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For those saying Atlanta, I think that Atlanta has tons of SEC/ACC grads that support college sports. Also NASCAR fans. I don't think that it's a great sports town, but it's probably better than all or most of the western US cities.
Probably the same types who think only Spanish speaking fast food workers from Burger King who came over on rafts live in Miami.
Based on point 1, the other 2 sunbelt cities you mentioned would have to be ranked lower since (1) the Heat have appeared in 5 of the past 10 NBA finals, with 2 championships and (2) the next great NFL team will always be measured against the perfect 1972 Dolphins until they, too, finish an entire regular AND postseason undefeated....48 years and counting.
I'd agree that Miami is not dead last. It is in the bottom tier. I'd consider that a good thing. I like sports, but on the whole, I'd rather live in most of the low ranking cities on this list than the high ranking ones.
I’m surprised but not surprised Miami is leading the polls. Most of you probably haven’t heard of #HeatCulture.
Before 2005, the heat attendance was hovering around 20-25. You could watch games and see empty seats galore on there. Once Shaq came in 2005, the attendance shot up to top 5 and they pretty much been in the top half ever since. Miami still isn’t looked at as a crazed sports town though. Dolphins, while popular, attendance is still mediocre. Florida Panthers stay around the bottom as well. Wasn’t there talk about relocations few years back? I remember this article about the Panthers a few years ago.
There is also a difference between being sports-crazy and being hometown team-crazy. Plenty of those transplant-heavy Sun Belt towns have no shortage of sports fans even if their support for their local teams isn't great. You don't have to be a Marlins fan to be sports crazy, you can be a Yankees or Red Sox fan too.
I'd say the best way to approach this is to look into what type of person is most likely to be an avid sports fan and what type of person is least likely to be one. Speculatively, I'd say that people with advanced degrees working in the knowledge economy are least likely to be sports fans. Especially women. Meanwhile on the opposite end of the spectrum, it seems likely that men with blue collar jobs and in the trades might be most likely to be sports fans. Naturally there are many exceptions but that seems to be sort of the cultural consensus (which matches my personal experience mostly).
The large metros with the most advanced degree holders are generally identified as Washington D.C., the Bay Area and Boston. I would remove Boston from consideration simply because it's a city with a very blue collar ethos where sports craziness is to some extent part of the local flair. In other words, even people who otherwise might not care about sports could be drawn to it due to its prominent place in local culture. That leaves us with the Bay Area and Washington D.C.
Between these two it's probably a wash. The Bay Area supports one more sports team but it's also got almost 2 million more people. I'd argue if you just reduce it to the San Jose - Sunnyvale - Santa Clara MSA i.e. Silicon Valley proper, it'd probably be the winner here for sure. But San Francisco proper and the East Bay do add some blue collar population to make it close if you consider all of the Bay Area.
Location: Miami (prev. NY, Atlanta, SF, OC and San Diego)
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Good point--I'm one of those Yankee fans living in SoFla.
I've met more (and accessible) pro athletes in Miami than anywhere else....most of the NBA teams and some MLB teams stay at the hotel my gym is in. I've met Lebron, Derek Jeter, Arod, Coach Spoelstra, Juwan Howard, Aaron Boone, CC Sabathia, Joel Embiid, Alonzo Mourning, Theo Epstein, Russell Westbrook, Keith Hernandez, and others. Best conversation I ever had with a pro athlete was with Ronnie Lott at the hotel during Super Bowl week--soft spoken, calm gentleman; must have talked with him for 20 minutes, as if I knew him....Michael Jordan was at Kiki on the River (supper club) the night I was there, passing out cigars to nearby tables. Ray Lewis and John Salley have a locker at cigar bar across the street from me.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Veritas Vincit
You don't have to be a Marlins fan to be sports crazy, you can be a Yankees or Red Sox fan too.
I agree--not THE worst....nobody ever said it's the best.
Re: Heat--within past 10 seasons, they have ranked as high as 3rd and no lower than 7th in league attendance (and Lebron has not played with them for the past 6 seasons).
Re: Panthers--that was 6 years ago, still here and not going anywhere...if anything, their attendance might actually creep upwards as more and more people continue to flee high tax Northeast states, where hockey is popular, and relocate here.
Dolphins have steady, if mediocre, attendance but their legacy as the only team with a perfect season remains and is always brought up to this day, until another team matches that accomplishment (similar to MLB comparisons to the 1927 or 1998 Yankees).
Marlins...uh, never mind.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Spade
Before 2005, the heat attendance was hovering around 20-25. You could watch games and see empty seats galore on there. Once Shaq came in 2005, the attendance shot up to top 5 and they pretty much been in the top half ever since. Miami still isn’t looked at as a crazed sports town though. Dolphins, while popular, attendance is still mediocre. Florida Panthers stay around the bottom as well. Wasn’t there talk about relocations few years back? I remember this article about the Panthers a few years ago.
Patriots are closer to the Cowboys than Celtics are to Lakers
LA just tied Boston with its 17th championship. Lakers are not ahead.
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