MWS Top 10: From the Rocky Mountains to Beantown: Cities That Please Their Fans

For the premiere of Must Win Situation's new weekly top ten list, let's start with an idea I pitched to The Sputnik, which ultimately didn't get written for some reason or another.

The following is a list of the top 10 North American cities whose sports teams have had the most success recently (say, 15 years), and therefore, fans should be the happiest and most fortunate.

This will focus solely on professional sports (sorry, college fans) and to qualify for the list, the city must have at least three participants in the four major sports leagues (MLB, NHL, NFL, NBA).

10: Denver, Colorado

Denver is not necessarily a city that you think of being synonymous with great sports accomplishments. Sure, you may think about its best players like John Elway, Carmelo, and the Joe Sakic-Peter Forsberg-Patrick Roy trio, but the city's sports teams have been pretty good of late. The Avalanche have been the best recently, winning two Stanley Cups over the past fifteen years, in 2001 and 1996. In their entire 14-year history, they've only missed the playoffs twice; not such a bad feat.

The Broncos saw success in the late nineties as well, capturing Super Bowls back-to-back in 1997 and '98. Over the past four years, however, the team has fallen to second-best in the AFC West, failing to qualify in any of those years. Prior to that, however, they made three straight playoff appearances.

Despite a slow start after beginning play in 1993, the Rockies look to be a threatening team over years to come. They made it to the World Series in 2007, where they were swept by the Boston Red Sox, and made it back to the postseason last season. Currently, the team sits just two games back of the NL West-leading San Diego Padres.

Last but not least are the Denver Nuggets. Though they haven't ever been on the big stage like the city's other teams, they have been consistent. They are currently on a string of seven straight playoff seasons and have become a force to be reckoned within the Northwest Division.

9. Miami, Florida

Have you paid attention to NBA free agency this summer? Regardless of what your opinion is on LeBron's decision to join the Miami Heat, the team looks great and should capture at least one NBA Championship in the near future. Even if they don't, they captured a title in 2006 and have missed the playoffs just once in the past six years.

Baseball has also been kind (as well as unkind, but skip that) to the city. The Florida (soon to be Miami) Marlins have won two World Series in their short 17-year history, the most recent coming in 2003 against the New York Yankees. That was, however, the last time the Fish made it to the playoffs.

The Dolphins are one of the more famous franchises in sports, thanks largely to their 1972 undefeated Super Bowl winning season. Though it's outside of the range I created for this article, it's still ridiculously impressive.

The Panthers have been pretty quiet of late too, failing to make the playoffs any of the last ten years. That being said, they do qualify with a Stanley Cup finals appearance in 1996, just making the range needed for this piece.

8. Tampa Bay, Florida

The second Florida city on this list. Despite all of Tampa's franchises being relatively young, the city has seen great success since they came to town.

We'll start with the most recent team to win a championship, the Lightning. They won their first Stanley Cup in 2004 and have been one of the most exciting teams of the last decade with Vincent Lecavalier and Martin St. Louis leading the charge. Despite mediocre play in recent years, they've still managed to make the playoffs four of the past seven seasons.

Next up is the Buccaneers, who claimed a title in 2002, their first and (to date) only Super Bowl win. Regardless, the team has made the playoffs in five of the past ten years, not such an easy feat in a league as tightly contested as the NFL. The future, unfortunately, does not look as bright for this franchise.

The "Rays" have been a great team, and I put Rays in quotations because we'll just pretend the Devil Ray years never happened. The team made it to the World Series just two years ago and last year finished third in the toughly contested AL East. This year, the team finds itself in second in the American League East, within striking distance of the Yankees.

7. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

The Phillies are far-and-above the best sports team from the City of Brotherly Love, as can be seen by their back-to-back World Series appearances, including a win two seasons ago. This year, the team is just as good and are potential champions again. They've also had three straight postseason appearances. Not bad for a team that struggled in the early part of the decade.

This past year marked another "close but no cigar" moment for the city. The Flyers managed to shock the hockey world and advance to the Stanley Cup finals despite goalie injuries and just barely qualifying for the playoffs in their very last game of the regular season.

The Eagles have been good as well. They've made the playoffs eight of the past 10 years and advanced out of the first round in seven of those occasions. With that success comes heartbreak, however, as evidenced by the team's three point loss to the Patriots in Super Bowl XXXIX.

More championship angst belongs to the 76ers, who lost in the NBA Finals just 10 years ago (in five games to the Lakers, though, so it really wasn't all that close). Since then, they've made the playoffs five times.

6. Detroit, Michigan

This is Hockeytown. Detroit fans have also been demanding of their athletes and expect nothing but the best. The Red Wings have, more or less, answered that call. They have not missed the playoffs in sixteen years for crying out loud! On top of that, they've won the Stanley Cup four times in that span, most recently in 2008. A Cup every four years is nothing to be sour about.

The Pistons have also been a force over the past fifteen years. Last year was their first playoff miss in eight years, and they've missed them just three times over the past fifteen years. On top of that, they won the finals in 2004.

The Tigers advanced to the World Series in 2006, but that has been their only real area of success over the past, well, twenty years. Regardless, they do often put up good seasons in the AL Central, where they have finished second three of the past four years.

