Worst State For Pro Sports?

[THUNDER HANDS]

Poll question: Worst State For Pro Sports?

If I had to choose, I'm going with Florida.

Has two baseball teams it doesn't support. The Jaguars don't sell out their home games. The Lightning drew flies before they got good.

When the Heat sucked that place was a ghost town. The Magic weren't much better.

Just about the only team that state ever supported was the Dolphins.

A close second, IMO, would be Georgia.

The Braves don't sell out all the time, even when they were awesome and going to the World Series every year. The Hawks are an embarassment and I don't know about the Falcons attendence, but I'm sure that before Vick got there it wasn't great, judging by the other teams in that area.

I bet the Thrashers suck too, considering Georgia doesn't strike me as a hotbed of hockey.


Oh, and if I had to rank the best - I'd say Illinois. Those teams SUCK ASS out there but people always show up. Gotta give the fans out there credit for being loyal.

[Sandpiper]

1. Georgia

At least Miami supports the Dolphins.

Atlanta has lukewarm support for every team in the city.

[iwantmycountryback]

8. Miami doesn't support the Dolphins

They get meager attendance even when they're good. When they play the Jets it seems there's more Jets fans than Dolphins fans there.

[arcane1]

2. conciousness

:silly:

[fob]

3. Utah!

[ET Awful]

4. South Dakota!

:)

[phusion]

5. Uhh...New Mexico

What pro teams?

We suck...

[slestak]

30. Oh, c'mon . . .

Albuquerque Isotopes!
New Mexico Scorpions!
Lobos!
Aggies!
IT'S A SPORTS FAN'S DREAM!!!!!!
:P

[MnFats]

6. right now? my own state. The Vikings are lepers.

they do this every goddamn year -- start out hot, drag me into being interested in following them again and at midseason they become leprous. it's hateful. They're 5-1, then go 3-7 the remainder. They'd have lost their last five in a row if Detroit hadn't given them a friggin' gift with that missed extra point (28-27).

Now they lose to a 5-10 team yet make the playoffs nonetheless. They get to go back to Lambeau where they deserve to be thrashed.

BUT!!!! they will probably win and advance to a game with a REALLY GOOD Team, with the entire country watching and then they'll get throttled something like 47-6, just to aggravate our humiliation. In fact, I guarantee that's what's going to happen. You heard it here first.

[KitchenWitch]

15. I concur heartily

It is unbelievable that the Vikings continue to sell out with their propensity to choke.

We used to have a beautiful baseball stadium (Metropolitan Stadium), but now we have Baggie Ball in the Metrodome. The sight lines for baseball are terrible (I leave every game with a kink in my neck).

There have been various measure to get an outdoor baseball/football/college football stadium in the area, one of the best ones was a bonding bill (which the owners would have to pay back!) and we still cannot get it done.

The Twins will surely be contracted or moved if we cannot get a new stadium, I would be willing to support a per ticket tax for a new stadium (since it would be the people actually using it that would be paying the tax) but nothing like that has been proposed as yet!

[jobycom]

7. Texas? C'mon!

We get blamed for everything, but worst state for pro sports? We have two pro football teams, three pro basketball teams, two MLB teams, at least one NHL team (I don't watch hockey, so I'm not sure), and at least three pro college football teams (the others haven't been caught), not to mention high school football. That's not counting minor league baseball teams, hockey teams, and all these weird half-pro sports like indoor football. And then there's rodeo.

Pro teams have to win to sell out around here, because there's so much competition.

[tcfrogs]

14. Agreed

I think some bozos are so against Texas for being a red-state, it clouds their judgment.

Sure, the Astros & Rangers have never won a WS, and the Oilers never made it to the Super Bowl. Rockets/Spurs have won NBA titles in the last 10 years, Cowboys won 3 Super Bowls since 1993, Dallas Stars won the 99 Stanley Cup.

Again - I call it Red-State bias around here...

[jobycom]

19. Cowboys have won five Super Bowls, and been to seven.

For the record. And I believe both are records.

[tx_dem41]

23. They've been to eight..

Colts, Dolphins, Steelers, Broncos, Steelers, Bills, Bills, and Steelers.

And, I thought you were a Cowboys fan? ;-)

[jobycom]

25. Egads, you are correct! nt

[tx_dem41]

16. Its far from the worst state for pro sports, but...

..having lived here for 24 yrs (Dallas for 17), I am amazed how little people actually follow the sport if the team isn't winning. That leads me to believe that they really aren't sports fans.

