ESPN The Magazine's 2004 Ultimate Standings: Second Annual Ranking of All Major Pro Sports Franchises (from ESPN News Release)

The Magazine Again Teams With Warsaw Sports Marketing Center at The University of Oregon and Markitecture In Study of Sports Franchises
February 2004 (Newstream) -- According to findings of the second annual ESPN The Magazine Ultimate Standings, the San Antonio Spurs are the best franchise in professional sports, and the Chicago Blackhawks are the worst. .The results also show that the Edmonton Oilers give fans the most "Bang For The Buck" - meaning that through exclusive original analysis by ESPN The Magazine and the Warsaw Sports Marketing Center at University of Oregon, the team provides the most return on the dollars invested by fans.

THE 2004 ULTIMATE STANDINGS: THE TOP AND BOTTOM

The top five overall franchises:

1. San Antonio Spurs
2. Dallas Mavericks
3. Green Bay Packers
4. Detroit Pistons
5. Kansas City Chiefs

The bottom five overall franchises:

116. New York Knicks
117. Atlanta Hawks
118. San Diego Chargers
119. Arizona Cardinals
120. Chicago Blackhawks

METHODOLOGY

In October 2003, Markitecture initiated 1,000 phone surveys of sports fans in the U.S. and Canada, asking what fans cared most about getting in return for their investment in their favorite teams. Once determined, more than 31,000 fans were asked to judge their favorite teams on the criteria. Fans were allowed to vote for only one team in each sport. The data was analyzed, weighted and combined to arrive at a score and ranking** of all the franchises in the following categories. The number in parentheses is the "weight" - or percentage of the overall ranking - assigned to that category, as determined by its importance to sports fans:

Fan Relations - how the teams and owners interact with the local fan base (16.2%);
Bang for The Buck - how well a team performs on the field, measured against the money it receives directly from fans (15.8%);
Ownership - overall commitment and effort owner makes to players, coaches and fans, as well as a willingness to spend money and commit to winning (15.5%);
Players - effort given on the court, field or ice, in addition to how likable they are off them (13.0%);
Stadium Experience - the cleanliness, parking, security and promotions at the home venue (12.7%);
Affordability - from tickets to apparel to parking to concessions - what it costs to be a fan of a franchise (10.5%);
Coaching - quality of on-field coaching/managing for the franchise (8.6%);
Winning - how successful and dedicated the team has been in pursuing and winning championships (7.7%).
2004 ULTIMATE STANDINGS HIGHLIGHTS
NFL Leads With Eight in Top 25

Though the NBA had three teams in the Top 5, the Top 25 was heaviest with NFL teams. Eight NFL franchises finished in the Top 25, with the NBA and NHL each having six, and MLB having five.
Biggest Jumps/Drops Since Last Year

The Florida Marlins jumped the most in the rankings since 2003 - up 76 spots to number 24 overall. The dubious distinction of "farthest fall" in the rankings belongs to the Oakland Raiders, who fell 71 spots to 104th. Other significant changes include:
- Carolina Panthers: up 57 spots to 42nd
- Kansas City Royals: up 58 spots to 25th
- Tampa Bay Lightning: up 52 spots to 27th
- Cincinnati Bengals: up 44 spots from last to 74th
- Orlando Magic: down 64 spots to 108th
- Oakland A's: down 55 spots to 66th

Tough-luck Towns

New York: Of the nine NYC-area franchises, only the Yankees (28) and Devils (44) ranked higher than number 80.
Chicago: With the last-ranked Blackhawks, the Windy City also had four of its five teams rank number 93 or below.
Ownership makes a difference

Of the top five teams in the Ownership category, four of them (Green Bay [1], San Antonio [2], K.C. [4], Dallas [5]) finished in the top five in the overall rankings. Interestingly, the same four finished in the top five in the Fan Relations category.
Most people still don't like the Knicks as much as Spike Lee.

Despite being the home hoops franchise of the nation's largest media market, the Knicks ranked just 116th, up just one spot from last year.
Cinderella Stories

Those teams that achieved beyond expectations ranked high. The Florida Marlins (24), Kansas City Royals (25), Green Bay Packers (3), Minnesota Wild (11) and Anaheim Mighty Ducks (37) all went further than they were supposed to. The Spurs (1) downed the Lakers to end their streak of NBA Championships.
Large or small markets better?

In 2004, bigger fared better. Of the top 25 franchises, 15 are in one of the top 25 media markets in the country.
THE ULTIMATE STANDINGS ON ESPN.COM

ESPN.com will provide fans with in-depth access to all of the overall and categorical rankings information in complete, sortable tables; individual summaries of each team's results; and reports on the most interesting findings of the survey. Other aspects of ESPN.com's coverage of the Ultimate Standings include:

An overview of the 2004 Ultimate Standings, as well as features on both the Spurs and the Blackhawks by ESPN The Magazine's Peter Keating;
Interactive components allowing fans to discuss and give further feedback on the Ultimate Standings.
See the Ultimate Standings on ESPN.com: http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/sportsnation/franchiseRanks

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