And then, there's the Lions. They've been so bad, that they sort of became famous. People would go to see how bad they were and make signs taunting the team, so maybe fans are lucky in that way?

5. Chicago, Illinois

We'll start this city off with its most recent champion. The young Blackhawks captured a Stanley Cup this past season, ending what can only be described as an embarrassing drought (a concept the Cubs are familiar with). The year before, they also traveled deep into the playoffs before finally losing in the Western Conference Finals.

Another recent champion is the White Sox, who captured a World Series trophy in 2005. Since then, they've made the playoffs just once, but look poised to make some noise again in the coming years.

Of course, Chicago sports can't be discussed without mentioning the Bulls, Michael Jordan, and their six NBA titles throughout the 90s. Also, even with all the free agency movement, many analysts are giving the Bulls a shot to win this coming year. Five playoff appearances in six years isn't too shabby, either.

The Bears have been a relatively middle-of-the-road team in the NFL, but did have a Super Bowl appearance back in 2006 where they fell to the Colts.

Then there's the Cubs, whose curse has become almost more famous than the team itself. They haven't really done much of late, especially since the whole Bartman incident.

4. New York City, New York

The Yankees have 27 World Series championship titles. They won it all last season and could very well win again this year, as they currently stand first in the AL East. From 1996 to 2000, they won the World Series four times in five seasons. And they've missed the playoffs just once since 1995. WOW. But, you know, they suck and I hate them and all of that.

The Giants won football's greatest prize in 2007, knocking off the then-undefeated Patriots. They have been a quiet but impressive team over the past five years, missing the playoffs just once in that span. Pretty good. 

So many teams, where to next? The Rangers! They missed the playoffs for the first time in five years this past season, ending a good string of an impressive team in Madison Square Garden. They also just miss the time frame for this, winning their last Stanley Cup back in 1994.

The Islanders have been pretty terrible, but will have fans forever because of their back-to-back-to-back-to-back Stanley Cup titles from 1980-1983. They've also got Johnny T and talks of a new arena, so maybe things are looking up. 

The Mets have become known for blowing their chances late in the season and have been mediocre at best in general. The Jets have made the playoffs five of the past ten years and advanced deep in the playoffs last season before falling to the Colts. Lastly, the Knicks have been just terrible. Really, though, just awful.

3. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Another great hockey town, Pittsburgh's Penguins have become one of the premier hockey clubs in the NHL. After just missing out on the Cup with a finals loss in 2008, the Pens exacted revenge, defeating the same Detroit team the following year. Four straight playoff appearances, as well as 16 over the last 20 years, have the Penguins as the talk of the town. The chance that they could be crowned champs again next year also helps.

While the Pens have shown greatness, perhaps nothing says Western PA like football. The Steelers have enjoyed those expectations. Sure Big Ben's been a little misguided, but aside from that, the team's been great. Super Bowl wins in 2005 and 2008 demonstrate that to the fullest, as do five division crowns in the past ten years.

Then there's the Pirates. They are bad.

2. Los Angeles, California

Wow, these last two were tough to split up. Unfortunately for Los Angeles, Tinsel Town just barely fell into the runner-up position.

The Lakers have been absolutely unstoppable, not just of late, but always. They've missed the playoffs just five times in their 62-year existence (they've also made the last five) to put things in perspective. On top of that, they've advanced to the Finals the past three years and won the last two. They also claimed three championships from 2000-2002. With Kobe Bryant in his prime, who says they're stopping this run at two?

The next two teams hail from Anaheim, which did hurt the LA bid for first a bit.

The Ducks managed to win the Stanley Cup finals in 2007, knocking off Ottawa, and made it to the finals in 2003 where they just lost. Last year marked their first playoff miss in four years, and it is not expected to happen again next year.

The Angels claimed their last championship in 2002 and have seen the playoffs six of the last eight years. They are poised to do the same again this year and could even make a run at the World Series.

The Dodgers have made the playoffs four of the past six years, but have seen no real success, advancing to the NLCS at the most. The Kings made their first playoff appearance in six years this past season, while the Clippers continue to be the Lakers' forgotten cousin.

1. Boston, Massachusetts

Sorry New Yorkers, but Beantown has been too dominant this past decade.

First are the Red Sox, arguably the pride of the city's sports scene. World Series wins in 2004 and 2007 show the team's success, as does its six playoff appearances over the last seven years. They continue to earn the wild card and capitalize on it and are in prime position to do the same this year.

Then there are the Patriots, whose run throughout the decade made them one of the few dynasties in NFL history. Super Bowls in 2001, 2003, and 2004 made them the team to beat throughout the decade.

Plus, in their 2007 season, they truly were the team to beat, going 18-0 until falling to the G-Men in the Super Bowl. They've missed the playoffs just once over the past seven years and have dominated the AFC East.

The Celtics captured their last championship in 2008 and found themselves with a chance to do the same last year, but ultimately fell to the Lakers. Over the past ten years, they've made the post-season seven times, and are currently riding a three-year streak.

Last up are the Bruins, who have been the least successful in Boston recently. Still, they've found themselves in the playoffs the past three years and in six of the past ten. They've advanced out of the first round the past two years, but that's it.

Start your arguments about this list, and as Lil Jon would say, "Rep Yo City."