Best Sports city

[NcSc74]

To be exacxt about UNC and Duke they do have tradition in football it just so happens that basketball took over and football has never recovered. The UNC/Duke football rivalry is just as intense as the b-ball one. Now add to the mix NCstate and see what happens. Raleigh/Durham deserves to be on that list. When I was in middle school they used to show the ACC tournament at lunchtime and since most of our teachers attended one of those schools we used to watch the games in the classrooms. It is like more than just tradition it is religion...GO HEELS

[bmorescottamanda]

Baltimore

[Dan]

for all you boston fans... you like to call the pats and the sox some of the best teams in their sport? the sox, may i remind you, have won a total of 3 world series... and the pats doing so great is very recent.

let's not forget the greatest sports franchise in the history of all sports... the new york yankees, which is why my vote was for new york. boston loses out simply because the red sox fans are a bunch of cry-babies who don't seem to remember what season it is when they're chanting "yankees suck" at patriots games (or even concerts).

C'mon Jim, you just proved our case for us. The fact that Boston/New England fans stick by the teams through all the tough times is a testament to our loyalty. Its pretty easy to follow a winner. Remember all the Bulls and Cowboys "fans" back in the 90's? Where did they go? In addition, the Red Sox have more fans around the world than any other team.

I'm not even going to entertain the cry baby remark, after the things I saw and heard from Yankees fans after the great choke of 2004. They obviously should have two more rings, from '03 and '04.

The Boston Red Sox have won 5 World Series Championships.

[runawayjim]

C'mon Jim, you just proved our case for us. The fact that Boston/New England fans stick by the teams through all the tough times is a testament to our loyalty. Its pretty easy to follow a winner. Remember all the Bulls and Cowboys "fans" back in the 90's? Where did they go? In addition, the Red Sox have more fans around the world than any other team.

I'm not even going to entertain the cry baby remark, after the things I saw and heard from Yankees fans after the great choke of 2004. They obviously should have two more rings, from '03 and '04.

The Boston Red Sox have won 5 World Series Championships.

and the sox should have a ring from '86... bill buckner anyone?

seriously though... if more new yorkers were on this site, i am positive new york would be in the lead. i've been a yankee fan since i knew what baseball was (which is at least the past 20 years, including the 80's and early 90's when the yanks could barely get out of last place, yet they had one of the best first basemen in baseball at the time... don mattingly). so no, i don't like a winning team, i like my home team, which at one time was the yankees. and i don't change teams because i moved to a different place.

i won't even mention the stuff i hear on NESN when teh sox lose to the yankees (which, unfortunately, is one of the few times i can watch the yanks on cox). and let's not forget the best sportsmanship in all of baseball with the "yankees suck" chants during patriots games (baseball not even in season) and at concerts (completely unrelated to sports altogether). there's a reason i'll never like the sox... and that's a big part of it.

forget the bulls and cowboys... i don't even like basketball or football. baseball's the only sport that matters to me... and the yankees are the most decorated franchise in all of professional sports. there was a time when all the new york teams were great... the jets, the rangers, the mets (who are doing quite well this season), the knicks...

[MadVlad]

and the sox should have a ring from '86... bill buckner anyone?

seriously though... if more new yorkers were on this site, i am positive new york would be in the lead. i've been a yankee fan since i knew what baseball was (which is at least the past 20 years, including the 80's and early 90's when the yanks could barely get out of last place, yet they had one of the best first basemen in baseball at the time... don mattingly). so no, i don't like a winning team, i like my home team, which at one time was the yankees. and i don't change teams because i moved to a different place.

i won't even mention the stuff i hear on NESN when teh sox lose to the yankees (which, unfortunately, is one of the few times i can watch the yanks on cox). and let's not forget the best sportsmanship in all of baseball with the "yankees suck" chants during patriots games (baseball not even in season) and at concerts (completely unrelated to sports altogether). there's a reason i'll never like the sox... and that's a big part of it.

forget the bulls and cowboys... i don't even like basketball or football. baseball's the only sport that matters to me... and the yankees are the most decorated franchise in all of professional sports. there was a time when all the new york teams were great... the jets, the rangers, the mets (who are doing quite well this season), the knicks...