[jobycom]

20. Too many other options

When the Cowboys aren't winning, the fans follow the Rangers or the Mavericks or the Stars, or they cheer on their favorite University team-- A&M, Longhorns, TCU, SMU, whoever is doing well. When I lived in Dallas and the Cowboys were losing, we all started cheering for the Oilers.

Texas revolves around sports. There's just so many sports that people can follow a team who is winning if their first choice is losing.

[tx_dem41]

22. But they aren't really fans of the sport....just the team.

And,I've lived in Dallas for 17 years (Houston before that for 7 years). I have never heard of a Dallasite pulling for the Oilers (unless they were from Houston originally).

[jobycom]

26. I did

Where I worked we had a few parties around Oilers playoff games, and these weren't former Houstonites. When the Cowboys were winning, no one supported the Oilers. When the Cowboys were losing, a lot of people followed the Oilers instead. This was in the later 80s, I don't know how it was before or after that.

I don't agree about Texans supporting teams and not sports. Texans don't go to their favorite team's games when those teams lose. They go to some other sport, though. Even high school football is popular in many parts of the state, including Austin. I think it's the opposite-- I don't think Texans have any loyalty to teams that aren't winning, so they find another sport to watch. Here in Austin, 90% of the conversations I hear from customers at work are about sports. Then again, people are afraid to talk politics or religion around me...

[Emboldened Chimp]

9. Um, Connecticut...

There ARE no professional sports in my former state. We did, however, have the Hartford Whalers--that should tell you something right there...

[jobycom]

21. There were none in Mississippi, either

That's why we paid our college teams so well. :-)

Oh yeah, and in south Mississippi, we cheered for the Saints. Which will tell you why Mississippi feels so victimized.

[davidinalameda]

10. California

no pro football in LA
We have the Clippers and the Warriors--sad excuses for basketball teams

We have the 49ers--with the worst owners in all of pro sports

Oakland A's--will someone build them a real stadium

[democracyindanger]

11. And don't forget

Laker fans aren't even in their seats for the beginning of games

Anaheim Angels--are they still a MLB team?

The "Mighty Ducks"

[davidinalameda]

24. forgot about the Ducks

screw Laker fans

never liked them before I moved out here and hate them even more now

[Baclava]

12. This is what a Jags homegame sellout looks like:

Jacksonvile is STEELERS COUNTRY!

[Champ]

13. Vermont or Idaho are probaly the 2 worst States

Just try imagining them with an NFL, MLB, NBA team

[kick-ass-bob]

17. I have to agree with Florida.

Nothing sells out. I was in town when Jacksonville had a huge Sunday Night game - against Pittsburgh - and I kept hearing on the radio that tix were still available.

And available for the rest of their home games as well.

Sad.

[Baclava]

27. I was in the stadium in Jacksonville for that game...(see above pic)

It was a full house....of Steelers fans...we even took over the
Jags Tailgate lots....shocked the hell outta the locals.

That was one hell of a party.

[kick-ass-bob]

28. that was absolutely pitiful.

Nice pic!

[kaitykaity]

18. Try living in Oregon.

We're the number 22 market overall, and yet all we have
are the lousy Portland Jail Gangstas (Trail Blazers).

If I want anything else (baseball, pro football) I have
to go north to Seattle.

[HuckleB]

29. What's more.

The closest NHL team is in San Jose, I think. No wonder the NHL bites the big one. Seattle and Portland have been selling a lot of tickets for years to see 16-19 year olds play hockey. How does a league not take on such a market? Nevermind how ridiculous it is for MLS to stay out of a soccer fanatic market like the northwest.

In the end it comes down to every city, county and state in this country refusing to pay for stadiums for leagues that can afford them. Until that happens, I could care less. Besides, I enjoy the Beavers and Timbers. Oh, yeah, I'd enjoy them more if PGE had real grass, but nonetheless.

[PDittie]

31. Louisiana

Saints, Hornets.

And once upon a time, the Jazz.

[tx_dem41]

32. But dangit, the food and music pull us out of the basement! n/t

[PDittie]

33. True dat! n/t

[Smirking_Chimp]

34. New Jersey

Half the state roots for New York teams, the other half roots for Philadelphia teams, and nobody roots for the New Jersey teams.

[aldian159]

35. Florida is very passionate about college football

and that's about it. It helps when three of the best programs ever are in your state.

Florida State: Two national titles since 1993, 11 out of 13 ACC titles (until this season, the ACC was pretty much FSU's plaything until hoops season) and top five finishes every year from 1987-2000.

Miami: Five national titles since 1981, and over 40 NFL first rounders drafted since 2000.

Florida: 1996 National Champs, and had a streak of well over 200 weeks ranked in the top 25 snapped this season.