What city is the best sports city? (City. Not state. U.S.only) | Page 2 | The Boneyard

What city is the best sports city? (City. Not state. U.S.only)

Matrim55 said:
I've lived in Boston, NY and SF, and average folks in the Bay Area were, by a good distance, much more invested in their local teams than folks here.

I was genuinely shocked by that, but those people lived and died with the Giants, A's, Niners and Dubs. It was part of the culture of everyone from immigrant tech bros to the Castro LGBTQ community.
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Don’t forget the Sharks as well.
 
storrsroars said:
I'm going to give two different answers.

I think New York has the best breadth of knowledge across all sports. IMO, it's a market that not only cares about its pro teams, but a ton of people have rooting interests across numerous college conferences, and is pretty conversant on sports like tennis, golf, boxing, and others. Other sports markets tend to be more provincial, in my experience.

Pittsburgh is a pretty decent place now, but for decades it had nothing going for it except sports - even when its teams were horrible. That became supercharged with the 70s Steelers and 90s Penguins. Pittsburgh went from a baseball town (Pirates, Grays, Crawfords) to a three-sport town, emphasis on football. I've only lived in East Coast cities, but Pittsburgh was the first place where I encountered people wearing jerseys to funerals and christenings. I've been to Mets and Yankees playoff games (WS in Yankee case), but the Cueto wildcard game was by far the most engaged crowd I've ever experienced first hand at any sporting contest. If the Pirates were more routinely decent, I think Pittsburgh would be an easy call for best sports city - which includes Pitt and (annoyingly) Penn State sports, which puts them ahead of Boston, which doesn't give a crap about college sports other than the Frozen Four.
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This is a great call. I almost said Pittsburgh. It is saturation. Like Buffalo. Sabres and Bills are it. For everyone there, Thats it.
 
Deepster said:
But you can't count fans from New Hampshire and Maine when you argue if BOSTON is the best sports city.
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I guess, but Boston is such a draw that it brings fans to the city from those stats.
And if the quantity + density of fans were the metric than NY absolutely wins. Yet there it is somehow more acceptable for Yankee fans not to be from the city or the Bronx and come from NY, NJ and CT.

For Boston and other cities, I think people that commute into Boston count. And so many people live in the city when they are in 20's-30's then move north, south & west (and continually further) as they get older. I have never heard of anyone's Boston sportfandom getting affected b/c they live in Needham instead of Charlestown or b/c they move to NH for more land/taxes whatever.
 
Waquoit said:
Nah, their stadium is practically part of the metroplex. Foxborough is two counties away from Boston.
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No it's not. It's a stop on the commuter rail line. It's in Norfolk county which includes Brookline , Milton and Quincy. At least it's in the same state.

804px-MA_Norfolk_Co_towns_map (1).jpg
 
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Dogdeacon said:
I guess, but Boston is such a draw that it brings fans to the city from those stats.
And if the quantity + density of fans were the metric than NY absolutely wins. Yet there it is somehow more acceptable for Yankee fans not to be from the city or the Bronx and come from NY, NJ and CT.

For Boston and other cities, I think people that commute into Boston count. And so many people live in the city when they are in 20's-30's then move north, south & west (and continually further) as they get older. I have never heard of anyone's Boston sportfandom getting affected b/c they live in Needham instead of Charlestown or b/c they move to NH for more land/taxes whatever.
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By that logic, the Cowboys have a huge following outside Dallas and outside the state of TX. Do we include all of them in determining if Dallas is a great sports city?

Same with the Raiders. They have fans from their time in Oakland, and in Los Angeles....and they have a huge national fan base. Is Las Vegas a great sports city?
 
TroyHall98 said:
Don’t forget the Sharks as well.
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Now this is a real geography question. Does San Francisco get the Sharks (San Jose) and Niners (Santa Clara) or even the A's? Giants are the only team in the City. San Jose is bigger than SF and I consider Santa Clara is just an extension of San Jose.
 
Deepster said:
By that logic, the Cowboys have a huge following outside Dallas and outside the state of TX. Do we include all of them in determining if Dallas is a great sports city?

Same with the Raiders. They have fans from their time in Oakland, and in Los Angeles....and they have a huge national fan base. Is Las Vegas a great sports city?
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The Cowboys don't even play in Dallas. Nor do the Rangers. I think we need to consider the metro area.
 
HuskyHawk said:
The Cowboys don't even play in Dallas. Nor do the Rangers. I think we need to consider the metro area.
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Yep, stepped on the point with invoking the Cowboys who play in Arlington not Dallas. But they have Dallas in their name so that creates the identity?!

