Toronto’s pro sports teams may be stuck in the middle when it comes to ESPN’s Ultimate Standings, but the Raptors, Jays and Leafs are all heading in different directions.
The survey, which will appear in the Feb. 16 issue of ESPN The Magazine, includes the input of 31,000 fans, who gauged their favourite teams on criteria such as affordability of attending games, player effort, championships, and “Bang for the Buck,” where team revenue is divided by the number of wins a franchise had in the past three years.
Surprisingly, the Blue Jays were the highest-ranking Toronto team at 47, with the Raptors at 50 and the Maple Leafs near the bottom at 88, out of 121 franchises. The CFL Toronto Argonauts were not part of the survey.
The number one team in this year’s rankings was the NBA’s San Antonio Spurs, and the lowest ranking team was the NHL’s Chicago Blackhawks. The highest-ranking Canadian team was the Edmonton Oilers (8), followed closely by the Ottawa Senators (10).
The Blue Jays, who finished 15 games out of first place in the AL East division, made the biggest jump among T.O. teams, going from 69th in 2003 to their current spot at 47. According to the survey, beer is still cheap at games, management offer a lot of ticket discounts (such as two dollar ticket Tuesdays), and the young team assembled by General Manager J.P. Ricciardi provide a fun product on the field.
As for the Raptors, their status remained relatively static, climbing from 54th position last year up to 50 this year. The unloading of Antonio Davis and Jerome Williams’ unsightly salaries, the ascendancy of rookie Chris Bosh and the fifth-best attendance in the NBA are all cited as positives for the inconsistent Raptors, who are still in the playoff hunt thanks to a weak Eastern Conference.
As always, the vaunted Maple Leafs receive the brunt of bad tidings from both their fans and their detractors. Despite the team’s history of excellence, the current 36-year Stanley Cup drought drops the club’s championship rating to 95th overall, and affordability at the Air Canada Centre is a putrid 118th, eclipsed only by the Blackhawks, New York Knicks and Boston Red Sox. The Leafs dropped 23 spots from last year’s survey, from 65 to 88.
Among the ranking’s more interesting findings were that small-market teams are not necessarily disadvantaged when it comes to success. Teams from Ottawa, Edmonton and Kansas City (the NFL’s Chiefs) all ranked in the top 10, while behemoths from major markets such as Chicago and Washington (the NHL’s Capitals) were in the basement. Shockingly, New York had three teams in the bottom 10-the Knicks, Rangers and Mets.
