Atlanta Named Worst Sports City

In an inaugural survey, the folks at Sportsbook.com named Atlanta the worst sports city because of “unenthused fans, perennially bad NBA and NHL teams, a dearth of team championships and the misuse of the most electrifying player in football.” Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Minneapolis/St. Paul and Houston rounded out the top five.

The list was compiled by a panel of experts made up of sports writers, experts and bloggers (but alas, not me). The following criteria was used to rank the cities:

* Recent successes on the field or court
* Passion and/or intelligence of fans
* Condition and appeal of local stadiums and arenas
* TV, print and radio coverage
* Hurtful and inaccurate stereotypes
* Eligible cities must have at least one major professional sports franchise (NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL)

In addition, Sportsbook also asked their members to cast their vote for the worst sports city. Their answer? Los Angeles because the second largest U.S. city does not have an NFL team.