OKC ranks 25th best sports city!

[dmoor82]

Not bad,This list also includes Norman into OKC's ranking!http://www.tulsaworld.com/site/artic...0_OLHMIY185550 http://newsok.com/okc-moves-up-among...rticle/3610818

[dmoor82]

A St.Louis reporter that is sour with OKC's ranking!http://www.bizjournals.com/stlouis/b...st-sports.html

[Roadhawg]

Pro sports is just one aspect... OKC strongly supports all it's sports from The Thunder to roller derby

[MikeOKC]

A St.Louis reporter that is sour with OKC's ranking!http://www.bizjournals.com/stlouis/b...st-sports.html

OKC ahead of St. Louis does seem rather bizarre. I read his column and, frankly, don't blame his skepticism.

[dmoor82]

Stillwater ahead of Tulsa?What do you guys think?Looks like college towns weigh heavy in these rankings and thats why OKC is ranked so high!

[MDot]

A St.Louis reporter that is sour with OKC's ranking!http://www.bizjournals.com/stlouis/b...st-sports.html

I agree with him, but he didn't have to be so aggressive towards us. Lol and he used the Wranglers as a team, they don't exist any longer in Oklahoma City, which further proves his point. And he said Oklahoma Thunder not Oklahoma City Thunder, even though that don't matter it still shows he doesn't know much about Oklahoma sports. But he was spot on about the Redhawks. Honestly, I'm not sure the point in him trying to disprove us as a sports city, but I still agree with him.

[ljbab728]

I also consider that list suspect or misnamed at best if it is based partly on the success of the sports teams. It has Atlanta and Miami in the top ten and I regularly hear both cities mention as among the worst sports cities in the country.

[Laramie]

I also consider that list suspect or misnamed at best if it is based partly on the success of the sports teams. It has Atlanta and Miami in the top ten and I regularly hear both cities mention as among the worst sports cities in the country.

Atlanta just recently lost its Fab-Four status when the NHL Thrashers moved to Winnepeg, Manitoba (CA).

Miami is not doing well supporting the MLB Florida Marlins.

Would be interesting for them to list the criteria used in rankings these cities. It would be better if they could place them in some type of catagory (College; cities over 1 million metro...).

[Bunty]

Stillwater ahead of Tulsa?What do you guys think?Looks like college towns weigh heavy in these rankings and thats why OKC is ranked so high!

Besides OSU doing good, maybe Stillwater moved up due to its new high school stadium being one of the best in the state. Stillwater high school principal likes to boast that it stands higher in elevation than Boon Pickens Stadium. Maybe it also helps that most of the top high school football teams are located in the northeast quarter of the state and so they end up playing for their final championships in Stillwater at one or the other of the stadiums there. Their new gym and field house is so big it seldom, if ever, fills for games.

When funding and priorities permit it, Cimarron Plaza, located just north of the high school stadium, will be bought out so more parking and additional sports facilities can be constructed. All info found out during a tour of Stillwater High School, which took two hours and part of a high school reunion.

[chuck johnson]

Something to consider is the diversity of the people in each city. In particular, their geographic origin or and/or collegiate affiliation. Although for me nothing beats Norman on game day, I actually preferred watching games at a bar when I lived in San Francisco. Among the 10-15 TV's, each was tuned to just about as many games. At each was a small group of alumni. Beside the usual tables of Michigan, Notre Dame, USC, etc, would be alumni from some of the smaller schools. It was really great to see some of the enthusiasm still going for the old Ivy League rivalries that no one outside of those schools mentions. It was interesting to watch the exuberance that everyone had at the beginning at the season dissipate as the losses started mounting. Of course the downside was that with the occasional Sooner loss, you heard quite a bit of heckling.

The worst heckling I ever got was from visitng Seattle Seahawk fans returning from Candlestick while I was wearing an OKC Thunder shirt.

I think what makes a great sports town is not only the enthusiasm and passion it has for it's own teams, but for sports in general. Since OKC has done without a major pro franchise for so long, the fans here appreciate it that much more. That was a lot of years of rooting for other city's teams. I would love to see MLB here so I don't have to hear about the Rangers.

In regards to the article, not every city was defined by the same criteria. San Francisco was defined as being by itself, whereas many cities were defined by their "metro" area. Discarding the "metro" area criteria and defining cities by their actual boundaries would have really changed the standings. The San Francisco Bay Area would have included #15 San Francisco and #25 Oakland/Berkeley. Some could argue #13 San Jose + Palo Alto+ Santa Clara could be included as well. Additionally, Bay Area teams are unique in that they all play within the city limits of their namesake. This may change if the 49'rs move to Santa Clara.