King Kamala 0 Report post Posted June 16, 2004 Which city do you guys think is the worst out of all, in terms of fans and team performance. I got to go with Atlanta, sure the Braves had good attendance for a while but everybody's hopping off the bandwagon (Except Bob Barron). The Hawks haven't drawn big crowds since the heyday of Spud Webb and Dominique Wilkens. And the Hawks are probably not winning any more then 20 games next year. The Thrashers have potential but it's anyone guess if Kolvachuk and Heatley will live it out in Atlanta. So, what do you think is the worst Major League sports city Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
starvenger 0 Report post Posted June 16, 2004 The Thrashers have potential but it's anyone guess if Kolvachuk and Heatley will live it out in Atlanta. So, what do you think is the worst Major League sports city Well, as long as Heatley's not driving, they'll be OK. The Braves have been damn consistent in getting to the playoffs, but aside from that, inconsistency rules. Ripper can tell us about the fan support for all teams, I'm sure. My hometown of Toronto is NOT a good sports city. It is a great pro hockey city, but the support for teams like the Blue Jays and Raptors will rise and fall with the success of the team. The Argos have been near death so many times it's shocking to see them still around. But the Leafs... well, the fans still sold out the Gardens when guys like Mike Nykoluk and John Brophy were coaching, Todd Gill was fucking up on the blueline, and Ian Turnbull was one of the "name" players. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kkktookmybabyaway 0 Report post Posted June 16, 2004 Pittsburgh sucks... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest MikeSC Report post Posted June 16, 2004 Pittsburgh sucks... True --- but what about their major sports? -=Mike Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
King Kamala 0 Report post Posted June 16, 2004 Pittsburgh could be a great sports city if the GMs built decent teams as the Steelers and Pirates did in the 70s and Penguins in the 90's (Also the Steelers have had a decent run the last seven or eight years, last year not included.) The Braves were 7th and 8th in the NL in attendance the last two years, rather poor considering they were eventual NL East champions the last two years. Cleveland is pretty horrible too, about two dozen people went to Cavs games up until LeBron's debut. The Browns aren't looking too good for the future. Everyone's talking about how great the Indians will be but, when will they finally "arrive" Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JangoFett4Hire 0 Report post Posted June 16, 2004 The Braves couldn't even sellout playoff games... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kkktookmybabyaway 0 Report post Posted June 16, 2004 Pittsburgh sucks... True --- but what about their major sports? -=Mike They suck, too. "Stiiler" fans just attend the games to get drunk -- players have even bitched about how the crowd sits on their hands. Pirates, well, I don't think I need to say anything about that. Surprisingly, for as bad as the Pens are now, they only lost a few million, which isn't that bad considering the state of the NHL. And Mike don't get me started on this fucking city -- it's a shithole to the nth degree. Never will I even consider living within Allegheny County. Fuck Mayor S-Murphy and his merry band of morons that make up City Council... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sfaJack 0 Report post Posted June 16, 2004 The Braves couldn't even sellout playoff games... They sold out their playoff games last year. Of course, there were probably 20,000 Cubs' fans in the stadium for each of those games... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kahran Ramsus 0 Report post Posted June 16, 2004 Los Angelas is pretty bad. They had two NFL teams that they couldn't hold onto and just look at the Clippers. San Diego is probably even worse. They couldn't hold onto their basketball team, the Padres are one of the worst franchises (generally speaking) in MLB and the Chargers are on the verge of leaving town. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
King Kamala 0 Report post Posted June 16, 2004 What about Tampa/St.Petersberg/Orlando? That could be a candidate. The D Rays have had two sellout games in their six years history (The inaugaral game and this year's season opener), albeit they haven't had much to work with. Nobody gave two shits about the Lightning until last year's playoff run. The Magic have won jack and shit and by the looks of things might lose one of the NBAs best players. And the Bucs were terrible until about six or seven years ago. Their teams aren't terrible for the most part, but the fans are bandwagon hoppers to put it nicely. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
