Best Sports City?

[improbus]

Originally Posted by Kingspoint

Don't forget the Islanders, too. They host the U S Open in Tennis, too. Some of the greatest boxing matches have occurred at Madison Square Garden, the greatest sport of all sports. And the Beatles arrived in the U. S. and played at Yankee Stadium.

Ticker tape parades occur in New York City for a reason. That's the city you want to be a part of when you win a Championship.

LA has never won a SuperBowl, so they don't even qualify.

How can you be the #1 Sports Town without a SuperBowl trophy (or even a team during the year you're trying to claim the name of titletown)?

Ummm...The LA Raiders won the Super Bowl in 1981. Plus, they've hosted 7 of them. They have plenty of history with that. They also host the Rose Bowl every year. You can't call a city title-town just because they host an event. That is more coincidence than anything else.

Look, I hate LA more than any other city in the country. I still hate the Dodgers, even years after the Reds-Dodgers rivalry ran its course, so this isn't easy for me. But, NY teams not named the Yankees and Giants have been HUGE underachievers. Boston has won as many titles in the last 8 years (6 titles) as NY has won in the last twenty (I don't count the Devils, who play in Jersey).

[RichRed]

Atlanta??? Ha-ha, good one.

[Roy Tucker]

Awfully nebulous concept that implicitly skews towards big cities.

I think you'd have to start by dividing it up into best pro sports town, best college sports, best high school sports, and best recreational sports. And even then, you'd pick the top 10 and throw them into a hat and it would be a valid list.

But top sports town? Nah, can't do it.

[15fan]

Originally Posted by RichRed

Atlanta??? Ha-ha, good one.

Don't lose sight of the original question.

"the real question is: Where are the best places for sports fans to live?"

In addition to the MLB/NFL/NHL/NBA access, you've also got very easy access to both SEC and ACC sports, including things like the SEC football championship game and SEC and ACC basketball tournaments. They sell out the Dome every year for the Peach / Chik-Fil-A Bowl, which usually ends up being one of the better non-BCS bowls during bowl season.

In the decade+ since I've lived here, the Super Bowl, multiple Final Fours, and 3 of the 4 All-Star games have been here. Probably the most storied golf tournament on the continent is a Tiger Woods driver due east in Augusta. If you're into car racing (I'm not), Talladega is a stone's throw west. 2 hours max in just about any direction gets you to multiple SAL or Southern League games if you dig minor league baseball. Like running? World's largest 10K is here, and it's a blast regardless of whether you run or spectate. Like some of the more obscure sports? Pro Beach Volleyball makes a stop here each summer, there's an Arena Football team in Gwinnett, and the Tour de Georgia will let you get your bike racing fix. If you dig hiking, mountain biking, etc, a 90 minute drive gets you into the Appalachians.

About the only thing that the city doesn't have is pro tennis. And I've never understood why there isn't a tour stop here (aside from the lack of a venue). ALTA (local rec tennis league) is massively popular here. It's crazy the number of people who play tennis in this area. I'd have to imagine that a stop here would draw quite well.

The local teams don't get a whole lot of support because (1) generally they're pretty lousy, and (2) most people who live here didn't grow up here. But if you are a sports fan in the generic sense and want a wide variety of opportunities, this is a great place to be.

Edit: And if there's a sporting event in another part of the country that you want to go to, catching a direct and/or cheap flight is pretty easy. 2.5 hours on a plane gets you to Miami/Boston/Denver and anywhere in between.

[Highlifeman21]

Wait a minute....

Cincinnati didn't make the list?

[Kingspoint]

Originally Posted by improbus

Ummm...The LA Raiders won the Super Bowl in 1981. Plus, they've hosted 7 of them. They have plenty of history with that. They also host the Rose Bowl every year. You can't call a city title-town just because they host an event. That is more coincidence than anything else.

