Best Sports City?

[Wilson L. Deaton]

Dennis' New England thread got me thinking....

If you were going to choose a city to live in based solely on the sports, where would choose?

Wilson

[Ryan Scott]

I've been thinking about it a lot and if we're judging only on sports, I might have to say Rome, but definitely some place in Europe.

[Bruce Carriker]

St. Louis, 'cause no place else has the Cardinals, and that's really all that matters.

[Brian Hammons]

It has to be Columbus, Ohio. Even though there is no NFL, MLB, or NBA teams there, one would be within 3-4 hours of some great venues: Cleveland, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, Detroit, Indianapolis. There is also great college sports in that same area (although you might need some major alumni status for tickets)

[Eugenia Whitten]

Hockey Town!!! ~ Detroit, Michigan

[Mike Wooldridge]

Denver-Broncos, Rockies, Nuggets and Avalanche-and the mountains to play in!
I'm a mountain man at heart. :q)

[Dennis M. Scott]

How wonderful! Everybody wants to live in different places!

[Bob Evans]

I am not sure there is a place more special than Green Bay. Boston would be hard to resist but Green bay continues to amazeme.

[Roland Hearn]

Well I know my context always puts me in a very different league but one of the reasons I was thrilled with the opportunity to move home was to be back with my sports teams.
We have the best Rugby League/Union stadium in the world and it gets those wraps from almost all that see it, we have one of the great Cricket stadiums in the world, we have a high class Basketball stadium, world class swimming facilities, cycling facilities, and they are building a world class tennis stadium, we have some superb golf courses and a Indy 500 circuit just down the road to name the most impressive facilities that we boast.
We have a champion Rugby League team - Brisbane Broncos
We have an improving International Rugby Union team - Reds
A champion cricket team - the Bulls
An Aussie Rules team that has been incredibly successful in the last 10 years - Brisbane Lions
We have the National champion basketball team - Brisbane Bullets
Yup I love my city: the RiverCity.

[Bruce Carriker]

It has to be Columbus, Ohio. Even though there is no NFL, MLB, or NBA teams there, one would be within 3-4 hours of some great venues: Cleveland, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, Detroit, Indianapolis. There is also great college sports in that same area (although you might need some major alumni status for tickets)

Using that criteria, I've got to be pretty happy with where I'm at now, within 3 hours of Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Washington, Baltimore. Let's see, that's Phillies, Pirates, Nationals, Orioles (both leagues covered); Eagles, Steelers, 'Skins, Ravens; 76ers, Wizards (but who cares about NBA); Capitols, Flyers, Penguins. Pitt, Penn State, West Virginia, Georgetown, Maryland are all in that commuting radius if you want college sports.

[Greg Farra]

D.C. or Philly, except for major college football.

[Jeremy D. Scott]

At first I was flabbergasted by the responses. Then I read the question again, and I understand them a bit more. I thought the question asked, "Which is the best sports city?", but I see that it just asks for a personal response like "If you chose a city to live in just based on the sports [you like]...what would you choose?". So, to answer the question literally for myself, I'd say Boston. To answer how I thought I read the question, and as an American-centric response, I don't see how it could be any city other than Boston. In my mind LA's probably second (though I'd listen to anyone arguing LA #1 all-time, especially considering collegiate sports) and NYC third.

I rank the popularity of sports as follows (and this ebbs and flows over time, but this is my opinion of the popularity over all-time (1900-)):
1. MLB
2. NFL
3. College Football
4. NCAA Basketball
5. NBA
6. NHL

College baseball & hockey and the MLS just don't have the fan base yet or ever will as these do in my mind, and the Olympics don't really make sense in this city discussion. (By the way, if asked which sport was the most popular today, I'd waver between the NFL and College Football. If the silly BCS would get a decent 8 or 16 team play-off system, they could take over.)

So then noting my ranking of popularity above, I consider the championships for each city, and while Boston has no college basketball championships, the city has several in every other sport (MLB, 8 out of 13 appearances; NFL 3/4; college football 4; NBA 16/19; NHL 5/17).