And where are all the Knicks fans? Where are all the Rangers fans? Where were all the Mets fans until this year? New York isn't so special. When the Yankees stunk, they didn't draw so hot either...

[dtown]

im loyal to all the Detroit teams, i watched the tigers almost every day, even in 2003 when they lost 119 games. i watch the Lions all the time even though they have sucked for as long as i can remeber.

[Pioneer]

Toronto

[SmellyCat]

and the sox should have a ring from '86... bill buckner anyone?

I was just visiting some friends up in NYC recently and they were televising the Buckner game 6 world series game on the Mets cable channel. It was awesome! I hadn't seen it in years....Shea was shaking from its foundation!!

Didn't the Boston fans run the poor lad out of town or make death threats or something? That is sick. Based on this behavior I would have to say their fans get the award for being the "most rabid".

[FromCityToRural]

From what I've read, Kansas City, MO is pretty good for sports, too, especially baseball.

[AuLukey]

Umm, some people may have forgotten about the little known name Michael Jordan. And by that, I do not mean Washington. Du Bears, du Bulls, the Cubs, the White Sox (not to forget the Sky and Blackhawks, and the other 10 pro teams.)

I mean, Wrigley field? Is there any other stadium that has such a household name?

How can Chicago not even be on the list?

[JDC]

What about Chapel Hill and Durham? Connecticut's culture is big on the huskies. Your list seems heavily biased towards the midwest.

And football.

Yeah, I know they've got good basketball programs too, but if I'm not mistaken, LSU, Wisconsin, Ohio State, Michigan are historically football powerhouses. May as well throw in South Bend and Lincoln.

I mean, Wrigley field? Is there any other stadium that has such a household name?

There are two actually: Fenway Park and Yankee Stadium.

[NYC4ever]

I vote NYC. We have so many sports teams so rivalry is intense.

[john_denver]

Detroit, Boston and Philly

[dleinstein]

1. Philadelphia

2. Cleveland

3. Boston

4. Chicago

5. New York City

That's how I rank them at least.

[Starscream]

My case for Baltimore (maybe not the absolute best, but it's up there...)

Football:

a. 1958 NFL Championship Game ("The Greatest Game Ever Played")

b. Super Bowl III (The Joe Namath prediction... the index finger)

c. The entire history of the Baltimore Colts

d. The fact that the phrase "Home Field Advantage" was coined in reference to Baltimore and Her Colts

e. Johnny Unitas

f. the Colts-Redskins and Colts-Steelers rivalries

g. the mayflower moving vans, leaving town at 2am in a snowstorm

h. the Baltimore Ravens (Super Bowl Champs, Best Defense of all time, many future hall of famers)

i. several semi-pro football teams, including women's football

j. A couple of CFL championships

Baseball:

a. Baltimore Orioles (one of the winningest franchises in baseball history)

b. the "Old Orioles" (of the 1890s, credited with inventing the modern game and considered by most to be the absolute best team ever)

c. the fact that the Yankees used to BE the Baltimore Orioles

d. Rich legacy with 2 Negro league teams

e. Many hall of famers

f. Oriole Park at Camden Yards: the stadium that began the "new stadium" craze

g. Babe Ruth was from Baltimore

Basketball:

a. An impressive set of High School National Champion Teams (including one team that produced 4 NBA athletes!)

b. The old Baltimore Bullets

c. Our general craziness about high school basketball

d. we're the city that introduced the world to naked women's basketball, where the penalty for a foul is not a free throw, but lewd sexual acts!! (This league is now defunct. The cops found out... )

Hockey:

a. we're not that big into hockey, but we've had AHL teams for years

Lacrosse:

a. the most lacrosse crazy place on Earth

b. home of the lacrosse hall of fame

c. home of the toughest high school lacrosse league on Earth (MIAA A Conference)

d. home of the top college teams (Johns Hopkins, Loyola, Towson, UMBC, and one might even count Navy and/or Salisbury)

e. home of 2 professional lacrosse teams, and MANY semi-pro teams

Horse Racing:

a. The actual first ever professional sports entity in the United States is the Maryland Racing Club (although I think it dates back to the colonies)

b. Home of the Preakness, the second leg of the Triple Crown

Swimming:

a. We have produced an olympic multiple-medal winner in every summer olympics since '92 (and possibly before then, but I don't remember), including

b. Michael Phelps, the current world record holder with some rediculous number of golds in the 2004 olympics (like 10 or something).