2GOLD 0 Report post Posted June 16, 2004 The Braves couldn't even sellout playoff games... They sold out their playoff games last year. Of course, there were probably 20,000 Cubs' fans in the stadium for each of those games... You'd be right. It has got to be disappointing to hear chants of "Let's go Cubs!" louder than your own fans. Do the people of Atlanta care about anything besides Georiga and Georiga Tech? Seriously, I'm not from Georiga so maybe someone can tell me. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Salacious Crumb Report post Posted June 16, 2004 Cleveland though at least supports the Browns/Indians even when they suck. So in that regard they're a good sports town. It has to be L.A. They whine about the NFL needing them constantly right now and conveintly ignore that they didn't support the Raiders and Rams when they were there. They don't support the Kings, Dodger attendance can be ify, the Clippers get nothing and they only seem to go to Laker games because celebrities do. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kurt Angle Mark 0 Report post Posted June 16, 2004 Cleveland though at least supports the Browns/Indians even when they suck. So in that regard they're a good sports town. It has to be L.A. They whine about the NFL needing them constantly right now and conveintly ignore that they didn't support the Raiders and Rams when they were there. They don't support the Kings, Dodger attendance can be ify, the Clippers get nothing and they only seem to go to Laker games because celebrities do. O.K. I'm from L.A so I must defend my town. First the people in L.A. don't want a football team because we don't need one, hell the Raiders left the city and they are still the third most popular team behind Lakers and Dodgers, the only people that want a team here are the NFL and some of our reporters. Second, The Dodgers are one of the only teams in baseball that get a total attendance of 3,000,000 fans every year. My Clippers suck, but they still get an average of 14,000 fans at Staples. ----------------------------------- Personally I have always disliked Miami, especially because if they are playing a team from New York, 3/4 of the crowd goes for New York.(watch any Heat/Knicks series) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DerangedHermit 0 Report post Posted June 16, 2004 Personally I have always disliked Miami, especially because if they are playing a team from New York, 3/4 of the crowd goes for New York.(watch any Heat/Knicks series) That because part of the crowd's probably made up of transplanted Noo Yawkuhs. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
King Kamala 0 Report post Posted June 16, 2004 LA isn't that bad of a sports town. The Dodgers get great attendance considering they haven't made the playoffs since 1996, The Lakers have always been popular even during the post Magic, Pre-Shaq era. The LA Kings are a lot more popular then a hockey team in LA should be. USC and UCLA football are huge and when it's decent UCLA basketball is. And I'm not even factoring in the Anaheim Angels. Overall, I'd say LA is a good sports town but not a great one. To explain the Clippers, would anyone buy a ticket to see a team who's been consistently bad for almost 25 years (I know the board's Clipper fan is going to raise his hand here)? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Hektik 0 Report post Posted June 16, 2004 San Diego is probably even worse. They couldn't hold onto their basketball team, the Padres are one of the worst franchises (generally speaking) in MLB and the Chargers are on the verge of leaving town. With the Padres I'll assume you mean from a buisness standpoint. For the last 7 years the Padres were trying to get their new ballpark open. There were a lot of lawsuits during construction and the project was even shutdown for a year. The Padres had to pay the cost of the lawsuits and all the extra fees. Finally a judge ordered that no new lawsuits could be filed against the Padres and construction was able to restart. In that time, the Padres payroll was reduced to a shoestring budget. Even through those 7 years the Padres were able to get at least a million people a season. Now the ballpark is open, the payroll increased, they're competing for 1st place in the NL West, and they already had million people come to the games just a quarter into the season. With the Chargers it's up in the air. They will be here until 2006 when the public has to vote on wether to build a new stadium for the Chargers. If it passes the Chargers stay and it will mean a permanent spot on the rotation to host the Super Bowl. As far as basketball, the Clippers should be here with a competent owner. He really screwed us when he moved the team. At least here in San Diego the Clippers could form their own identity and not be in the shadow of the Lakers. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
razazteca 0 Report post Posted June 16, 2004 PHX Suns traded away their chance at being a playoff contender and the NFL franchise the Cardinals is the joke of the league. Washington D.C. has the Wizards and the Redskins both of which spend alot of money on Free Agents but never get any results. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kahran Ramsus 0 Report post Posted June 16, 2004 With the Padres I'll assume you mean from a buisness standpoint. Yes. Now, that I think of it. Buffalo is pretty bad sports town too. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
