How your favorite team ranks in its own market?

[57special]

Vikings

Twins/Wild


Timberwolves(except for the last year or so, when they have actually generated some excitement, and filled the place. Prior to that they were so bad, for so long, that it wore away at the crowds).

Gophers used to be a big deal, but again, mediocrity has hurt them in football and hoops, while the B10 conference in hockey, which might benefit them in their pocketbook, has killed the crowds that used to fill up Mariucci arena.


Basically, the Wild have been filling their arena since they came back to town. I think that things are about to turn for the worse, though, unless they make some sort of playoff run. Their is a fatigue with their consistent mediocrity. Also, Kaprizov not getting re-signed would be another reason not to support the team.

 

[HisIceness]

I live in Durham but I don't follow anything but the Canes. Where do the Hornets fall?

I mean even here in Charlotte the Hornets aren't all that beloved. The novelty of rebranding from the Bobcats back to the Hornets was 10 years ago and they currently have the longest playoff drought in the league. The old-timers love to talk about the days with Muggsy and Mourning but barely know who's on the roster now.

I don't think even the old Hornets caught on in Raleigh, it was always ACC and everything else is second. Hell it took the Panthers a long time to catch on there and I think a lot of that goodwill is gone thanks to Tepper.

 

[John Price]

Commanders
Nationals
Capitals
Wizards

Caps honestly switch between 2 and 3 here

Redskins/Commanders



Nats, Terps, Caps, Zards

Spirit (NWSL)
DC United (MLS)

surprised Spirit above united. I would put United over

 

[BigBadBruins7708]

Patriots
Red Sox

gap

Bruins/Celtics

 

[Esq]

NY Teams in Major Pro sports look like this in terms of following/fanbase size. Can vary by specific region but general NY area/globally it would look like this.

Yankees

Knicks

Giants
Nets

Jets
Mets/Rangers


Islanders

I no longer live in NYC, but I can't imagine the Nets over the Jets in terms of popularity

 

[Bouboumaster]

1- Canadiens


2- CF Montréal/Alouettes

 

[NYRfan85]

New York is all baseball and football, both always dominate the headlines, so the Rangers (or Devils or Islanders) never get the top headlines when baseball and football are in-season. Even the Knicks, the Maple Leafs of the NBA, get treated better than the NHL.

It's hard to break each team apart, but in terms of the media, it seems like this:

Yankees
Giants
Jets
Knicks
Mets
Rangers
Nets
Islanders
Devils

 

[SEALBound]

The Penguins are falling down the ranks as their championship hype is 7 years in the rear view. At one point it seemed like they were right behind the Steelers, but now that the core is aging and the playoffs haven't been in Pittsburgh for a couple years. No team will ever eclipse the Steelers here in Pittsburgh.

#1 Steelers
#2 Pitt Football
#3 Pitt Basketball
#4 Penguins
#5 Pirates

Agree with this. I would say that, depending on the particular time of season and success of each, 2-3-4 can change a tad.

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

Oh they're rank in our market alright

I bet the major league gaming squad ranks higher at this stage

Gretzky said it best, LA loves a winner, and out of the legacy franchises Kings are likely clearly behind Clippers/Lakers Dodgers Rams/Chargers. Out of the newer franchises, I'd be hard pressed to say they're above the MLS squads. The college teams are also resurgent while the Kings are on their way down and out. It might be a bloodbath decade for LA hockey. At least I can hope, we need blood running in the streets from this front office.

 

[LEAFANFORLIFE23]

Bears

Cubs

Big ten / Notre Dame college football

Bulls

Hawks

Sox

College football over the NBA? really? I'm surprised at that.

The Penguins are falling down the ranks as their championship hype is 7 years in the rear view. At one point it seemed like they were right behind the Steelers, but now that the core is aging and the playoffs haven't been in Pittsburgh for a couple years. No team will ever eclipse the Steelers here in Pittsburgh.

#1 Steelers
#2 Pitt Football
#3 Pitt Basketball
#4 Penguins
#5 Pirates

So what you are saying in Pittsburgh fans aren't real fans and are band wagon fans

 

[Rodgerwilco]

So what you are saying in Pittsburgh fans aren't real fans and are band wagon fans

No that's not what I'm saying at all. For one, I can't imagine using the phrase "real fans" as a fully functioning adult.

Pittsburgh is undoubtedly a die-hard sports city... Steelers and Pitt fans are borderline rabid even with the Steelers being mediocre for quite some time now. But with the city's limited population it's not very realistic to expect that they'll be able to maintain high levels of fandom in hockey consistently when there are other more popular attractions in town. The fandom of hockey in general pales in comparison to NFL and college football, and even baseball in most areas.

There will always be some level of "band-wagon'ing" with any team. When they're more successful, fans who may not pay as much attention will be more intrigued to follow and watch. This is more apparent in cities with smaller populations that have competing sports.

