i love the city of boston but am partial still to nyc being the best sports city.
Over 12 months, stretching roughly from July to July, Boston was the Hub of the sports universe that the Sporting News covers -- a city that celebrated and commiserated, exulted and agonized (again) over a year's most dramatic victories and cursed defeats.
Taking into account not only the sheer quantity of courses in its year-round sports feast and the depth and breadth of fan fervor (OK, and often angst), but also the quality of the teams in the sports we cover, Boston is our Best Sports City for 2004.
THE CRITERIA:
To be included in these rankings, a city must have at least an NCAA Division I basketball team or a Class A minor league baseball team, or it must score in select other categories upon which we base our rankings. Those other categories include being the site of a training camp for a major league or NFL team; a NASCAR Nextel Cup race; an NCAA Division I-A bowl game; a PGA Tour tournament, or a Triple Crown horse race.
Once a city meets the minimum criteria, we take a 12-month snapshot, roughly from July to July, of the sports atmosphere, putting a heavy premium on regular-season records (from the most recently completed season); playoff berths, bowl appearances and tournament bids; championships; applicable power ratings; quality of competition; overall fan fervor, as measured in part by attendance as a percentage of venue capacity; sports atmosphere and fan knowledge; abundance of teams, though we reward quality over quantity; stadium/arena quality; ticket availability and prices; franchise ownership, and marquee appeal of athletes.
Tradition plays a minimal role because this is a 12-month ranking that starts over each year. Likewise, we choose not to delve into sports about which we aren't experts. And, yes, it's true: We have not visited every city on this list in the past 12 months.
1. Boston
2. Oakland-San Francisco-San Jose
3. New York-Long Island-New Jersey
4. Houston
5. Los Angeles-Anaheim
6. Miami-Fort Lauderdale
7. Detroit
8. Dallas-Fort Worth
9. Philadelphia
10. Minneapolis-St. Paul
11. Chicago
12. Denver
13. Atlanta
14. Tampa-St. Petersburg
15. Seattle
16. Indianapolis
17. Baltimore-Washington
18. St. Louis
19. Nashville
20. Phoenix
21. Charlotte
22. New Orleans
23. Salt Lake City
24. Pittsburgh
25. Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill, N.C.
26. Toronto
27. Cincinnati
28. Kansas City
29. Milwaukee
30. Memphis
31. San Antonio
32. Buffalo
33. Montreal
34. Green Bay
35. Sacramento
36. San Diego
37. Columbus
38. Calgary
39. Cleveland
40. Orlando
41. Baton Rouge, La.
42. Portland
43. Ottawa
44. Vancouver
45. Jacksonville
46. Oklahoma City-Norman
47. Edmonton
48. Tallahassee, Fla.
49. Birmingham, Ala.
50. College Park, Md.
Over 12 months, stretching roughly from July to July, Boston was the Hub of the sports universe that the Sporting News covers -- a city that celebrated and commiserated, exulted and agonized (again) over a year's most dramatic victories and cursed defeats.
Taking into account not only the sheer quantity of courses in its year-round sports feast and the depth and breadth of fan fervor (OK, and often angst), but also the quality of the teams in the sports we cover, Boston is our Best Sports City for 2004.
THE CRITERIA:
To be included in these rankings, a city must have at least an NCAA Division I basketball team or a Class A minor league baseball team, or it must score in select other categories upon which we base our rankings. Those other categories include being the site of a training camp for a major league or NFL team; a NASCAR Nextel Cup race; an NCAA Division I-A bowl game; a PGA Tour tournament, or a Triple Crown horse race.
Once a city meets the minimum criteria, we take a 12-month snapshot, roughly from July to July, of the sports atmosphere, putting a heavy premium on regular-season records (from the most recently completed season); playoff berths, bowl appearances and tournament bids; championships; applicable power ratings; quality of competition; overall fan fervor, as measured in part by attendance as a percentage of venue capacity; sports atmosphere and fan knowledge; abundance of teams, though we reward quality over quantity; stadium/arena quality; ticket availability and prices; franchise ownership, and marquee appeal of athletes.
Tradition plays a minimal role because this is a 12-month ranking that starts over each year. Likewise, we choose not to delve into sports about which we aren't experts. And, yes, it's true: We have not visited every city on this list in the past 12 months.
1. Boston
2. Oakland-San Francisco-San Jose
3. New York-Long Island-New Jersey
4. Houston
5. Los Angeles-Anaheim
6. Miami-Fort Lauderdale
7. Detroit
8. Dallas-Fort Worth
9. Philadelphia
10. Minneapolis-St. Paul
11. Chicago
12. Denver
13. Atlanta
14. Tampa-St. Petersburg
15. Seattle
16. Indianapolis
17. Baltimore-Washington
18. St. Louis
19. Nashville
20. Phoenix
21. Charlotte
22. New Orleans
23. Salt Lake City
24. Pittsburgh
25. Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill, N.C.
26. Toronto
27. Cincinnati
28. Kansas City
29. Milwaukee
30. Memphis
31. San Antonio
32. Buffalo
33. Montreal
34. Green Bay
35. Sacramento
36. San Diego
37. Columbus
38. Calgary
39. Cleveland
40. Orlando
41. Baton Rouge, La.
42. Portland
43. Ottawa
44. Vancouver
45. Jacksonville
46. Oklahoma City-Norman
47. Edmonton
48. Tallahassee, Fla.
49. Birmingham, Ala.
50. College Park, Md.