Yachting:

Baltimore is a major participant in various yachting races, including the around the world race

Miscellaneous:

a. People in the Baltimore area also participate in many outdoors activities like sailing, canoeing/kayaking, fishing, hunting, etc.

b. People are fanatical enough about bowling that they nearly succeeded in getting our state sport changed from jousting to duckpin bowling!

c. We also have a marathon and a cycling event, but they're not so famous

[Inkdaub]

I would have to say Chicago is the best sports city.

[yankeeblue]

To be exacxt about UNC and Duke they do have tradition in football it just so happens that basketball took over and football has never recovered. The UNC/Duke football rivalry is just as intense as the b-ball one. Now add to the mix NCstate and see what happens. Raleigh/Durham deserves to be on that list. When I was in middle school they used to show the ACC tournament at lunchtime and since most of our teachers attended one of those schools we used to watch the games in the classrooms. It is like more than just tradition it is religion...GO HEELS

[Thrillhouse]

Detroit fans stick with their teams through anything. The Lions may be the worst franchise in all of sports right now yet many here in Mich follow them still. I just wish they wouldn't show them here on tv in place of the eagles in Grand Rapids

[dgreco]

The best sports town is not how good the teams do, but how much the fans love the teams. In that case I would look at 2 cities, Chicago and Boston.

NBA - Bulls haven't been really good since Jordan still do well with fans, Celtics have lost 17 straight games and still sell out everynight

NFL - Bears haven't won since 85, Patriots have grown since 1993

NHL - Blackhawks IDK much about, Boston fans don't really go average about 8,000 a game

MLB - Cubs. Redsox. That is enough.

[runawayjim]

The best sports town is not how good the teams do, but how much the fans love the teams. In that case I would look at 2 cities, Chicago and Boston.

NBA - Bulls haven't been really good since Jordan still do well with fans, Celtics have lost 17 straight games and still sell out everynight

NFL - Bears haven't won since 85, Patriots have grown since 1993

NHL - Blackhawks IDK much about, Boston fans don't really go average about 8,000 a game

MLB - Cubs. Redsox. That is enough.

[dgreco]

you don't think the new york teams sell out and have some serious following?

rangers won the stanley cup after 54 years several years ago (although hockey is sort of a forgotten sport).... there's the yankees and the mets, the giants and jets, and the knicks... all with devoted followings. this has nothing to do with how good any of those teams are (it does help that the winningest sports franchise in history is in NYC).

[runawayjim]

Besides baseball, NY lacks sport interest I think, Madison Square Garden draws crowds because it is the garden, NHL is bead for all teams except the canadian teams, and a few in the US. And as far as a sports city, the NY teams are both located in NJ, which would more fall under NJ sports, even though the name says NY they are NJ based. If the Jets move to NY... maybe

[dgreco]

you raelly think people just go to MSG to watch a basketball game or hockey game for the sole reason that it's MSG? that's just silly. people in new york love the knicks. i'm pretty sure there's a decent knicks/nets/76ers rivalry. and just because the football teams play in jersey doesn't mean that the fans don't exist in NYC. believe me... they do. go to any bar in NYC on a game night for whatever sport...

[runawayjim]

I agree people like the teamsat MSG, but that is a museum for sports also, people do go to say i saw a gaemat MSG. Also there are red sox fans in anaheim, does that mean we count anaheim because we have fans there?

[swh1972]

I'm not going to argue that Cleveland is the BEST sports city, but it's fans are right up there with the rest of them. The Browns have arguably the best fans in the NFL. They are lifelong followers of a franchise known more recently for its heartbreaking losses than its Championships, and I think that unifies their fanbase. When playing well, the Indians and Cavaliers draw very well. During the mid to lat 90's, the Indinas sold out 435 straight home games - that's almost five and a half seasons.