 

[DaveG]

I live in Durham but I don't follow anything but the Canes. Where do the Hornets fall?

probably below Charlotte FC at this point locally (not even joking, you see CFC gear all the time in the state, Hornets stuff is pretty rare anymore outside of Charlotte).

 

[HanSolo]

Probably along these lines just based off my own personal observations, minus looking at attendance and revenues.

1. Golden Knights
2. Sizable gap
3. Raiders
4. UNLV NCAA sports/LV Aces (WNBA)
5. Henderson Silver Knights (AHL)
6. Las Vegas Aviators (minor league baseball)
7. Las Vegas Lights FC (league below MLS, I almost never see anyone wearing their merch or talk about them)
8. Las Vegas high school sports, primarily Bishop Gorman
9. Las Vegas Nighthawks (indoor soccer team, literally the only time I ever heard of them was my sister taking my nephew to a game when she got free tickets)

I know I'm coming off as biased because I'm a hockey fan in Vegas but the reality, from what I've seen, is that while the Raiders put up good attendance numbers I think it comes more from the luxury of getting to go watch an NFL game than a big base of passionate fans. I see the occasional guy wearing a t-shirt or jersey or car decal, but for the most part I never really hear people talk about the Raiders whereas with the Golden Knights I see their gear/merch just about every day, car decals, lawn flags, hats, etc. almost everywhere I go (but I'm mostly around the "nicer" part of town, e.g. Southwest Las Vegas and Summerlin, sometimes Henderson).

The Henderson Silver Knights pull bigger crowds than I thought they would. Seems like an option for parents who want to take their kids to do something fun without breaking their wallets trying to get into T-Mobile arena for VGK games. I know I do that with my nephew.

This all may change when the Athletics move in to town and when the Golden Knights start to decline, but by my observation, the VGK campaign to influence locals to appreciate them more for being home grown rather than the Bay Area's sloppy seconds, coupled with a cup win has really worked out for them to be at the top. There's also plenty of residual goodwill from their inaugural season being so excellent in the wake of the city's biggest tragedy. You'd think two championships would make the LV Aces more popular but the WNBA is still finding it's footing.

 

[Ace Card Bedard]

College football over the NBA? really? I'm surprised at that.

Mainly because the Bulls suck.

If any of the local teams win a championship or have sustained success while the others are terrible they jump up to #2 or #3 for that period. But the default rankings are correct in the previous post.

 

[KirkAlbuquerque]

Ah good ol knicks. They can suck for the next 100 years and people will still go to games.

It’s like the basketball version of Toronto

 

[Wallet Inspector]

Good news: The Sens don't have to compete with any other Ottawa teams in the big 4 sports leagues.

Bad news: They have to compete with the Leafs/Habs in Ottawa.

 

[shakes the clown]

The Bears and The Cubs are basically religions, they'll always be 1 and 2, regardless of how much they suck.

Blackhawks peaked at 3, could realistically get back there if they get consistently good again.

Bulls definitely passed the Cubs and maybe even the Bears during the Jordan era.

 

[ShootIt]

Dolphins
Heat
UMiami Football
Panthers
Marlins


Not sure how Miami FC ranks. Probably a good boost with Messi here but I can't comment on that at all.

 

[shakes the clown]

Patriots
Red Sox

gap

Bruins/Celtics

I'm not buying for one second that the Bruins are on the same tier as the Celtics in Boston. That sounds like an opinion you can only find on a hockey message board.

 

[NYRfan85]

probably below Charlotte FC at this point locally (not even joking, you see CFC gear all the time in the state, Hornets stuff is pretty rare anymore outside of Charlotte).

Can confirm, I live near Charlotte. The Hornets have been a dumpster fire for so long, nobody cares about them right now. It's pretty much the Panthers and Charlotte FC above the Hornets (if you exclude college and AAA teams).

 

[shakes the clown]

The Dolphins will always be #1 in South Florida, but the Panthers are definitely pushing for #2. These two long playoff runs have really energized and galvanized the area around the Panthers. They can do no wrong right now.

no way the Panthers are even close to the Heat in South Florida popularity. They could win 5 more titles and they still would be way behind the popularity of the Heat.

 

[Golden_Jet]

Every Canadian city, team is #1.

 

[Finlandia WOAT]

Panthers (Newton/Kuechly/Rivera era)
Duke Basketball
UNC Basketball
State Football
UNC Football
Hurricanes
State Basketball
Duke Football
Panthers (Tepper/Bryce Young era)

 

[BigBadBruins7708]

I'm not buying for one second that the Bruins are on the same tier as the Celtics in Boston. That sounds like an opinion you can only find on a hockey message board.

Ok, enjoy being wrong. The Celtics have always been the redheaded step kids in Boston

 

[JianYang]

Vancouver Canucks (NHL)
Whitecaps (MLS)
Lions (CFL)

Everything else.