I was listening to late night sports radio last night and I heard someone say that Green Bay Packers fans are the best of any fan base "bar none"...and then I remembered I was listening to JT the Brick, so I calmed down. :basic05

[Gina Stevenson]

Didn't think I'd ever enter this thread ... however, decided it wouldn't be so awful to return to the PHX area where I was for several years [some with Danny, others alone after he died].

AZ Diamondbacks baseball
Phoenix Suns basketball

Then, too, there are the minors --- or at least there were --- the farm team for SanDiego is/was there.

Yes, Michigan has Detroit Tigers, Detroit Pistons ... but it's too cold here!

[still a] Whiny Winter Wimp

[Ryan Scott]

I picked Rome because the sports I like the most (football - real football, cycling, T&F, skiing, etc) tend to be more European based. Even now basketball is really coming on in Europe too. I'd only be missing out on baseball games, but I think I could put up with it.

However, I may amend my answer to Frankfurt or Milan, as they might be a little closer to the mountains for the winter sports.

[Scott Hilton]

Pittsburgh, the Steelers, nuff said, lol

[Mike Norris]

Baltimore , Maryland. ( LOVE those Orioles...though they haven't won squat in years ). Baltimore places one close to D C ......( Redskins.....Nationals.....college basketball....pro basketball....) without having to LIVE in D C.

[Mike Schutz]

Baltimore , Maryland. ( LOVE those Orioles...though they haven't won squat in years ). Baltimore places one close to D C ......( Redskins.....Nationals.....college basketball....pro basketball....) without having to LIVE in D C.

Mike, So you miss the "Land of pleasant living?"

Growing up in Baltimore and Reisterstown, I never thought I would see the day when the Birds would be irrelevant. Used to be (back in the days of the Robinsons and even up through Cal) that you could walk the streets in the summer and not miss a play because the baseball game was playing on every radio. Now, you can walk up an hour before and get tickets at Camden Yards.

[Billy Rolfe]

Well, it could be because it's the only city I've lived in but I think that i would choose Kansas City. I've traveled to different cities in my life(have been to a chicago white sox game, while there they just happen to be playing the royals). But I just love it here, the only sport that we don't really have is an NBA team. We have the royals(baseball), chiefs(football), explorers(tennis), wizards(outdoor soccer), minor league baseball team(t-Bones), the kansas speedway, technically kansas city kansas(used for NASCAR and other races) and a couple of college basketball teams in the vacenity(sp?) like KU, MU. We used to have a hockey team(the blades) and an indoor soccer team(comets), but have since lost them both. I know that the royals and chiefs haven't had the best results in recent years, but I think that we have the potential to become a great city for sports. With the addition of an arena downtown and the construction beginning at Kauffman Stadium, things are looking bright. (Mods, feel free to delete link if need be, wasn't sure of the rules for posting links to websites)http://www.royals.com/renovations

Well, I guess that would be my long answer. :basic01 My short(er) answer would probably be that as far as winning we aren't the best yet, although 2003 was a pretty good year(royals and chiefs both started their individual seasons 9-0), but we still have a little ways to go before we are a winning city again. Bet you can't tell I like my royals, no matter what they go through huh? :basic05

Although, Dallas would be an okay place too.

[Mike Norris]

Mike, So you miss the "Land of pleasant living?"

Growing up in Baltimore and Reisterstown, I never thought I would see the day when the Birds would be irrelevant. Used to be (back in the days of the Robinsons and even up through Cal) that you could walk the streets in the summer and not miss a play because the baseball game was playing on every radio. Now, you can walk up an hour before and get tickets at Camden Yards.

.....Certainly miss Baltimore( actually.....Ellicott City ). It's hard to believe that I had to wait several years before I could get tickets to Camden Yards in order to watch the Orioles....and that now one can get tickets easily. It's also hard to believe that the Orioles , who were one of the class teams in baseball , have fallen on such hard times.

[Jim Franklin]

Coach Poteet, having played and coached all over the world what is your opinion regarding the best sports cities for the different sports?

[Jim Poteet]

Coach Poteet, having played and coached all over the world what is your opinion regarding the best sports cities for the different sports?

Good question.