The Ghost of bps21 0 Report post Posted June 16, 2004 Bullshit. The friggin Bills games are already almost all sold out and tickets haven't even gone on sale to the public yet...coming off the 4th straight non-winning season. And for the millionth time...it's not because of the city that the Sabres went bankrupt...it's because their former owners embezzled millions of dollars and were arrested. Now they're owned by a local billionaire...and not at all a threat to fold. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kkktookmybabyaway 0 Report post Posted June 16, 2004 BPS, are the Sabers making money or just being subsidized by the owner's wealth? No reason to ask, I'm just curious... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
The Ghost of bps21 0 Report post Posted June 16, 2004 The Sabres were one of the 50% or so of NHL franchises to lose money last year. But that's the NHL...and that's why there will be no hockey next year. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
USC Wuz Robbed! 0 Report post Posted June 16, 2004 The Sabres were one of the 50% or so of NHL franchises to lose money last year. But that's the NHL...and that's why there will be no hockey next year. Well there WILL be hockey, just not NHL. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
razazteca 0 Report post Posted June 16, 2004 Was putting an expansion hockey team in the desert such a good idea? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
USC Wuz Robbed! 0 Report post Posted June 16, 2004 Was putting an expansion hockey team in the desert such a good idea? I always felt hockey should be limited to where snow is. Hence no teams in Phoenix, Atlanta, Dallas, and Tampa., and wherever Florida Panthers play. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
The Czech Republic 0 Report post Posted June 16, 2004 Was putting an expansion hockey team in the desert such a good idea? They didn't put an expansion team in the desert...they stole a perfectly good team from Winnipeg. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
razazteca 0 Report post Posted June 16, 2004 Why put sports teams in retirement home cities like Phoenix and Miami? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Red Baron 0 Report post Posted June 16, 2004 Why put sports teams in retirement home cities like Phoenix and Miami? because thats where most Canadians winding up after retirement. Hence why LA has one too, It is considered to be Canada's fifth largest city (800,000 Canadians live there) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
starvenger 0 Report post Posted June 17, 2004 Why put sports teams in retirement home cities like Phoenix and Miami? because thats where most Canadians winding up after retirement. Hence why LA has one too, It is considered to be Canada's fifth largest city (800,000 Canadians live there) ...and to noone's surprise, almost all of them are actors/models/waiters. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
nl5xsk1 0 Report post Posted June 17, 2004 Why put sports teams in retirement home cities like Phoenix and Miami? because thats where most Canadians winding up after retirement. Hence why LA has one too, It is considered to be Canada's fifth largest city (800,000 Canadians live there) Not just Canadians ... many New Englanders & New Yorkers go to Florida, and many mid-Westerners go to Arizona. Thus, they might be able to pick up some Original 6 fans in their new locales. Of course, if you've spent 60 years rooting for the Rangers, Bruins or Blackhawks, you're not going to all of a sudden root for the Lightning, Panthers or Coyotes just because you're in their backyard. Stupid Bettman. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
smh810 0 Report post Posted June 17, 2004 Not just Canadians ... many New Englanders & New Yorkers go to Florida, and many mid-Westerners go to Arizona. Thus, they might be able to pick up some Original 6 fans in their new locales. Of course, if you've spent 60 years rooting for the Rangers, Bruins or Blackhawks, you're not going to all of a sudden root for the Lightning, Panthers or Coyotes just because you're in their backyard. Stupid Bettman. Very interesting you bring that up. One of the things that has been done on sports talk radio down here over the years is a consistent campaign for transplants to drop alleigances to their old teams in order to root for the local teams and believe it or not its been more successful than you would think (even in the crap years for the Bucs and Lightning who again have always had a bigger fanbase than some give them credit for around here). My opinion on this is gonna ruffle some feathers around here, personally if you move from say Boston or New York to Tampa or Phoenix and you plan to stay there for an exteneded period of time you should become a fan of your new hometown. You will always have your memories from your previous hometown, but if you chose to live down south or out west whats the point of rooting for the Bruins. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