And I think the answer is yes a sports city's or team's strength/ranking power is partially its ability to draw people in, the more people and the further the more powerful, valuable, better the team brand and the cities' strength as a sports town. Namely its so good that people from miles away watch or follow the town as if its their own. They value identifying with these great sports towns.
 
As much as I hate to admit it (I’m a NY guy), Boston fans are the most loyal and have a championship pedigree through all sports. What sets them apart from NY is that they all rally around one team per sport. NY gets dinged here for having two MLB, NHL, NBA & NFL teams so the fan bases get split. Go to Boston for any game, and the whole city is cheering them on.
 
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HooperScooper said:
That's interesting because I always hear that sports fans out west and the south typically aren't as invested in their teams as the Northeast markets. I've only lived in Boston and Connecticut so I don't have the perspective you have.
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In my experience out here the Dodgers and the Lakers are the two teams that have generational fanbases across all socioeconomic lines. They're the two that are really enmeshed in the cultural fabric of the city.
 
Waquoit said:
Of course, but they're not in the city of Boston. Or very near the city. And the team uses the Providence airport is all I'm saying.
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Not to belabor this point because it's a dumb argument, but many NFL stadiums are not in the city that is in their name. The stadiums are big with lots of parking around them so when they built new stadiums they put them out in the suburbs because that is where there was enough land. The San Francisco '49ers are in Santa Clara, which is 50 miles from San Francisco and right next to San Jose. AT&T Stadium for the Cowboys is 20 miles from Dallas. I think it's closer to Fort Worth. Met Life Stadium for the New York Giants and New York Jets isn't even in the state of New York. And teams I'm sure use the Newark Airport and not JFK or LaGuardia. See how dumb this argument is? :)
 
BigErnMcCracken said:
In my experience out here the Dodgers and the Lakers are the two teams that have generational fanbases across all socioeconomic lines. They're the two that are really enmeshed in the cultural fabric of the city.
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I can buy that. The only thing I've heard though is in Boston, NY, Philadelphia, etc. fans are very mad when their teams don't do well. In LA the Dodgers or Lakers lose and people are like, "Oh well." Something to do with the lifestyle/weather. But that's second hand information. I've never lived out there and experienced it.
 
HooperScooper said:
I can buy that. The only thing I've heard though is in Boston, NY, Philadelphia, etc. fans are very mad when their teams don't do well. In LA the Dodgers or Lakers lose and people are like, "Oh well." Something to do with the lifestyle/weather. But that's second hand information. I've never lived out there and experienced it.
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I think the most notable difference is that a fan wearing Yankee gear in Fenway or a fan wearing Sox gear in Yankee Stadium will be razzed and good-naturedly abused.

A fan wearing opposing gear in the Dodgers parking lot will be beaten within an inch of their life.

I suppose that says something about fan passion, no?
 
BigErnMcCracken said:
In my experience out here the Dodgers and the Lakers are the two teams that have generational fanbases across all socioeconomic lines. They're the two that are really enmeshed in the cultural fabric of the city.
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@HooperScooper I hear what you're saying. There is a very casual Hollywood fan base. But....
I used to go to about 20 Dodgers games/ year maybe more. When I first started going I thought the fanbase was fickle and not very knowledgeable........ that was until I started to talk to the Latino dodger fanbase. Latino Dodgers fans are of the most intense fan bases in the country and they know their stuff.
 
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HooperScooper said:
I can buy that. The only thing I've heard though is in Boston, NY, Philadelphia, etc. fans are very mad when their teams don't do well. In LA the Dodgers or Lakers lose and people are like, "Oh well." Something to do with the lifestyle/weather. But that's second hand information. I've never lived out there and experienced it.
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Westsiders like me - although I don't root for either team - that are typically transplants fit that mold. You get out of the west side and to the places where families have been here for generations and they're die-hards like any east coast city.
 
Jaydumo20 said:
@HooperScooper I hear what you're saying. There is a very casual Hollywood fan base. But....
I used to go to about 20 Dodgers games/ year maybe more. When I first started going I thought the fanbase was fickle and not very knowledgeable........ that was until I started to talk to the Latino dodger fanbase. Latino Dodgers fans are of the most intense fan bases in the country and they know their stuff.
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Los Doyers!
 
Best in terms of winning across all sports is clearly Boston but Boston, New York, and Chicago are all really similar in terms of fandom for their professional teams from what i've seen...

