Leafs ranked WORST sports team?
- Thread starter Rick C.
- Start date
Zee
Active member
I'd say it's pretty accurate when you take in account what fans have to pay to watch the team that's never won anything in a lifetime. "Bang for your buck" is definitely on a low. I'm sure other teams with long losing streaks like the Cubs would be on this list too, but as a Leafs fan, I can't say I disagree.
2badknees said:
They're ranked last overall as well:
http://espn.go.com/sportsnation/teamrankings
Kin
New member
Last year they did this same ranking and the Leafs finished 119th out of 122 and, if I recall the conversation that arose then, there really wasn't much disputing it based on the categories they use. It's pretty hard to argue that the Leafs offer much in the way of bang for the buck or are in any way affordable compared to anyone else. Likewise, when it comes to the more subjective categories like the likability of the team's players or the team's relationship with it's fans, it's important to note that it's not ESPN's opinion being presented but, rather, the opinion of Leafs fans themselves.
Looking at the individual rankings, it's interesting that Coaching and Ownership, where the Leafs ranked decently last year(50th and 90th respectively) are areas where fans are noticeably less happy this year(down to 113th and 105th) as well as dropping 30 spots in the "Players" category. I'm guessing that can mostly be attributed to the difference between making the playoffs and not making them.
Looking at the individual rankings, it's interesting that Coaching and Ownership, where the Leafs ranked decently last year(50th and 90th respectively) are areas where fans are noticeably less happy this year(down to 113th and 105th) as well as dropping 30 spots in the "Players" category. I'm guessing that can mostly be attributed to the difference between making the playoffs and not making them.
bustaheims
Active member
Based on how many people have commented or posted about this on my facebook, I'd say this poll has a lot more relevance to haters than fans. It's hard to argue against, but, really, it just plain doesn't matter. A handful of good seasons, and they'll move up the rankings.
bustaheims said:
Just curious, fans were actually polled for this? I'm guessing that was done on ESPN's website then. I can't imagine they really got the majority of Toronto fans opinions if that's the case.
Rick said:
I'm not sure if this is the full show or not, but Sportsnet has a bunch of clips on their website:
http://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/nhl-special-a-numbers-game/
Kin
New member
bustaheims said:
I think that's really just a function of the fact that ESPN labels this exercise misleadingly in an attempt to get eyeballs. If the poll read closer to what it actually represents, along the lines of "Leafs Fans feel worse about their Team than any other Fans" then I don't think it would strike anyone as remotely controversial.
bustaheims
Active member
CarltonTheBear said:
According to their own article, they had ~101K in total responses for this poll - so, an average of less than 1000 per team. I strongly doubt they had more than a few hundred fans for any of the Canadian teams in any league to work with. So, yeah, while it's fair to say that Leaf fans may have a lower opinion of their team than the fans of most (or even all) other teams out there, it's hardly a scientific study.
bustaheims said:
Oh, yeah, that's pretty bad. And it's obviously not like NHL teams had the same amount of voters as the other sports leagues too.
bustaheims
Active member
Nik the Trik said:
Yeah, but they're also much more forthcoming about the margin of error in their polls. And, for what it's worth, people who work in the market research field generally have a very poor view of polling firms like Gallup, and the quality and accuracy of their findings.
Kin
New member
bustaheims said:
Sure, but that's typically because their polls tend to be extrapolated to represent a much larger number of people. There are roughly 200 million or so Americans of voting age. If anything, 1,000 or so people is comparatively very large for a poll on Leaf fandom.
Regardless, this doesn't have to be razor-accurate to have validity. Do you think the poll is wrong in stating that Leafs fans have a comparatively low opinion of their coach? Their ownership? That fans feel they're not getting good value for their money? You might quibble whether or not Leafs fans feel worse about those things than Knicks fans but that's a pretty minor bone to pick.