Philadelphia Franchises Fall Flat In 'Ultimate Standings'
By Spike Eskin
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) – It would be an understatement to say that the last couple of years have been forgettable in Philadelphia sports. Bryzgalov and Bynum highlighted the Flyers and Sixers timelines for all of the wrong reasons, the Eagles fell apart to an extent we may have deemed unbelievable five years ago, and the Phillies have gone from the league's elite, to one of the most questioned front offices in all of baseball.
ESPN The Magazine is just rubbing it in with their latest issue.
The magazine ranks the franchises in all four professional sports, from 1-122, and the Philadelphia teams didn't score too impressively. The Phillies were the top ranked of the Philadelphia teams, coming in at a lofty #59, followed by the Flyers at #67, the Sixers at #94, and finally the Eagles at #95.
The top franchise in all of pro sports, according to the rankings, is the NBA's Memphis Grizzlies, and the worst is the NBA's Sacramento Kings.
If it makes you feel any better, the Knicks are ranked #102, the Mets are #106, the Cowboys are #107, and the Jets are #121.
So how did they come up with these rankings? They asked fans (1,011 of them) to score the franchises in fan-centric categories, and used University of Oregon's Warsaw Sports Marketing Center and a research company called NetReflector for information as well. The total of eight categories are: title track (championships won or expected), ownership (honesty and loyalty to players and fans), coaching, players, fan relations, affordability, stadium experience and bang for the buck.
The best ownership in Philadelphia, according to the scores, is the Phillies at #42, the best Bang For The Buck is the Sixers at #58, the best fan relations is the Flyers at #42, the Sixers rank best in affordability at #64, the best stadium experience belongs to the Phillies at #18, the best coaching is the Flyers at #45, the players belongs to the Flyers as well at #60, and the all important title track belongs to the Phillies at #24.
To make matters worse, GQ Magazine ranks the Phillies the 14th worst sports franchise in America.
