Atlanta Spirit hammered again in all-sports franchise rankings
Braves fared well in rankings, current problems notwithstanding.
I acknowledge that we don’t need any more affirmation of the pecking order of Atlanta’s major pro sports franchises — or more specifically, their owners. But it’s always comforting when a national publication echoes the same sentiment.
And so, we give you ESPN The Magazine’s ninth annual “Ultimate Standings” of 2011. The magazine ranked all 122 sports franchises, including those who might be moving to Winnipeg. Their eight criteria were bang for the buck (wins vs.
Guess which team ranked No. 122 (last) in ownership?
revenue in the last three years); fan relations; ownership (the word “honesty” was invoked); affordability; stadium experience; players (effort and likability); coaching; and title track (championships won or expected in lifetime of current fans).
The Braves and Falcons fared well, ranking 19th and 20th, respectively. You’ll have to go lower to find the Hawks and Thrashers.
Lower. Still lower. Almost there.
The Hawks rank 103rd, a huge drop of 59 spots from last year’s No. 44 ranking. The Thrashers rank 115, and it’s not surprising what dragged them down the most — ownership.
The Atlanta Spirit ranked last in the ownership category for the Thrashers. There’s the Spirit’s kick out the door. Not surprisingly, the team had a decent ranking (65th) in the bang-for-the buck category, a testament to the roster fix done by general manager Rick Dudley and the coaching of Craig Ramsay. (Makes you wonder why the new owners in Winnipeg already have decided not to keep Dudley and may part with Ramsay.)
The Hawks drew their lowest rankings in effort and likability of players (118), coaching (114) and title track (114).
The top franchise is the Green Bay Packers, but you can find them all on this link. Just click the team for more details. The bottom feeder: The Cincinnati Bengals.
Some franchises, even the Atlanta Spirit can equal.
Following is analysis from the article on each Atlanta team:
BRAVES (19)
Last Year’s Rank: 15
Title Track: 29
Ownership: 45
Coaching: 58
Players: 25
Fan Relations: 24
Affordability: 24
Stadium Experience: 55
Bang for the Buck: 30The names may change in Atlanta, but the franchise rolls on, as 15 postseason appearances since 1991 will attest. Atlanta is also a model of stability in our rankings — its No. 19 finish marks the sixth year in seven the team has cracked our top 25, and it has never ranked lower than 40. Once Bobby Cox retired, the Braves dropped an expected 50 spots in Coaching, so new skipper Fredi Gonzalez, a Cox disciple, has some ground to make up. But with help from homegrown stars Jason Heyward and Freddie Freeman, that shouldn’t be a problem. Meanwhile with an average ticket price of $19.38, Braves games remain a solid value, and the new food and beverage lineup at Turner Field has been well-received. When you’re in town, check out McCann’s Burgers, serving fries, sweet onion rings and milkshakes. But don’t expect to see the All-Star catcher there. He spent the off-season dropping 10 pounds. He knows the bar has been set high.
FALCONS (20)
Last Year’s Rank: 36
Title Track: 57
Ownership: 20
Coaching: 15
Players: 34
Fan Relations: 40
Affordability: 60
Stadium Experience: 92
Bang for the Buck: 7At the NFL draft in April, one of the biggest — and most-criticized — moves came when the Falcons traded five picks to get the sixth overall selection and used it to pick Alabama receiver Julio Jones. It was a risky move, certainly, but Atlanta’s fans seemed to take it in stride. They know better than to be critical of the guys in charge. After all, not much has gone wrong for this team recently, thanks in large part to the roster skills of GM Thomas Dimitroff and the on-field schemes of head coach Mike Smith, which have pushed the Falcons into the NFL’s top five in both Ownership (No. 20 overall) and Coaching (No. 15). Since Dimitroff and Smith arrived in 2008, the Falcons have enjoyed three straight winning seasons — a franchise-first capped by an NFC-best 13-3 record last year. For all the debate the draft-day deal stirred among insiders, Falcons fans have faith that Jones will team up with Roddy White (NFL-high 115 receptions in 2010) and Matt Ryan (career-bests in passing yards and TDs; first Pro Bowl appearance) to form one of football’s most prolific air attacks. Now, what to do about that Stadium Experience ranking? Well, owner Arthur Blank is developing a plan to replace the Georgia Dome with a new open-air stadium in downtown Atlanta. That would sure help — as would a Super Bowl appearance by Ryan and Co.