Look, I hate LA more than any other city in the country. I still hate the Dodgers, even years after the Reds-Dodgers rivalry ran its course, so this isn't easy for me. But, NY teams not named the Yankees and Giants have been HUGE underachievers. Boston has won as many titles in the last 8 years (6 titles) as NY has won in the last twenty (I don't count the Devils, who play in Jersey).

They didn't move to LA until after they won the Superbowl in January of 1981. They played their first game there on August 29th, 1982.


Yes, New Jersey does count as both the Jets and Giants also play in New Jersey.

It's also not about what's happened in just the last decade.

LA didn't even get on the professional sports scene until around 1960 as the Dodgers were arriving from New York City, the Lakers were arriving from Minneapolis, and the Rams were at the beginnings of their franchise.

Boston has a larger claim as the 2nd-best Title-Town/Sports Town than LA ever will. St. Louis is a much better sports town than LA. As one person put it, the LA fans speak for themselves, as they are about the worst sports fans of any city in the United States.

You look up the word "bandwagon" and you get a picture of an LA sports fan.

LA is a wussy town.

Sorry. No team has ever won a Superbowl with Los Angeles in their name.

[Kingspoint]

Originally Posted by 15fan

Don't lose sight of the original question.

"the real question is: Where are the best places for sports fans to live?"

In addition to the MLB/NFL/NHL/NBA access, you've also got very easy access to both SEC and ACC sports, including things like the SEC football championship game and SEC and ACC basketball tournaments. They sell out the Dome every year for the Peach / Chik-Fil-A Bowl, which usually ends up being one of the better non-BCS bowls during bowl season.

In the decade+ since I've lived here, the Super Bowl, multiple Final Fours, and 3 of the 4 All-Star games have been here. Probably the most storied golf tournament on the continent is a Tiger Woods driver due east in Augusta. If you're into car racing (I'm not), Talladega is a stone's throw west. 2 hours max in just about any direction gets you to multiple SAL or Southern League games if you dig minor league baseball. Like running? World's largest 10K is here, and it's a blast regardless of whether you run or spectate. Like some of the more obscure sports? Pro Beach Volleyball makes a stop here each summer, there's an Arena Football team in Gwinnett, and the Tour de Georgia will let you get your bike racing fix. If you dig hiking, mountain biking, etc, a 90 minute drive gets you into the Appalachians.

About the only thing that the city doesn't have is pro tennis. And I've never understood why there isn't a tour stop here (aside from the lack of a venue). ALTA (local rec tennis league) is massively popular here. It's crazy the number of people who play tennis in this area. I'd have to imagine that a stop here would draw quite well.

The local teams don't get a whole lot of support because (1) generally they're pretty lousy, and (2) most people who live here didn't grow up here. But if you are a sports fan in the generic sense and want a wide variety of opportunities, this is a great place to be.

Edit: And if there's a sporting event in another part of the country that you want to go to, catching a direct and/or cheap flight is pretty easy. 2.5 hours on a plane gets you to Miami/Boston/Denver and anywhere in between.

and you can always find a front row seat because no one ever shows up to any of the Atlanta Sports' teams games, even when they're winning. I said that LA sports' fans were the worst in the U. S. . I take that back. They at least show up when teams are winning for a portion of the game. Atlanta fans don't show up at all, unless the tickets are given away free, they have a relative that works for the team, or they accidentally walked into the wrong building. The words Atlanta and Sportsfan are oxymorons.

[improbus]

Originally Posted by Kingspoint

They didn't move to LA until after they won the Superbowl in January of 1981. They played their first game there on August 29th, 1982.


Yes, New Jersey does count as both the Jets and Giants also play in New Jersey.

It's also not about what's happened in just the last decade.

LA didn't even get on the professional sports scene until around 1960 as the Dodgers were arriving from New York City, the Lakers were arriving from Minneapolis, and the Rams were at the beginnings of their franchise.

