  Rampartstreetnorth Member Username: Rampartstreetnorth Post Number: 45 Registered: 07-2006 |
ESPN has created a list of the top fifty professional sports towns based on the all-time won/loss record of all their franchises. Detroit ranks 17 out of 50, with a winning percentage of just over 500. However, all but two of the cities ranked above Detroit are cities with only one or two major league franchises and/or a short history in professional sports. Jacksonville's team, for example, has a higher winning percentage than Detroit, but Jacksonville has only ever had one professional sports franchise (the Jaguars of the NFL) and that team has played fewer than 200 games in its entire history. Of the truly major league cities--those with long histories and multiple franchises (i.e., more than 25,000 total individual professional sports games) only New York and Boston have higher winning percentages than Detroit. http://sports.espn.go.com/espn /page2/story?page=070411statwi nners | ||
Scs100 Member Username: Scs100 Post Number: 818 Registered: 12-2006 |
Ok. Now rate based on fans and stuff like that. That gives you a better idea of what the picture truly looks like. | ||
Rampartstreetnorth Member Username: Rampartstreetnorth Post Number: 46 Registered: 07-2006 |
Actually, I think that ESPN's numbers alone give a pretty good picture. How can cities like Orlando or Jacksonville or San antonio, which have such a meager sports history at the big league level, claim to be strong sports towns when they are such newcomers to the scene with their one professional team? | ||
Bobj Member Username: Bobj Post Number: 1988 Registered: 11-2003 |
I've been to jacksonville, even with a pretty good team over the years, you can buy a ticket to the game on game day. People aren't really that into it. | ||
Hagglerock Member Username: Hagglerock Post Number: 422 Registered: 03-2005 |
Bobj is right. Jacksonville, Miami, Tampa fans are fair weather fans. There are some hardcore ones, but it is not the talk of the town like it is here . I think tradition plays a big part in the professional leagues, just look at how die hard it is for the colleges down there. FSU and the Florida Gators are IT if you've ever looked around. | ||
Focusonthed Member Username: Focusonthed Post Number: 926 Registered: 02-2006 |
What's worse? Fair-weather fans, or fans that line up for season tickets for the worst football team in the history of football? That said, the 3 real sports teams Detroit has are awesome, but all 3 have had stretches of mediocrity or downright awfulness, which will drag down the ratings. Can't compete with the Yankees historically. Only in the present  |
