Three things immediately came to mind while I was watching NFL Conference Championship games this past weekend:
1) It is really obnoxious how spoiled the Boston fans are by the overwhelming amount of success they have had in my lifetime.
2) It is really depressing how deflated the Minnesota fans are by the overwhelming lack of success they have had in my lifetime.
3) Even though the Lakers are going through the worst stretch in their history, I really have nothing to complain about, because after all, at least I’m not a Vikings fan.
This also got me thinking about which city’s fan-base has had the most and least to cheer for in the last few decades. And what better way to wrap my head around this than making a list of sports cities from most to least successful since 1991 (because as with my NBA players list, I like to look at these things through the lens of what has occurred since I began watching sports). Honestly, this whole exercise is just a way to make myself feel better about being a Laker fan in a post Kobe and post winning world and knowing that Lavar Ball is going to be part of my life for the foreseeable future. It also reminds me that the glory days aren’t that far in the rearview mirror and there are plenty of other fan-bases whose success has been much fewer and further between.
To make this list manageable, I must start by laying out a few ground rules. First, I am only considering NBA, NFL, and MLB success. I am not including hockey, simply because I know little to nothing about hockey, so trying to comb through hockey history seemed a little too daunting to me. You can say that I’m being lazy, but if we are honest with ourselves, the NHL is a distant fourth in terms of cultural significance, and if I include the NHL, I might as well include the MLS and WNBA while I’m at it. And at that point, where does it stop. Second, I awarded points not just for titles, but finals appearances and MVPs as well. My logic here is that while watching your team win the Super Bowl is the ultimate fan experience, watching your team play in the Super Bowl is still pretty awesome. And while watching your team win the NBA Finals is unforgettable, getting to watch the best player in the league in your home stadium 41 times a year is not a bad consolation prize. Third, I only included cities with at least two eligible franchises. For example, San Antonio has had quite a bit of success with the Spurs, but they do not have a second franchise in either the MLB or NFL, so they are really just a basketball city and not a sports city, so they are out. Lastly, I only included one team per sport per city. Let’s take New York as an example. New York has two teams in every sport, but only one team in each sport that actually matters. So sorry, Mets, Jets, and Nets, for purposes of this discussion, you do not exist. Same goes for Chicago with baseball. The Cubs are the team the city revolves around, so that 2005 White Sox title doesn’t hold the same significance as the 2016 Cubs title, and thus it is not included here. Hopefully that all makes sense, but if not, aw well. As we covered earlier, this is just a made-up list to make me feel better anyway, so let’s jump into it.
1) Boston – 9 titles (Patriots-5, Red Sox-3, Celtics-1), 13 finals appearances (Patriots-8, Red Sox-3, Celtics-2), 4 MVPs (Tom Brady-2, Dustin Pedroia-1, Mo Vaughn-1). This year’s Super Bowl is not included because obviously we don’t know the outcome yet.
Boston comes in as the clear number one as they are the only city to win titles in all three sports over this timeframe They also have potentially the greatest dynasty with the Brady Patriots. They are so good yet so arrogant, but I guess that comes with winning all the time.
2) New York – 8 titles (Yankees-5, Giants-3), 13 finals appearances (Yankees-7, Giants-4, Knicks-2), 2 MVPs (Alex Rodriguez-2)
I almost forgot how good the Yankees were in the 90s, and I also almost forgot how much success the Knicks had throughout the 90s even though they never won it all. And two of those Giants Super Bowls were over the Pats, so they are the only reason Boston isn’t even further out in front.
3) Chicago – 7 titles (Bulls-6, Cubs-1), 8 finals appearances (Bulls-6, Cubs-1, Bears-1), 7 MVPs (Michael Jordan-5, Kris Bryant-1, Sammy Sosa-1)
Until this recent Cubs title, all of Chicago’s success was tied up in Michael Jordan, but when you have one the greatest team sport athletes of all time to cheer for, that tends to make up for some lean years in your other sports.
4) San Francisco – 4 titles (Giants-3, 49ers-1), 6 finals appearances (Giants-4, 49ers-2), 10 MVPs (Barry Bonds-5, Steve Young-2, Jeff Kent-1, Buster Posey-1, Joe Montana-1)
San Francisco has a surprisingly strong showing, mainly due to the fact that they have the most MVPs of any city on this list. And yes, I realize that five of those MVPs are from Barry Bonds, and steroids is a complicated subject for me that I may address at a later time, but at the end of the day, he was the greatest baseball player I have ever seen, and its not like he was the only one using, so for these purposes, they count. And the Warriors are relocating to San Francisco very soon which means have the potential to keep climbing up this list. Plus, I recently moved to the Bay Area, and despite the crazy cost of living, it is amazing here, so San Francisco residents don’t have much to complain about, sports or otherwise.
