Comments on: Quantifiers and Sports

By: Cryptic Ned

Cryptic Ned — Thu, 21 Oct 2004 22:13:23 +0000

Well, I found the stats for Moscow anyway. I’m not counting teams that won double-elimination-style “cups”, just teams that won in league competition. In just 3 sports, Moscow teams have 135 championships. I’m not sure what other sports would be considered major in Russia. Hockey: 49 titles (http://www.russianhockey.net/rhlchamps.htm) Soccer: 42 titles (http://www.aboutaball.co.uk/html2/countries/russia.php) Basketball: 44 titles (http://members.aol.com/bradleyrd/eurochmp.html; http://www.bbhighway.com/Talk/Coach%20Library/History/russia_index.asp) Now what about Belgrade, or Glasgow, or Amsterdam, or Prague? And also Tel Aviv, which I notice has won every Israeli basketball title except one.

By: Danny

Danny — Thu, 21 Oct 2004 16:49:25 +0000

Ah, but Cleveland doesn’t have an NHL team. So it’s true that Cleveland’s gone longer without a championship, but Philadelphia gets a special dose of bitterness since it’s represented in all four major sports. Couple that with the fact that Philadelphia has about 1 million more residents than Cleveland, and you’ve got boatloads of pain.

By: Ross

Ross — Thu, 21 Oct 2004 14:46:15 +0000

I think what’s been underappreciated in this entire discussion is the undeniable fact that the Yankees suck. Go Sox!

By: Larry Staton Jr.

Larry Staton Jr. — Thu, 21 Oct 2004 14:14:59 +0000

Danny, please add this to your list: Cleveland: 1964 Browns Cleveland has gone 40 years without a championship, easily besting Philly.

By: Amit Dubey

Amit Dubey — Thu, 21 Oct 2004 07:39:24 +0000

City which has won the most national championships? I vote for Singapore.

By: Jason

Jason — Thu, 21 Oct 2004 06:41:14 +0000

Andrew, even if you only counted the 4, ahem, real sports (I realise this is a joke, so I’m playing along), there is probably some city overseas that has won more national championships, if only because they have no real competition.

By: Danny

Danny — Thu, 21 Oct 2004 05:58:54 +0000

Cities with MLB, NFL, NHL, and NBA teams, along with their latest championship: Atlanta – 1995 Braves. Boston – 2003-4 Patriots. Chicago – 1997-8 Bulls. Dallas – 1998-9 Stars. Denver – 2000-1 Avalanche. Detroit – 2003-4 Pistons. Los Angeles – 2001-2 Lakers. Miami – 2003 Marlins. Minneapolis/St. Paul – 1991 Twins. New York – 2000 Yankees. Philadelphia – 1982-3 76ers. Phoenix – 2001 Diamondbacks. Washington, D.C. (if you count the Expos moving to D.C. next year) – 1991-2 Redskins. So it’s not even close, really. Philadelphia has gone 21 years without a championship. The next closest is Minnesota at 13 years. I can’t guarantee that list is 100% accurate and comprehensive, but it’s pretty close if it’s not.

By: Something Polish

Something Polish — Thu, 21 Oct 2004 05:45:28 +0000

My guess is Rome [Italy]. They like ‘em their sports in Italy, the city’s prob’ly got several teams in many different sports, and it’s been around for how many centuries?

By: matt

matt — Thu, 21 Oct 2004 05:13:00 +0000

Togliotti is still where they build cars in Russia, for the most part, w/ the Lada factory, the GAZ factory (I believe) and a new GM factory there. It is named after the Italian communist, and is situated on the widest part of the Volga. It has a well-deserved reputation as “the Russian detroit” and is known for being a mafia-haven. I don’t know who the mens football champs are in Russia now, but the Moscow teams (Dynamo, Spartak, etc.) have been a mess for a while. My “home city” in Russia, Ryazan, claimed to have the best women’s football team, but I’m not sure that’s to be believed.

By: Walt Pohl

Walt Pohl — Thu, 21 Oct 2004 04:07:52 +0000

Philly has not won anything since the Sixers won in ‘83, but I have trouble believing they’ve gone the longest without a championship. Which cities have teams in each sport?

By: Andrew McManama-Smith

Andrew McManama-Smith — Thu, 21 Oct 2004 01:36:57 +0000

Tokyo has to be it, they’ve been winning most of the titles for every sport that japan’s got

By: Andy

Andy — Thu, 21 Oct 2004 01:36:30 +0000

>>Danny is wrong: The Philadelphia Philles won the World Series in 1980. It may be the only one (I don’t know), but it is more recent than the Red Sox. you’re reading it wrong – of the US cities with 4 major league teams, Philly has currently gone the longest without any championship; i.e., the Pats have won 2 recent Super Bowls. Has Philly won anything since the 76ers wins in the mid 80s?

By: Giles

Giles — Thu, 21 Oct 2004 01:26:09 +0000

Togliatti is where they built all the cars in the old soviet days.

By: j

Thu, 21 Oct 2004 01:18:41 +0000

Danny is wrong: The Philadelphia Philles won the World Series in 1980. It may be the only one (I don’t know), but it is more recent than the Red Sox.

By: dsquared

dsquared — Thu, 21 Oct 2004 01:02:49 +0000

I reiterate Newmarket – a small town in Suffolk that’s trained (give or take) more or less all the champion racehorses outside the USA for the last two hundred years. It’s the single most intense concentration of sporting success on the planet, shurely?