ESPN ranks sports franchises 2011: #2 NHL Tampa

[LadyStanley]

http://espn.go.com/sportsnation/teamrankings

The eight major categories that make up the Ultimate Standings were created based on feedback from fans about what they want most from their favorite teams

#2 Tampa
#10 Pittsburgh
#11 Buffalo

Click to read more...

 

[yotesreign]

Wow. The Coyotes rank as the 10th best in the NHL, and that's with an owner ranked #114 out of 122 team owners lol.

Too bad the story will get no play in Phoenix media. Nothing that makes the Coyotes look better than the Suns or Dbacks or Cardinals is given any airtime or print space here.

Coyotes #28 - DBacks #33 - Cardinals #71 - Suns #80

http://espn.go.com/sportsnation/teamrankings#table

Also not too surprising which team came in last in 'affordability', or which teams came in last and next to last in overall rankings.

 

[southpaw24]

well very jaded list here... once again ESPN with a stunner :

 

[Navin RJ]

http://espn.go.com/sportsnation/teamrankings



#2 Tampa
#10 Pittsburgh
#11 Buffalo

Tampa has a ton of wicked players on it but in that city hockey is totally lost on everyone, therefore they can't charge more... put that team in a hockey market and you would be paying top dollar. Same as phoenix, playoff team in the NHL with NO FANS. Again can't charge too much so the people that like hockey are loving it.

 

[Big McLargehuge]

I don't know how a franchise can jump from 70th to 2nd in one year...


I mean...they made huge strides...but...2nd best? Come on.

 

[Fire Lindy]

Buffalo is so high because of the new ownership, everyone is just so happy now it's pretty amazing. Went from #42 to #10.

 

[CommunistDayKare]

Tampa has a ton of wicked players on it but in that city hockey is totally lost on everyone, therefore they can't charge more... put that team in a hockey market and you would be paying top dollar. Same as phoenix, playoff team in the NHL with NO FANS. Again can't charge too much so the people that like hockey are loving it.

You couldn't be more wrong.

 

[Stammer Time*]

If anything hockey is more known in Tampa than other cities due to our success and huge transplant population. We were smart enough not to pay to see a team run by Oren Koules and Len Barrie, now that we are a good team our prices will go up as they should.

 

[WingsFan95]

43. Vancouver Canucks
120. Toronto Maple Leafs





Affordability: #111 Canucks

^ Same category the Detroit franchises scored:

Tiger at #22
Wings at #32
Pistons at #57 although they were cheap this season
Lions at #83

Still Detroit>Vancouver, always.

 

[GophersGoneWild]

That list is so stupid. Teams that can afford to charge high prices (i.e. they charge high prices but sell all of their tickets) get punished in the rankings but teams that have to charge low prices to get people in the door get rewarded? That seems backwards to me. Yea the cheaper tickets are "fan friendly" but the only reason the owners charge those prices is because they have to, not because they want to be friendly towards the fans. There should have been something tied to attendance. If you charge through the roof but average over 95% capacity, you should get rewarded because you're obviously doing something right or your franchise has a high enough value that people will pay those prices.

 

[WingsFan95]

That list is so stupid. Teams that can afford to charge high prices (i.e. they charge high prices but sell all of their tickets) get punished in the rankings but teams that have to charge low prices to get people in the door get rewarded? That seems backwards to me. Yea the cheaper tickets are "fan friendly" but the only reason the owners charge those prices is because they have to, not because they want to be friendly towards the fans. There should have been something tied to attendance. If you charge through the roof but average over 95% capacity, you should get rewarded because you're obviously doing something right or your franchise has a high enough value that people will pay those prices.

Ahen, DETROIT RED WINGS.

 

[Steve Passless*]

I don't know how a franchise can jump from 70th to 2nd in one year...


I mean...they made huge strides...but...2nd best? Come on.

Don't you know? Steve Yzerman is Jesus Christ.