5) Los Angeles – 5 titles (Lakers-5), 9 finals appearances (Lakers-8, Dodgers-1), 3 MVPs (Shaquille Oneal-1, Kobe Bryant-1, Clayton Kershaw-1)
This one is all Lakers, and this is where I start to feel better.
6) Dallas – 4 titles (Cowboys-3, Mavericks-1), 7 finals appearances (Cowboys-3, Mavericks-2, Rangers-2), 7 MVPs (Juan Gonzalez-2, Alex Rodriguez-1, Ivan Rodriguez-1, Josh Hamilton-1, Dirk Nowitzki-1, Emmitt Smith-1)
The Cowboys’ run in the 90s definitely accounts for much of their success, but they have actually been pretty successful across sports, and the Rangers have had a crazy amount of stud players over the years.
7) Miami – 5 titles (Heat-3, Marlins-2), 7 finals appearances (Heat-5, Marlins-2), 3 MVPs (Lebron James-2, Giancarlo Stanton-1)
Its hard to put Miami this high since their fans are, you might say, a bit fair weather. Their success, however, is undeniable, and even though the Marlins can’t fill their new stadium, those two World Series crowns can’t be ignored.
8) St. Louis – 3 titles (Cardinals-2, Rams-1), 6 finals appearances (Cardinals-4, Rams-2), 6 MVPs (Albert Pujols-3, Kurt Warner-2, Marshall Faulk-1)
This is a tough one because they have had a lot of success, especially for being a relatively small market, and their fans are truly passionate about their teams, but the loss of the Rams is going to hurt as those Greatest Show on Turf Rams left quite a mark on the league. But good thing for St. Louis is that it has always been a baseball town and they will likely always have their beloved Cardinals.
9) Oakland – 2 titles (Warriors-2), 4 finals appearances (Warriors-3, Raiders-1), 6 MVPs (Steph Curry-2, Rich Gannon-1, Dennis Eckersley-1, Jason Giambi-1, Miguel Tejada-1)
These recent Warriors years have really jumped this city up a level, but unfortunately for Oakland, the glory days won’t be around much longer with both the Warriors and Raiders leaving town. Yeah San Francisco is just across the Bay, but it won’t be quite the same when the Warriors’ stadium is filled with tech company suites instead of the Oakland die-hards that made Oracle such a special and unique atmosphere to catch a game.
10) Denver – 3 titles (Broncos-3), 5 finals appearances (Broncos-4, Rockies-1), 3 MVPs (Peyton Manning-1, Terrell Davis-1, Larry Walker-1)
This is simply a Broncos town, so as they go, the city goes.
11) Houston – 3 titles (Rockets-2, Astros-1), 4 finals appearances (Rockets-2, Astros-2), 3 MVPs (Hakeem Olajuwon-1, Jose Altuve-1, Jeff Bagwell-1)
Houston is interesting in that it is located in the football hotbed of Texas, yet their only titles came in basketball and baseball. I went to a couple Rockets home games while I was living in Houston, and you might say the crowd is less than enthusiastic.
12) Atlanta – 1 title (Braves-1), 7 finals appearances (Braves-5, Falsons-2), 3 MVPs (Chipper Jones-1, Terry Pendleton-1, Matt Ryan-1)
13) Cleveland – 1 title (Cavaliers-1), 7 finals appearances (Cavaliers-4, Indians-3), 2 MVPs (Lebron James-2)
Atlanta and Cleveland are similar in that they have made a lot of finals appearances but each have only one title to show for it.
14) Philadelphia – 1 title (Phillies-1), 5 finals appearances (Phillies-3, 76ers-1, Eagles-1), 3 MVPs (Allen Iverson-1, Jimmy Rollins-1, Ryan Howard-1)
If the Eagles lose this Super Bowl they are going to be getting close to landing in that Atlanta and Cleveland group that gets close but then falls short. If they win though, all that changes.
15) Detroit – 1 title (Pistons-1), 3 finals appearances (Pistons-2, Tigers-1), 4 MVPs (Miguel Cabrera-2, Justin Verlander-1, Barry Sanders-1)
This one makes me sad because I loved watching Barry Sanders so I wish he would have had more team success in his career. It would have been fun to see him in the Super Bowl.
