I stopped watching ESPN on a consistent basis a while ago, mainly because I see it as a shill for large markets on the East Coast without much insight. But the so-called Worldwide Leader"" caught my eye the other day with its annual fan satisfaction rankings, which purport to tell us whose fan base among all the teams in the four major sports is the happiest.
The survey made use of eight categories, giving different weight to each, to make this determination. The methodology is not anything that would get a blessing over at the Medical Science Center, but that and the results are still worth a look.
According to ESPN, the Indianapolis Colts have the most satisfied fans out of 122 total teams in the NBA, NFL, MLB and NHL.
The Seattle SuperSonics lowly finish this season - that I can believe. But how is it that Colts' fans are sports most content, especially after a loss to the Chargers in the divisional round of the post-season?
ESPN received more than 60,000 responses online, asking fans about their pet team's performance in 21 areas. It then distilled those answers into seven different categories. The categories: fan relations, ownership, affordability, stadium experience, players, coach/manager, and titles won or soon expected. Finally, ESPN created an eighth category, bang for the buck, that is a ratio of wins over the past three years to revenue received from fans.
Categories were weighted according to results from a polling firm, whose work was commissioned by ESPN. That survey asked 1,000 fans all over the country what they want most in return for the investment in their favorite teams.
The project as a whole is invalidated in my mind for want of random sampling. Nevertheless, the rankings are thought-provoking.
The Colts finished first, though they did so in none of the individual categories. That team edged out the franchise I would have predicted for a first place finish: the San Antonio Spurs. Tim Duncan and Company finished first in fan relations and ownership, second in players, and third in coaching and titles.
Here's something jaw-dropping: the New Orleans Hornets finished third. They finished 86th in ownership and in the middle of the pack for their stadium. The best explanation here is that these factors were given little weight in the 1,000 fan survey by the firm. Instead, the Hornets were awarded for their top-rated affordability and bang for the buck.
The Packers finished fourth, with a first place finish in stadium experience. Anaheim bested all other NHL teams.
Of most relevance to us, the Brewers finished 13; the Cubs, 95; the Twins, 39; the Bears, 81; the Vikings, 110; the Bucks, 109; the Bulls, 97; and the Timberwolves, 118.
Alas, Knicks fans are the most unsatisfied with their team. Going away from a survey that offers little else, I am at least satisfied in knowing that.
If you would like to help Jon with his own fan satisfactory study, and survey a wide array of people, e-mail him at bortin@wisc.edu.
