Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I tend to judge a city based on its number of sports teams. No, it is not an exact science but seems to promote their "brand". After talking to my friend, we went back and forth between the accuracy of the scale. He gave examples of Austin and Las Vegas being teamless cities but greater than lower markets like Jacksonville.
LA has no Football (yet) and still blows away most other 4 team cities (with the exception of NYC/Chicago). People out here tend to be participants, not spectators. There is a reason that the bull of our Olympic team comes from Southern California.
btw: the Angels and the Ducks play in Anaheim, NOT LA.
In general, I think the number of pro sports teams gives a rough estimate of the "pull" a certain city has. Only very important cities (NY, Chicago, etc) have multiple franchises for the same sport. And the number of franchises in a particular city or region mirrors (again, roughly) the growth of a city. Most leagues started with teams in the Northeast and midwest, then there was expansion to the west coast, and only relatively recently (1960's forward) into the south. This somewhat mirrors the pattern of population in the US.
As the OP states, Vegas and Austin seem to be exceptions, but there are good reasons for this: pro sports are scared of all the gambling in Vegas, and Austin is home to U of Texas, one of the largest universities in the country whose collegiate teams act to satisfy the demand for high level sports.
So it certainly isn't perfect, but in general you can tell how important a city is by the number of pro sports teams in the big 3 or 4 sports.
LA has no Football (yet) and still blows away most other 4 team cities (with the exception of NYC/Chicago). People out here tend to be participants, not spectators. There is a reason that the bull of our Olympic team comes from Southern California.
btw: the Angels and the Ducks play in Anaheim, NOT LA.
I tend to judge a city based on its number of sports teams. No, it is not an exact science but seems to promote their "brand".
That's funny, I've been using the same criteria since I was young child. It now seems a little juvenile and superficial to me, but I still can't seem to shake it as a rough indication of a city's "strength" or what have you.
btw: the Angels and the Ducks play in Anaheim, NOT LA.
You know its ironic, but I know plenty of people in Santa Clarita and Agoura Hills who are Angels and Ducks fans rather than Dodger and Kings fans, even though these two areas are pretty much an overflow from the SFV. However, don't expect most people in the rest of the country to understand the difference between Anaheim (and OC) vs. LA and LA County culture or distance wise. After all, relatively speaking, the New England Patriots play in Foxborough, which is roughly the same distance from Boston as Anaheim is to DTLA. Does that make them not a Boston team anymore?
For better and for worse, we share the same media market, and have the same access to watch the same sports. Hell, I can tune into AM 830 even here in the San Fernando Valley and listen to Angels broadcasters when I can.
The smallest area with more than two teams in one sport is SF Bay, though the Raiders and Athletics have been recently talking about moving. However, I thought that was interesting. In fact, the city there with the most sports teams within city limits is Oakland (Athletics, Warriors, and Raiders), and not as many would expect, San Francisco.
Sure thing, just pretend Boston doesn't exist and what you say makes perfect sense.
Quote:
Originally Posted by DinsdalePirahna
LA has no Football (yet) and still blows away most other 4 team cities (with the exception of NYC/Chicago). People out here tend to be participants, not spectators. There is a reason that the bull of our Olympic team comes from Southern California.
btw: the Angels and the Ducks play in Anaheim, NOT LA.
You know its ironic, but I know plenty of people in Santa Clarita and Agoura Hills who are Angels and Ducks fans rather than Dodger and Kings fans, even though these two areas are pretty much an overflow from the SFV. However, don't expect most people in the rest of the country to understand the difference between Anaheim (and OC) vs. LA and LA County culture or distance wise. After all, relatively speaking, the New England Patriots play in Foxborough, which is roughly the same distance from Boston as Anaheim is to DTLA. Does that make them not a Boston team anymore?
For better and for worse, we share the same media market, and have the same access to watch the same sports. Hell, I can tune into AM 830 even here in the San Fernando Valley and listen to Angels broadcasters when I can.
The smallest area with more than two teams in one sport is SF Bay, though the Raiders and Athletics have been recently talking about moving. However, I thought that was interesting. In fact, the city there with the most sports teams within city limits is Oakland (Athletics, Warriors, and Raiders), and not as many would expect, San Francisco.
Yeah, the Bay area has a ton of teams especially when including the San Jose metro.
Also, I include Anaheim with LA area because...well everyone does once you leave California (everybody I know thinks of Orange County as a suburb of LA)
LA has no Football (yet) and still blows away most other 4 team cities (with the exception of NYC/Chicago). People out here tend to be participants, not spectators. There is a reason that the bull of our Olympic team comes from Southern California.
btw: the Angels and the Ducks play in Anaheim, NOT LA.
As lifeshadower mentioned, there are many cities with teams outside of its borders like Dallas, for example. I am really referring to the city's entire area of immediate influence whether it be MSA or CSA.
If we were to make a list based on sports teams (NBA, NFL, NHL, MLB) it'd be something like this
NYC area - 9
San Francisco & San Jose - 6
LA area - 6
Chicagoland - 5
Cities with 4 teams
Boston, Massachusetts
Chicago, Illinois
Dallas
Denver, Colorado
Detroit, Michigan
Miami, Florida
Minneapolis–St. Paul, Minnesota
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Phoenix, Arizona
Washington, DC
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
