I got to thinking about some glaring absences in the world of sports, and these were the obvious ones that I thought of: NFL/Los Angeles NBA/Seattle MLB/New Orleans Are there any other obvious omissions? Perhaps NHL/Seattle or NHL/Houston?
Some people might argue that California is already overrepresented in the NBA, though. Seeing the Clippers move to San Diego would be interesting though.
I'd disagree about MLB/New Orleans. New Orleans is a great tourist town, but it's not THAT big. As it is, I think that New Orleans and Buffalo are the two smallest metro areas with 2 major pro sports teams. New Orleans would easily be the smallest 3 sport town. Houston is the largest US city without an NHL team. Seattle is the largest US city without an NBA team. LA is the largest city without an NFL team. Orlando (followed by Portland and San Antonio) are the largest US cities without an MLB team.
I think Austin should get a team in either MLB or NBA. Seattle needs to have an NBA team. Houston needs an NHL team or maybe Austin could get one. LA needs a football team.
Lol. Besides the obvious NFL to LA and Seattle getting basketball again, I think San Antonio should get an NFL team. However, most Spurs fans are Cowboys fans ugh. Portland and Oklahoma City could also use NFL. St. Louis should get an NBA team along with Las Vegas.
I see where you're coming from, but at the same time I think regional cultures have to come into account when determining whether or not a city can sustain a sports team. The reason why a place like Seattle should take precedence over Houston in getting an NHL team is because it is a colder city, nearer to the Canadian border, with an inter-national rivalry built in between itself and Vancouver. In the same vein of logic, New Orleans/Louisiana has that traditional, classic Americana feel that lends itself very easily to baseball. Per your own research, going by city-size alone means that Orlando is next in line for an MLB team... in a state plagued with transplants, in which the two other teams, TB and MIA, have historically had a lot of difficulty producing a consistent fanbase. City-size be damned, I would wager that a Louisiana based MLB team would have a better chance at surviving than a third Florida team would. Portland and San Antonio would be be interesting choices, however. If any state [outside of California, of course] could sustain at least three MLB teams, it would be Texas.
We had a thread similar to this in the past. But San Antonio could use an NFL team. List of good NFL Markets San Antonio Orlando Portland Salt Lake City ::throw up face:: Las Vegas Toronto NBA Markets St Louis. There is a story to this on why they don't have a team. Seattle Las Vegas Vancouver. I think they're ready to get a team back Montreal NHL Houston Las Vegas Bay Area MLB Las Vegas Portland Salt Lake City San Antonio New Orleans I omitted Austin cause they don't want pro teams other than UT.
I loved going to Houston Aeros games (for some reason), so I'd love to see an NHL team in Houston. Probably will never happen, though.
MLS/Boulder, CO. (Call them The Big Green) MLB/New Orleans, LA (Call them the Who Bats) NBA/Jackson, Mississippi (Call them the Sweet Peas) NFL/Mobile, Alabama (Call them Grits and Glory) NBA/Baltimore, MD (Call them Rue Morgue) MLB/Dallas (Call them Dallas is gay)