16) Pittsburgh – 2 titles (Steelers-2), 4 finals appearances (Steelers-4), 2 MVPs (Andrew McCutchen-1, Barry Bonds-1)
The Steelers bring home the titles while the Pirates bring home the MVPs.
17) Seattle – 1 title (Seahawks-1), 4 finals appearances (Seahawks-3, Sonics-1), 3 MVPs (Ken Griffey Jr.-1, Ichiro Suzuki-1, Shaun Alexander-1)
The Seahawks have had the most team success, but the Mariners have had the biggest stars, including my all-time favorite baseball player in Ken Griffey Jr. And that Sonics finals appearance makes me nostalgic. Bring back the Sonics!
18) Indianapolis – 1 title (Colts-1), 3 finals appearances (Colts-2, Pacers-1), 4 MVPs (Peyton Manning-4)
Manning and Miller brought life to sleepy Indiana. I lived there for four years, so I know.
19) Phoenix – 1 title (Diamondbacks-1), 3 finals appearances (Diamondbacks-1, Suns-1, Cardinals-1), 3 MVPs (Steve Nash-2, Charles Barkley-1)
Each team made a finals appearance with the D-Backs breaking through by winning one of the greatest World Series ever on Gonzo’s walk-off against the Yankees and their Evil Empire.
20) Baltimore – 2 titles (Ravens-2), 2 finals appearances (Ravens-2), 1 MVP (Cal Ripken Jr-1)
Good thing they stole the Ravens (the Browns at the time) from Cleveland in ’96.
21) Kansas City – 1 title (Royals-1), 2 finals appearances (Royals-2), 0 MVPs
Good thing the Royals got good recently.
22) Tampa – 1 title (Bucs-1), 2 finals appearances (Bucs-1, Rays-1), 0 MVPs
Some success, but so boring.
23) San Diego – 0 titles, 2 finals appearances (Chargers-1, Padres-1), 2 MVPs (Ladainian Tomlinson-1, Ken Caminiti-1)
They have had very little sports success, and now the Padres are the only team left. They no longer fit the two teams rule, but I still include them because they had the Chargers for most of my life. The weather and beaches, however, are amazing, so San Diegans stay winning.
24) Charlotte – 0 titles, 2 finals appearances (Panthers-2), 1 MVP (Cam Newton-1)
They haven’t had teams long enough to really be too disheartened since the Hornets entered the league in 1988 and the Panthers followed in 1995.
25) Washington – 1 title (Redskins-1), 1 finals appearance (Redskins-1), 1 MVP (Harper-1)
26) Minneapolis – 1 title (Twins-1), 1 finals appearance (Twins-1), 4 MVPs (Joe Mauer-1, Justin Morneau-1, Adrian Peterson-1, Kevin Garnett-1)
It’s been a tough go for Minneapolis and Washington as they have had the least success of any cities with all three major sports. They each barely snuck that one title in (Twins in 1991 and Redskins in 1992) and it has been a long draught since without even a single trip to the finals. Minnesota has the edge on star power with those 4 MVPs while Washington’s biggest star over this time was probably an over-the-hill Jordan back from his second retirement. The tie breaker for me though is that Washington is considered more of a politics and history town than a sports town while Minnesota derives much of its identity from their sports teams. Plus, it is so so cold there! Minnesota, therefore, takes the spot as the less successful sports city. Writing this has made all Minnesota teams my second favorite team. Let’s go T-Wolves!
27) Cincinnati – 0 titles, 0 finals appearances, 2 MVPs (Joey Votto-1, Barry Larkin-1)
Damn that’s rough! Cincinnati comes in as the least successful sports city of my lifetime as I don’t think I can remember a single positive memorable sports moment for the Reds or Bengals in that time span. And even though they have been so inept, I still find it hard to root for them for some reason as I don’t find their franchises inherently likeable like I do with Minneapolis. Hmm, go figure.
*Milwaukee – 0 titles, 0 finals appearances, 1 MVP (Ryan Braun-1)
*Milwaukee/Green Bay – Shoots them up in the Houston range with 2 titles, 3 finals appearances, and 4 additional MVPs (Favre-2, Rodgers-2)
This was a tough one for me as Milwaukee by itself has had a really really tough go at it. But if you give them the Packers, then it’s a completely different story. Green Bay is 120 miles outside of Milwaukee, which to me is a significant distance. But in Wisconsin, everything is about that far away and Milwaukee is easily the closet major city to Green Bay. I’m going to go ahead and leave them down here in their own category because dinky Green Bay having a team is just confusing and I’m not familiar enough with the mindset of Milwaukee natives to know how they feel about all this.
The Jello's Jiggling 