One thing I will say is moving to Chicago was an eye opener to me in terms of college football. Saturdays were/are an event. Every bar is an Ohio State, Notre Dame, Michigan, Iowa, Texas, Oklahoma bar etc. They have beer representing the states, they play the fight songs, people wear the jerseys, they have the flags, memorabilia etc. And it's not just Big 10 and Big 12 teams, you'll find your bar for most schools you're looking for and you'll have several options for a lot of them. You'll see school flags on people's houses, hanging outside of apartments etc. I never experienced this in New York or Boston.

The best in terms of hardcore fans I would imagine it would be cities like Buffalo, Pittsburgh, Cleveland where the sports teams are the lifeblood of the city. I'm not at all surprised storrsroars says Pittsburgh people wear jerseys to funerals and christenings.

Fans who will physically attack you over their teams- Philly.

Cubs vs. White Sox is fun to go to just to people watch, see the cultures clash, and for the fights. The fanbases couldn't be more polar opposites in terms of socioeconomics, how they dress, what they look like etc.

Best sports stadium setup- Detroit

Lions, Tigers, Pistons, and Red Wings stadiums are all right next to each other downtown.
 
Just a small data point: My wife and I go to Disney World every Fall (football season) for the Food and Wine festival (it’s a little tradition - we have gone every year since we have known each other) and people love to represent their sports teams there. The most shirts, hats, jerseys, etc. I see down there for any team/sport are the Philadelphia Eagles, Buffalo Bills and Pittsburgh Steelers, in that order.

The Bills get an extra credit because they are the team that has by far the most families where everyone in the family walking around - Dad, Mom, the kids, the grandparents, the nanny, etc. are completely decked out in Bills gear. And this occurs any day of the week, not just Sundays, but I do see more on a Sunday.
 
superjohn said:
Best in terms of winning across all sports is clearly Boston but Boston, New York, and Chicago are all really similar in terms of fandom for their professional teams from what i've seen...

One thing I will say is moving to Chicago was an eye opener to me in terms of college football. Saturdays were/are an event. Every bar is an Ohio State, Notre Dame, Michigan, Iowa, Texas, Oklahoma bar etc. They have beer representing the states, they play the fight songs, people wear the jerseys, they have the flags, memorabilia etc. And it's not just Big 10 and Big 12 teams, you'll find your bar for most schools you're looking for and you'll have several options for a lot of them. You'll see school flags on people's houses, hanging outside of apartments etc. I never experienced this in New York or Boston.

The best in terms of hardcore fans I would imagine it would be cities like Buffalo, Pittsburgh, Cleveland where the sports teams are the lifeblood of the city. I'm not at all surprised storrsroars says Pittsburgh people wear jerseys to funerals and christenings.

Fans who will physically attack you over their teams- Philly.

Cubs vs. White Sox is fun to go to just to people watch, see the cultures clash, and for the fights. The fanbases couldn't be more polar opposites in terms of socioeconomics, how they dress, what they look like etc.

Best sports stadium setup- Detroit

Lions, Tigers, Pistons, and Red Wings stadiums are all right next to each other downtown.
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There is a phenomenon amongst cubs fans that i cant chalk up to coincidence. Compared to NY and Red Sox fans: i can see a person with a yankees hat or a Boston hat and if I start talking baseball there is a chance that they aren't really up on the team, or are casual fans, or they are from the area. But with Cubs fans, if i see a cubs shirt, hat, flag, whatever- i can always launch into a specific baseball conversation and I'll always be knowledgeably engaged. This is also true for many small-mid market teams, but for a huge market, cubs fans seem unique in that regard
 
1. Boston
2. New York
3. Chicago
4. Philly
 
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I think some of the discussion of Boston is skewed by the recent success of the various franchises. Any city would be perceived to have a rabid fan base if all of their teams are winning. That said, it has been a great time to be a sports fan living in the Boston area although the Pats/Bruins/Red Sox and now with the Tatum injury, possibly the Celtics, are all stuck in mediocrity. Look at the Red Sox as their attendance in recent years is down ~10% as the team has underperformed.
 
Probably Boston overall but every star NBA player in history has mentioned how they made sure to shine when they played at the Mecca of basketball, MSG. Jordan, Kobe, LeBron, etc…
 
New York and Los Angeles are both carrying twice the pro teams as any other city, so the debate is between those two and not your podunk little second cities.
 
Fishy said:
New York and Los Angeles are both carrying twice the pro teams as any other city, so the debate is between those two and not your podunk little second cities.
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Your facts are correct but why does that make them the "best" sports city? Please explain. If "best" just means most number of pro sports teams then this really isn't a discussion.

Your argument is like that pizza article that ranked best states for pizza and New Hampshire was #1 because it had the most pizza restaurants per capita. I think we all agreed that was a dumb definition of "best".
 
Boston, 41 championships

Storrs, 26 national titles
 
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