Best Sports Town in America revisited
The Sporting News last week released its rankings of sports towns. I always pay close attention to where Detroit falls on the list. This year, Boston repeated (no problem with that) followed by Philadelphia (a little strange), and then Detroit. I cannot argue with that placement, as it seems pretty fair to me.
We Detroiters are always feeling like we get the short end of the stick, that the only national media attention is about Devils' night, and the 1984 post-World Series riot. The latest rankings seem to show that we as a metropolitan area are turning the corner. On the heels of the Major League Baseball All Star Game, and within a year of back to back NBA finals appearances, the Ryder Cup, another Rose Bowl for U-M (Ann Arbor is included in metro Detroit), etc., Detroit IS Sportstown USA!
With the Lions poised for their first playoff run, and the Super Bowl at Ford Field, look for Detroit to take that crown from Boston next summer.
posted by SportPsych Detroit @ 9:25 AM
11 Comments:
the only problem with Detroit as a sports town is our strange love for the backup. Fans have been calling sports radio begging for Jeff Garcia to start, and now that the Wings resigned Osgood, he's already been getting ripped, and calls for Legace to get the job.
The Joey hatred is fascinating. One guy said that he can't lead the team and "he has a wimpy voice" therefore Garcia should be starting.
I am in the process of writing a post on that issue. What I am most concerned about is the veiled references to his manhood. First of all, he might be gay, and he might not. So What! There are alot of homophobics out there who say things like, "the fans can't relate to him," or "he is champagne and caviar in a lunch bucket town." I don't care what his personality or his sexual preferences. What I can tell you is he doesn't shy away from contact near the first down marker, gets right back up after a crunching sack, and doesn't miss games. What bothers me is how unsophisticated the media speaking on this issue are, and how much their insecurity about their own masculinity is showing through
Here is what I said on a separate blog:
Joey has improved statistically every season. He also has never had the weapons he will have this season. It would also be nice if his coach, who gets credit for being such a good guy, would stop pulling the rug out from underneath him, show him unwavering support, tell the fans to knock if off, and together get the job done.
Joey doen't deserve the criticism he is getting, and people who have a problem with his "personality" better focus on whether that is a legitimate beef, or veiled bigotry.
If you really want the team to succeed, get on board, ride the wave, and see what happens. In a worse case scenario, Joey sinks, the team stinks, and we trade our number 1 in 06 for Phillip Rivers (Gargia is NOT the answer).
We've waited this long for a winner, let Joey show us if he can be this year's Drew Brees. And let Mooch prove he can really coach. Otherwise, we'll be looking to replace him, as well.
We're Number 181!!!
Teaneck rules!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I loved reading that list. It's a who's who of small towns in America that we actually know and can probably find on a map solely because we are sports fans. Which is argument number 2 in why following sports is important!
If only you had a real team to root for.
Hey Jack's Shack. Welcome to my blog!
Uh, for the record, Anaheim-Los Angeles was ranked 5th best, behind Boston, Philly, Detroit, and Miami.
In addition, L.A. has exactly 1 NFL title (the Raiders while they were at the Coliseum), 1 MLB title (due to Kirk Gibson and I don't include Anaheim in L.A.), and the Lakers six titles (+ the one that was handed to them in 1988).
Detroit -- real people living real lives rooting for real teams. You can have your plastic town, we'll take our real one, thank you.
Actually LA far more than that. The Dodgers have 2, the Angels have one, the Lakers have about 8, the Raiders have one, the Sparks have something like 3 and that is off the top of my head.
We do have a real city, with real people and plenty of culture beyond the sports teams too. ;)
I'll give you the 2 Dodgers titles, keeping in mind that a Detroiter was chiefly responsible for 1988 (Gibby).
You can't count the Angels and the Dodgers. No true sports fan roots for both!
The Sparks don't constitute a real sport; if you count them, then I'll throw in 5 titles from the Detroit Drive (Arena Football) and 1 from the Michigan Panthers (USFL) to go along with 3 each from the Wings and Pistons and 1 from the Tigers.
With a talent/money pool a fraction of what you have in L.A.
And oh, by the way, where's your NFL franchise?
One more thing:
Please educate me. What culture does L.A. have beyond the film industry?
And I mean L.A.--not California as a whole, which I agree has quite a bit of culture
LA- We have a symphony that plays at the Hollywood Bowl, I am sure that you have heard of it.
We have a plethora of theaters that provide Broadway shoes.
There are world class museums in art, science and natural history.
There are local wineries and incredible fruit stands, amazing libraries and some of the leading universities in the country and the world.
So we don't have an NFL team, big deal. It means that I can watch almost any game without worry of blackout rules. I don't cry because my headcase running back retires in his prime, not that it matters because we never won anyway.
BTW, if you want to talk college football there is this little school called USC out here that we can talk about. You know them, the national champions two years in a row.
As for the Angels and the Dodgers you are so wrong. I am a national league fan first, but there is no reason why I can't have a favorite AL team.
The good old AL where the DH keeps guys off of the DL and retirement.
So why are you devoting so much energy to proving to a Detroiter that you are cultured?
It seems that you are not comfortable with who you are...
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