Best Cities for Sports Fans

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20. Baltimore
> Number of teams: 2
> Championships in the last 50 years: 5
> Average win percentage: 53.0%
> Playoff appearances in the last 50 years: 33
> Last championship: Baltimore Ravens, 2012

Though 2018 was the Orioles’ worst season since moving to Baltimore more than 60 years ago, the city’s sports fans have usually gotten to enjoy quality teams over the past 50 years. The Orioles are typically a winning squad, though they have not won the World Series since 1983. The Baltimore Colts were one of the best teams in the NFL, winning Super Bowl V before leaving for Indianapolis. Since joining the NFL in 1996, the Baltimore Ravens have been to the playoffs 10 times and won the Super Bowl twice.

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19. Houston
> Number of teams: 3
> Championships in the last 50 years: 3
> Average win percentage: 48.0%
> Playoff appearances in the last 50 years: 56
> Last championship: Houston Astros, 2017

After years of struggles, the Houston Astros finally broke through and won the World Series in 2017. Prior to that, the only Houston team to win a title was the Rockets of the NBA, who won championships in 1994 and 1995 — the Bulls had been the dominant team of the NBA in the 1990s, but the Rockets didn’t have to face them either season. Michael Jordan missed most of those two seasons because he opted to play minor league baseball instead of continuing the Chicago Bulls dynasty.

The favored sport in Texas is football, but Houston can’t seem to find a winning NFL team. Though the Oilers won the first two AFL championships, once the franchise joined the NFL it struggled to find postseason success. The Oilers eventually left for Tennessee, and Houston’s new football team, the Texans, has never won more than one postseason game in a season.

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18. Atlanta
> Number of teams: 3
> Championships in the last 50 years: 1
> Average win percentage: 49.0%
> Playoff appearances in the last 50 years: 66
> Last championship: Atlanta Braves, 1995

Atlanta sports fans have had to deal with more than their fair share of heartbreak. The Falcons are 0-2 in the Super Bowl, including a blown 28-3 lead against the Patriots in Super Bowl LI. The Hawks of the NBA have been subpar since moving to Georgia from St. Louis. The team has not made the NBA Finals since relocating.

The lone bright spot of the last 50 years is the Braves’ 1995 World Series Championship behind the team’s trio of ace pitchers — Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine, and John Smoltz. Though the Braves won a ring, the team lost in its four other trips to the World Series that decade, in 1991, 1992, 1996, and 1999.

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17. St. Louis
> Number of teams: 2
> Championships in the last 50 years: 4
> Average win percentage: 49.4%
> Playoff appearances in the last 50 years: 64
> Last championship: St. Louis Cardinals, 2011

Though the St. Louis area currently has two professional sports teams, only one helps make the city great for fans — the St. Louis Cardinals. The Cardinals have won 11 World Series titles, three of them in the last 50 years. The Cardinals have been to the playoffs 12 times since the 2000 season and brought home championships in 2006 and 2011. The Blues, on the other hand, have starved for a championship since the franchise joined the NHL in 1967. The Blues lost in the Stanley Cup Finals in their first three years, and they haven’t been back since.

St. Louis fans recently lost their football team. The Rams moved from Los Angeles to St. Louis in 1995, won the Super Bowl a few seasons later, and bolted back to their previous home in 2016.

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16. Minneapolis
> Number of teams: 4
> Championships in the last 50 years: 2
> Average win percentage: 50.0%
> Playoff appearances in the last 50 years: 58
> Last championship: Minnesota Twins, 1991

The Minneapolis-St. Paul area is home to a team in each of the four major sports leagues — and most of them have been a source of misery. Minnesota fans had to watch their North Stars relocate to Dallas in 1993, then win the Stanley Cup a few years later. The North Stars’ replacement, the Wild, typically get bounced out of the playoffs in the first round. The Timberwolves have historically been lousy. And the Minnesota Vikings are 0-4 in the Super Bowl, their last appearance following the 1976 season. Only the Minnesota Twins have been able to win a championship. Kirby Puckett led the baseball team to the title in 1987 and 1991, both via dramatic game seven wins.