The Top-10 Worst Sports Cities in America: #1-5

By Cullen Tonge

In my last article, I took a look at the Worst Sports Cities ranked #6-10 and I’ll be completely honest with you, it was tough. I switched the order up numerous times until I found the proper one to share with you.

Remember, these are simply my opinions. If you want to share yours, make sure to leave a comment. Without further ado, let’s count down the five worst sports cities in America according to their teams’ successes or lack thereof in the four major sports since 2016.

10 Worst Sports Cities Continued

5. Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota

When I came up with the idea for this article and mocked up a rough list, Minnesota was number one. Then, as I did some research, I realized the twin cities deserved some more respect than I was giving them. Let’s start in the NHL, where the Wild have been an annual playoff team four out of the last five seasons. Granted, they have gotten eliminated in the first round of each one, but that is still impressive. They have had an above .500 record in nearly every season out of the last five and have been among the NHL’s most consistent teams. Switching to baseball, the Twins have been a very bright spot and are a main reason I decided to move their home city down the list. Three out of the last five seasons have seen the Twins make the playoffs, including two-straight seasons where they finished first in the AL Central. Unfortunately, their playoff runs weren’t long-lived, but they have been much better the last five years than the five before. Moving to the NFL, the Vikings represent the great state of Minnesota and have done so in a very odd way over the last five years. In 2016, they went 8-8 and missed the playoffs. Then, they went 13-3 in 2017 and made it all the way to the NFC Championship where they would lose to the eventual Super Bowl champs. A year later in 2018, they finished 8-7-1, missing the playoffs again. The 2019 Vikings went 10-6 and made it to the divisional round. This past season, they went 7-9 and missed the playoffs. For one thing, they are consistent, and we should see them in the playoffs next season if this trend continues. For another, is Kirk Cousins good or not? Finally, the worst part of the sports world in Minnesota: the Timberwolves. They have been absolutely brutal and somehow made the playoffs once in the past five seasons. They finished eighth in the West and even managed to win a game against the Rockets in the first round of the 2017-18 playoffs. Aside from that, they haven’t made the playoffs since 2004 and have been near the bottom of the NBA standings for as long as I can even remember.

4. Phoenix, Arizona

Like the teams in Minnesota, the city of Phoenix has a team in all four major leagues. The Suns play in the NBA and haven’t had a single playoff appearance over the last 10 seasons. Over the last five, they won only 30 percent of their games. Aside from the 2019-20 season, the Suns haven’t won more than 24 games since 2015. That is absolutely horrific. They seem to be trending upwards which is a good sign as they are the second-best team in the league right now. Speaking of a team that people seem to think is trending upwards is the Arizona Cardinals. Personally, I don’t see how that is realistic. They have made the playoffs twice over the last ten years and neither of those appearances came in the last five seasons. They haven’t had a winning record since 2015 and even though they play in what might be the hardest division in football, they simply haven’t been good. The Diamondbacks of the MLB actually have a playoff appearance in the last five years and even made it past the first round back in 2017 before losing in the Divisional series. That season was the first of three in-a-row that the team finished above .500. However, only having playoff appearance hurts the D-Backs in their attempt to bring Arizona to prominence. The team that might have the most potential to do that aside based on the last five seasons are the Coyotes. Even though they have only one playoff appearance in the last five years, it was in their most recent season. They simply haven’t been good since they made the move in 2014 to adopt the Arizona Coyotes moniker instead of the Phoenix Coyotes. The 2019-20 season was a bright spot and is the most recent playoff appearance for any team in the Grand Canyon State.

3. Cincinnati, Ohio

You might be thinking that Cincinnati should be lower because they only have two teams which can’t be worse than having more than two that are terrible. But let me put it this way. The Bengals and Reds are abysmal. I know the Reds made the playoffs last season, but they also played only 60 games as opposed to the usual 162. I am not holding that against them, but we might never know if they would have made the playoffs in a normal season. Since 2016, the Reds only playoff appearance was last season in which they got swept in the Wild Card. Even last season, they only had two more wins than losses. Aside from that, the Reds hadn’t had a winning season since 2013. Fortunately for fans of Cincinnati teams, the Bengals were relevant in their sport more recently. I mean, the last time was 2015 so not great at all but that’s still better than 2013. The Bengals haven’t had a winning season since 2015 and have lost 10 or more games each of the last three seasons. There hasn’t been much, if anything at all, to cheer for in Cincinnati over the last five years which lands them in my top three.

2. New York, New York

The Big Apple hosts eight teams in total with a “New York” name. Technically, the city only is home to five, but since they want to be considered a part of New York, the Jets, Giants, and Islanders are put in this city. I’ll try to keep this very short because covering all eight would take forever. The New York Jets have lost more than 10 games four out of the last five seasons. The New York Giants made the playoffs and lost in the Wild Card in 2016. Since then, they have had double digit losses in every season. To put it in perspective, the two football teams of New Jersey, sorry, I mean New York, have had six different head coaches over the last five years. The Knicks and Nets haven’t been great in the NBA. Spike Lee’s team hasn’t made the playoffs since 2013 which also was the last time they had a winning record. The Nets have been better, making the playoffs for the last two seasons. However, they have gotten bounced by series finals of 4-1 and 4-0. Moving to baseball, the Mets have had a great starting pitching staff, including Jacob deGrom, who has won two Cy Young Awards since 2016. However, everything else seems to stink. They made the playoffs in 2016 where the lost in the Wild Card round. Since then, only one season above .500 and no playoff appearances. The Yankees have been the one bright spot for the Big Apple and even so, they haven’t lived up to expectations. Every year, they are one of the favorites to win it all. Surprisingly, they haven’t won or even made it to the World Series since 2009. Fortunately for New York baseball fans, the Yankees have made the playoffs four out of the last five seasons, but they can never make it the final stage in October. The final two teams play in the NHL. The Rangers have made the playoffs three out of the last three seasons, but haven’t made it past the second round in any of those appearances. The Islanders have also made the playoffs three out of the last five seasons and even made it to the Conference Finals last season. They ended up losing that series 4-2 to the Tampa Bay Lightning, who would end up winning the Stanley Cup. In New York, it seems as though the two most successful teams get the least attention.

1. Detroit, Michigan

You were probably thinking or wondering where I was going to put the Motor City. Well, to put it bluntly, I think there is a big gap between the top two spots. After my research, it was very clear that Detroit needed to be one and it wasn’t even close. There have only been four total playoff appearances combined for the Pistons, Lions, Tigers, and Red Wings over the last five seasons, with three of those coming in 2015-16. All of these teams have been absolutely terrible and I truly feel bad for anyone who calls themselves a Detroit sports fan. It seems like it was just last season that the Lions went 0-16 and that was in 2008. They have been that bad where it feels like they could have easily gone 0-16 every year for the last five. The Tigers, Red Wings, and Pistons haven’t gone over .500 since 2016. To any Detroit fans out there, I commend you for your dedication to your city and your sports teams, but seriously, how do you do it? I struggled with only the Bills and Sabres sucking, but all four of my hometown teams playing terrible? I can’t imagine it.

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One Response

Eric says:

April 16, 2021 at 11:34 am

You are really talking about Pro Sports. UB Athletics would help Buffalo out. A little disappointed with New York being on that list so high. On the other hand when 3 of the teams are owned buy people named Dolan and Johnson (and pretty recently a 4th owned by Wilpons) it might be deserved.

BUFFALO SPORTS NEVER STOP. THIS TRAIN NEVER STOPS.