The Best Sports Cities

ESPN The Magazine just released its annual list where it ranks all 122 teams in the four major sports.  This list is pretty comprehensive.  They take everything (I totally just felt like Stefon there) into account, from ticket prices to likeability of the players to how close they are to winning a championship.

The San Antonio Spurs had the best ranking in nine of ESPN's 18 categories and ended up in the top spot overall.  I can't argue with that.  The Spurs are a class organization that's well-run and obviously has a championship pedigree that I think can continue even after Tim Duncan finally retires (whenever that may be).  The rest of the top five was the Ducks, Seahawks, Grizzlies and LA Kings.

On the opposite end of the spectrum was the Toronto Maple Leafs, who came in 122nd.  Then there's the New York teams.  We've got a lot of them here in the Big Apple.  Eight teams across the four major sports, nine if you count the Devils.  And four of those teams (the Jets, Mets, Islanders and Knicks) occupied spots between 113 and 121.  At least it's diverse (one from each sport).  It's not like it's much better for the higher-ranked New York teams, though.  The highest was the Rangers at 70 (or the Devils at 47). 

In fact, the big cities with multiple teams in multiple sports actually occupied a lot of the lower places, probably due in no small part to the ticket prices and the fans' perception of the players on those squads, which is much different than it is in, say, Oklahoma City.

It's fairly obvious that New York doesn't rank as the top overall sports city in the eyes of ESPN.  But which city does?  Well, I decided I was going to try and figure it out. 

There are 12 cities that have at least one team in each of the four leagues (I'm counting the Sharks as part of San Francisco/Oakland for the sake of this exercise).  LA, Atlanta, Pittsburgh, St. Louis and Houston are among the cities/areas that are represented in three of the four (Milwaukee also counts if you include the Packers).  Since Toronto is represented in three of the four sports, as well, they're also included.

I took ESPN's ranking for each team that plays in one of these cities, then divided by the number of pro teams that city has to come up with an average.  The lowest average is the unofficial "Best Sports City In America."

So, how do the cities stack up?  Let's see:

Cities In All Four Leagues
Dallas 45.5 (Number of Teams: 4-Rangers 54, Cowboys 107, Mavericks 9, Stars 12)
Phoenix 48.3 (Number of Teams: 4-Diamondbacks 30, Cardinals 58, Suns 64, Coyotes 41)
San Francisco 51.8 (Number of Teams: 6-Athletics 50, Giants 32, Raiders 119, 49ers 27, Warriors 52, Sharks 31)
Denver 55.5 (Number of Teams: 4-Rockies 91, Broncos 17, Nuggets 98, Avalanche 16)
Boston 57 (Number of Teams: 4-Red Sox 80, Patriots 43, Celtics 66, Bruins 39)
Chicago 62.8 (Number of Teams: 5-White Sox 57, Cubs 117, Bears 77, Bulls 53, Blackhawks 10)
Detroit 68.3 (Number of Teams: 4-Tigers 37, Lions 111, Pistons 105, Red Wings 20)
Minneapolis 75.8 (Number of Teams: 4-Twins 62, Vikings 103, Timberwolves 114, Wild 24)
Philadelphia 76.3 (Number of Teams: 4-Phillies 83, Eagles 69, 76ers 93, Flyers 60)
Washington 81.8 (Number of Teams: 4-Nationals 51, Redskins 109, Wizards 73, Capitals 94)
Miami 85 (Number of Teams: 4-Marlins 96, Dolphins 108, Heat 34, Panthers 102)
New York 91.8 (Number of Teams: 9-Yankees 86, Mets 118, Giants 79, Jets 113, Knicks 121, Nets 76, Rangers 70, Devils 47, Islanders 116)

Cities In Three Leagues
Pittsburgh 28.3 (Number of Teams: 3-Pirates 22, Steelers 38, Penguins 25)
Los Angeles 38.2 (Number of Teams: 6-Angels 15, Dodgers 61, Lakers 87, Clippers 59, Kings 5, Ducks 2)
St. Louis 39.3 (Number of Teams: 3-Cardinals 19, Rams 88, Blues 11)
Tampa 41.7 (Number of Teams: 3-Rays 35, Buccaneers 84, Lightning 6)
Milwaukee 50.3 (Number of Teams: 3-Brewers 23, Packers 8, Bucks 120)
Atlanta 53.3 (Number of Teams: 3-Braves 45, Falcons 67, Hawks 48)
Houston 72 (Number of Teams: 3-Astros 95, Texans 72, Rockets 49)
Cleveland 85.7 (Number of Teams: 3-Indians 46, Browns 110, Cavaliers 101)
Toronto 92.3 (Number of Teams: 3-Blue Jays 81, Raptors 74, Maple Leafs 122)

There you go, it's Pittsburgh.  Which actually makes a lot of sense.  Because all three teams are good, all three teams are likeable, and Pittsburgh's a blue-collar town, which means games have to be fun and affordable.  Although, the top spot probably would've gone to LA if it wasn't being dragged down by the Lakers.

As for the four-sport cities, I'm a little surprised Dallas ended up on top.  Another things the fans can thank Mark Cuban for, I guess.  The Mavericks and Blackhawks are the only teams among the 56 that play in four-sport towns that ranked among ESPN's Top 10.