Boston has a larger claim as the 2nd-best Title-Town/Sports Town than LA ever will. St. Louis is a much better sports town than LA. As one person put it, the LA fans speak for themselves, as they are about the worst sports fans of any city in the United States.

You look up the word "bandwagon" and you get a picture of an LA sports fan.

LA is a wussy town.

Sorry. No team has ever won a Superbowl with Los Angeles in their name.

i guess we are arguing two different things. I am NOT claiming that LA fans are the best. No sane person would ever claim that. However, it is no mistake that their teams have been extremely successful. UCLA is widely considered the top university in the country for successful sports teams. UCLA has 100 team titles (1st), and USC has 84 (3rd), (Stanford is in the middle). If they win 28 more titles, they will equal the entire Big Ten.
LA Dodgers: 5 titles
LA Angels: 1 title
Anaheim Ducks: 1 title
LA Lakers: 9 titles

On a National Scale, they have been extremely competitive.

[IslandRed]

Originally Posted by Kingspoint

Sorry. No team has ever won a Superbowl with Los Angeles in their name.

Super Bowl XVIII
Jan. 22, 1984
Los Angeles Raiders 38, Washington Redskins 9

Not saying you're wrong about L.A. overall, just correcting that one thing.

[15fan]

Originally Posted by Kingspoint

and you can always find a front row seat because no one ever shows up to any of the Atlanta Sports' teams games, even when they're winning. I said that LA sports' fans were the worst in the U. S. . I take that back. They at least show up when teams are winning for a portion of the game. Atlanta fans don't show up at all, unless the tickets are given away free, they have a relative that works for the team, or they accidentally walked into the wrong building. The words Atlanta and Sportsfan are oxymorons.

I think you missed my point.

There are plenty of sports fans in Atlanta.

But there are very few hardcore fans of the local franchises because the vast majority of the population didn't grow up here.

That's a very important distinction to make.

[Chip R]

Originally Posted by Highlifeman21

Wait a minute....

Cincinnati didn't make the list?

I'm outraged. They are the Kelly Cup champs.

[Revering4Blue]

Raleigh, like Austin, sits at the sort of nexus that gives the well-rounded sports fan something of everything. Want NASCAR? North Carolina freaks for NASCAR. Want college basketball? Duke and North Carolina are literally minutes away. Want the NFL and NBA? Charlotte is just over yonder. Want golf? Because of its sprawling but not-too-urban nature, Raleigh has a tremendous recreational culture and the golf courses to match.

No mention of the 2006 Stanley Cup champion Hurricanes, N.C State, AAA and AA baseball or the proximity to Wake Forest University Sports.

No Bay Area?

No Detroit?

No Denver?

This list reeks.

[paintmered]

No Fargo?

[Yachtzee]

Originally Posted by Roy Tucker

Awfully nebulous concept that implicitly skews towards big cities.

I think you'd have to start by dividing it up into best pro sports town, best college sports, best high school sports, and best recreational sports. And even then, you'd pick the top 10 and throw them into a hat and it would be a valid list.

But top sports town? Nah, can't do it.

It's definitely something that comes down to opinion where opinion is going to skew toward the location of the respondent. For example, an outsider might look at a place like Cleveland and note the lack of an NHL franchise and a dominant Division I college football program as drawbacks. But people often neglect the fact that Cleveland fans show strong support for Ohio State and Notre Dame when it comes to college football, they host the MAC basketball tournament and NE Ohio follows high school football to a degree that rivals any school in Texas, "Friday Night Lights" be damned. A city like Cincinnati lacks pro basketball and hockey, yet is an epicenter for college sports even when support for the pro teams lag, and like Cleveland has an incredible following for high school sports. In fact, I would argue that the relative lack of alternative entertainment avenues puts all level of sports in the spotlight in Midwestern cities than it does in the large markets. I have neighbors who will go to football games on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday in the fall.

[Yachtzee]

Originally Posted by paintmered

No Fargo?

A hotbed for hockey?