My name is Merrill Dubrow, CEO of M/A/R/C Research and a 35 plus year veteran of the insights community and the host of our podcast On The M/A/R/C. Welcome to another On The M/A/R/C Merrill-ISM. Attention sports fans. What is the best sports city in the United States? First, let me say by best I mean the most competitive. The teams that have a chance to win a championship and cities that have teams in the NBA, NFL, MLB, and NHL, and are good right now or in the past year. I'm not suggesting that soccer isn't a great sport, but lots of cities don't have it, and for this discussion I'm only including the four major sports, again, and cities that have an NBA, NFL, baseball, and a hockey team. With that said, believe it or not, there are only 13 cities in the US that qualify. In no particular order, let's start with Washington. We've got the Redskins, the Nationals, the Wizards, and the Capitals, who I think they just don't have great teams. I've got to tell you, I disqualify them really quickly. Denver. OK, Denver has the Nuggets, wow, and the JoKeR, and they've NBA championship, but they also have the last place Rockies, and for that reason, bye bye. I eliminate you. The next one is Miami. OK, we've got the Dolphins, the Marlins, the Heat, and the Panthers. I've got to tell you something, the Dolphins are solid, the Marlins made the playoffs, the Heat are good, and the Panthers are good as well. I've got to tell you something, I'm going to keep them on the list. They make my list of potentials. How about LA with the Rams, the Chargers, the Dodgers, the Angels, Lakers, Clippers, Kings, and Ducks? Wow. Oh my, there are 7, 8, 9 teams there. Another interesting city, but the Dodgers are great. The Lakers and Clippers are OK. The angels, now, come on. I know that's Anaheim but I'm taking that area as LA. I don't think so, and they don't make my top list. I am excluding LA. San Francisco. The 49ers, wow. The giant sea athletics even have got the Warriors which are usually very good, and the Sharks. But you know what? McQueen is a perennial bad team and I've got to kick them off the list. Bye bye. All right. Philadelphia. They got the Eagles. Fly. Eagles fly. The Phillies. 76ers and the Flyers. Philadelphia, the city of brotherly love. I've got a bunch of team members there and I've got a bunch of close friends there. The Eagles went to the Super Bowl not too long ago. The Phillies had a deep playoff run and actually should have met the Texas Rangers in the World Series if they weren't upset. 76ers are one of the best teams right now and the Flyers have a good record. I've got to tell you something, Phillies is a keeper in my mind. The next city I'm going to evaluate is Minnesota. The Vikings, the Twins, the Timberwolves, and the Wild. Twins and Timberwolves are good. In fact the Timberwolves look fantastic. Maybe one of the best top two teams in the NBA. But the Wild, not that good. They don't meet the cut. Bye bye. Next up, let's go to Phoenix. You've got the Cardinals, the Diamondbacks, the Suns, and the Coyotes. Forget it. I can't get past the Cardinals who may have the second picked in the draft this year. They are out. Phoenix, bye bye. New York, nine teams, are you kidding me? Yes. Awesome. But so many of them are not that good right now, like the Mats, the Football Giants, and the Jets. Sorry, Rodgers, but you got injured, and that team didn't go anywhere. You've got to cross New York off the list. Sorry, Steve. Dallas. You've got the Cowboys, the Rangers, the Mavericks, and the Stars. The city where I live. We have World Series champions right now, the Mavericks, a team that is solid. The Cowboys, America's team. That should be the number two seed in the playoffs, and the Dallas Stars are at third place right now with a great record. You know what? I can't kick them off. They make the list. Chicago. The Bears, the Cubs, the White Sox, the Bulls, and the Blackhawks. Come on. I can't get past the Bears and the White Sox. They've got to be kicked off the list. Boston, what a great sports city? The city of parades. Well, Celtics and Bruins, yes. Sox and Pats don't get it done. They're off the list. Bye bye. The last one who might make the list is Detroit, the 13th of the team that has all the four major sports. Interesting, the Wings are solid, but the Tigers alone, not good and it gets them kicked off the list. For me, out of the 13 cities that I would qualify, I need the best sports cities in the US come down to Miami, Philadelphia, or Dallas. When I look at recent championships who can and does compete to me right now, drumroll, I believe the third best sports city in the US is Miami. I've got to tell you, I do believe the runner up in the best sports city is the city of brotherly love, Philadelphia. I've got to tell you, that leaves where I live. And yes, the city of Dallas today has the most competitive teams in the four major sports and is the best city in the US for sports. Look, it's my opinion, probably controversial, but what are your thoughts? Who was your top three and who was number one? Thanks for listening to today's On The M/A/R/C Merrill-ISM. Attention sports fans. What's the best sports city in the United States? My name is Merrill Dubrow, I look forward to hearing from you. Stay well, stay safe, and please, stay in touch.