I'll start with college basketball. Nothing could be better than the Raleigh/Durham North Carolina area for college basketball. You have Duke, North Carolina, North Carolina State, and Wake Forest in Atlantic Coast Conference Basketball as well as Winston-Salem (Earl "the Pearl" Monroe's Alma Mater) and North Carolina Central (Sam Jones' Alma Mater) as other Division I colleges in the area. I can't imagine any other area of approximately 50 square miles having that caliber of college basketball.

College football is a tougher call. There are several area where you could see two "big time" games in the same day. Los Angeles (UCLA & USC), Central Texas (Texas & Texas A&M), Alabama (Alabama & Auburn), Atlanta (Georgia & Georgia Tech), Michigan (Michigan & Michigan State). The atmosphere of a game in one of the BCS conferences is fantastic. The pageantry of a game is almost as interesting as the game itself. I usually am able each year to see at least one game in Austin at the University of Texas. We usually arrive 4 hours or so before game time just to soak up the atmosphere of the "happening." One of the greatest moments is the the playing of the National Anthem just before the kickoff. 90,000+ fans and the flyover of military jets leaves chills down my spine. It is magnificent. Many, many "big time" venues create that same feeling.

I am pretty jaded about pro sports now. I don't even watch pro football. I couldn't tell you who won last years super bowl. I usually look at the standings and scores in Monday's paper.

I don't watch much pro basketball. It has not much of a team game anymore except in the case of the San Antonio Spurs and one or two others.

What can be said about MLB baseball, except that it makes me want to puke. I used to love to go to MLB games, but it will be a while before I'll spend my money on supporting a bunch of steroid users.

[Desiree Allen-Baker]

Denver!!!

[Jeff Scott]

At
So then noting my ranking of popularity above, I consider the championships for each city, and while Boston has no college basketball championships, the city has several in every other sport (MLB, 8 out of 13 appearances; NFL 3/4; college football 4; NBA 16/19; NHL 5/17).

:basic05

Actually, for the NFL it should be 3/5. Losses to Chicago in '85 and Green Bay in '97.

Then again, I barely remember what a loss is!

[Jeremy D. Scott]

Boston College won the Frozen Four tonight (college hockey's championship).

So, for the city of Boston, in one calendar year:
All four of the major professional sports teams made the play-offs:
The Red Sox won the World Series
The Patriots had the best regular season ever, but lost in the Super Bowl
The Bruins (barring some crazy miracle) will lose in the first round
The Celtics have made the play-offs (result TBD, but a championship is not out of the question)
The New England Revolution (Major League Soccer) also made the championship (but lost)
Boston College won the Frozen Four (college hockey's championship)
Boston College football was very competitive all year, went to the ACC championship game (lost), but won their bowl gameI pose the question:
Has there been a better year for any single American city ever?

[Ryan Scott]

Gainesville, Florida had a good year in 2006-2007.

[Jeremy D. Scott]

The Bruins (barring some crazy miracle) will lose in the first round

I spoke too soon. There's a lot of flipping around the stations in Boston these days. In the last five minutes, I've watched the Bruins win Game 6 to force a game seven in dramatic fashion, a Dustin Pedroia double off the Green Monster and a Manny Ramirez home run WAY over the Monster. The Celtics tip off tomorrow night.

[Mike Schutz]

I spoke too soon. There's a lot of flipping around the stations in Boston these days. In the last five minutes, I've watched the Bruins win Game 6 to force a game seven in dramatic fashion, a Dustin Pedroia double off the Green Monster and a Manny Ramirez home run WAY over the Monster. The Celtics tip off tomorrow night.

Great Bruins - Montreal game 6. Just fun to watch.
Can only follow the Sox on my computer. Looking forward to the Celtics game.

The good times for Boston fans continue. Even if the Bruins lose Monday night in Montreal, it has been a much better series than expected.

[Jeremy Smallwood]

Can't argue with that logic.

I just got back from eating lunch at Susquehanna University. Its the closest place for me to watch Sports Center on a big screen in HD! They did a piece today about Detroit. All in one night the Tigers beat the Yankees. (yeah, I took a chance on Nate Robertson on my fantasy team:basic07) The Pistons beat the Sixers in their playoff series, and the RedWings swept Colorado in 4. Don't look now, but things are looking up in the Motor City. Now about those Lions...

My vote is still for Boston;)