports.blogspot.com