 

[Colezuki]

This is actually ridiculous, MTL has a stadium experience of 22, Going to the Bell centre as a Habs fan, especially in the playoffs is a religious experience ffs

 

[RandR]

That list is so stupid. Teams that can afford to charge high prices (i.e. they charge high prices but sell all of their tickets) get punished in the rankings but teams that have to charge low prices to get people in the door get rewarded? That seems backwards to me. Yea the cheaper tickets are "fan friendly" but the only reason the owners charge those prices is because they have to, not because they want to be friendly towards the fans. There should have been something tied to attendance. If you charge through the roof but average over 95% capacity, you should get rewarded because you're obviously doing something right or your franchise has a high enough value that people will pay those prices.

I think you are missing the point of what this survey is a measure of.

The eight major categories that make up the Ultimate Standings were created based on feedback from fans about what they want most from their favorite teams

In the detailed explanation of how the survey was done, it mentions, for example, that

fans rated Affordability about 50 percent more important than Ownership

I agree with this. Yes, in markets such as the NHL Toronto where demand exceeds supply, they will sell out almost no matter what they charge, but the survey wasn't limited to just the middle-class and above who can afford high-priced tickets. And the last-place Bang-For-Buck ranking of the Maple Leafs is appropriate given how well that team has performed in the last few years compared to how much revenue they are taking in.

If this survey was a measure of "the most successful" or "best-run" franchises, then certainly a lot of the rankings would be reversed, partly for the reasons you cited. But it isn't that. It is a

list of rankings that combines fan perspective with an objective measure of how well teams turn fan dollars into wins.

In that context, I find it to be quite interesting even though, of course, it is neither scientific nor beyond debate.

 

[King Woodballs]

sorry but I feel that list is pretty much a joke from top to bottom

 

[Oobz]

Green Bay number 1

 

[chihawkswi]

Green Bay number 1

Seemed like one of the obvious choices for the top of the list.

Great stadium experience
Champions
Community owned

 

[AugustBurnsRed*]

That list..

 

[Butchered]

I love how a totally unofficial, non-scientific and thrown together survey based off responses from fans can STILL make people all pissy over where their team was/wasn't ranked.

 

[Cullksinikers]

Green Bay's number one!

 

[Stats01]

The list is stupid because well....I could mention many issues with it but the one that sticks out for me is that any list that ESPN makes that includes NHL teams should automatically be thrown out. ESPN should not be taken seriously when it comes to hockey.

 

[worstfaceoffmanever]

Buffalo is so high because of the new ownership, everyone is just so happy now it's pretty amazing. Went from #42 to #10.

Doesn't hurt that their tickets are dirt cheap.

 

[Loso]

Kind of weird that the Leafs and Redskins are in the bottom three as they are the most valuable franchises in their respective sports but whatever, apparently their ownership isnt good enough.

 

[sh724]

I find it hard to believe the Blues are ranked 22nd in the NHL in cost. Theres no way the only US teams more expensive than the Blues are NYR and PHI. ANd how are the Blues ranked 69th in players act professionally the last Blues player to get in legal trouble was Mike Danton the Rams are rated higher and they have a player who killed a guy while driving drunk, Cardinals are rated way higher and a couple years ago they had a player die from driving drunk even the Cards coach was arrested for drunk driving.

This is a joke the only way you can do a survey that has real meaning is if the fans replying are equal fans of all sports and equally represents all major sports in the town. Also cities with only 1 team cant be looked at bc the fans have nothing to compare the team to, how can a fan say how fan friendly a team is if they do not have another team to compare it to and there is other categories that this applies to. Also cities with more than 1 team in a sport is going to be directly compared to the other team in the same sport and not all the teams in the city. For the most part every team has a different fan base they overlap but are not the same so people are going to rate sports they are not as big a fan of lower than sports they greatly support. I do not like the NBA at all if STL had an NBA team even if they should be ranked number 1 in every category i would subconsciously rate them lower than the Blues bc of how much i love hockey.

 

[BeachBolt]

I don't know how a franchise can jump from 70th to 2nd in one year...


I mean...they made huge strides...but...2nd best? Come on.

Agreed.