HAWKS (103)
Last Year’s Rank: 44
Title Track: 118
Ownership: 101
Coaching: 118
Players: 120
Fan Relations: 114
Affordability: 86
Stadium Experience: 98
Bang for the Buck: 13Okay, you try figuring out the Hawks. A year ago, with fans raving about the Al Horford and Joe Johnson combo (and that 53-win season), Atlanta jumped 36 spots in the Standings. The Hawks were poised to take that elusive next step. Fans should’ve seen the red flags when GM Rick Sund brought in former assistant Larry Drew to replace much-maligned head coach Mike Woodson. The Hawks regressed under Drew’s tutelage in the regular season (nine fewer wins) but were surprisingly tough in the playoffs, reaching the conference semifinals. Still, local bloggers want the front office blown up and the roster changed. “We have watched the Hawks be consistently inconsistent for over two years,” writes Hawk Str8Talk at Peachtree Hoops, “and now it’s time to make moves.” That negativity seems pervasive right now, as the Hawks dropped in nearly every category, from Ownership and Players (a free-fall from 47 to 120, even though the roster is largely unchanged) to Fan Relations and Stadium Experience. How strange are things in Atlanta these days? Even though the average cost of going to a game has dropped 21.7 percent since last year — the biggest drop in the NBA — Hawks games are still only the 86th-best deal out there, 39 spots worse than last year. Despite all that, they are ranked 13th in Bang for the Buck. Maybe it’s time we fly in some Sacramento fans to give folks in the ATL a little perspective.
THRASHERS (115)
Last Year’s Rank: 109
Title Track: 120
Ownership: 122
Coaching: 103
Players: 110
Fan Relations: 107
Affordability: 99
Stadium Experience: 102
Bang for the Buck: 65The rumors finally proved true for the Thrashers, but not until fans had watched the dismal 2010-11 season draw to a close. New faces in both the GM’s and president’s offices didn’t bring enough positive change to keep the franchise in the ATL for another year. Nor did a major multiplayer trade last June. Instead, the changes led to the worst Ownership ranking out of all 122 major pro teams. So while the Atlanta Hawks — also operated by the Atlanta Spirit Group — were making headlines by reaching the 2011 NBA playoffs, their oft-ignored sibling began packing for Winnipeg. The ASG, which announced in January that it had lost $130 million over the past six years, had been trying to dump the team since 2005, doing business on the cheap. As a result, the Thrashers made just one playoff appearance in 11 seasons. Perhaps the writing was on the wall in February 2010 when the team traded Ilya Kovalchuk, its franchise player and one of the league’s top scorers. Atlanta still averaged 13,469 fans per game for the swan song, boasting a roster that featured a record five African-American players. Otherwise, there’s not much praise to go with the blame. Usually we’d tell a fan base, “There’s always next season.” But, for Atlanta fans, there won’t be one.
Once again, no love for the Atlanta Spirit.
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76 comments Add your comment
thomas
June 17th, 2011
4:06 pm
hawks ranked way to low in the coaching category, I am by no means saying Larry Drew et al are good, but 4th worst for a team that made the Second Round of the playoffs is absurdly to low.
bldvl89
June 17th, 2011
5:12 pm
Wow, the ONLY pro franchise in Atlanta that has made the playoffs the last three years in a row, and that has even advanced in the playoffs during that time gets killed in the rankings. And I disagree with the likeability of the players – Hawks are lucky to have someone as charismatic as Al Horford to be the face of the franchise (unless everyone wants Isaiah Rider or “Big Dog” Robinson back), and the only thing Joe Johnson did wrong was accept a max offer management gave him.
Seriously, how many of us would have turned down the extra $29 mil ASG offered to take the Knicks $90 mil offer instead? If Joe had left for NY or Chi, we’d all be whining about how the ASG didn’t do enough to keep him in the fold.
Buddy Grizzard
June 17th, 2011
8:03 pm
“hawks ranked way to low in the coaching category, I am by no means saying Larry Drew et al are good, but 4th worst for a team that made the Second Round of the playoffs is absurdly to low.” – thomas
As I’ve said over and over on Michael Cunningham’s blog, the Hawks made it to the second round in spite of Larry Drew, not because of. The Hawks should give more credit to Otis Smith than Larry Drew for capping out the Magic with a horrible talent base. They’re in a worse position than Cleveland was when they lost LeBron.
Without question, the Hawks lost in the second round because of Larry Drew’s inability to utilize personnel. He let Zaza, with the best +/- of any Hawk in the playoffs, to rot on the bench while he played Jamal Crawford at point. Absurdly low? Larry Drew couldn’t get a head coaching job with any other franchise. WE COULD HAVE HAD DWAYNE CASEY.
Xavier
June 17th, 2011
8:30 pm
Folks, these results are bogus. The voting period ended in April. Before the playoffs started. NBA and NHL that is.
ASG
June 17th, 2011
8:54 pm
congrats !
Matt "CHOKE" Ryan
June 17th, 2011
9:00 pm
CHOKE is 26 and going on 30, but still no playoff wins
Ray
June 17th, 2011
9:47 pm
Hey you can’t talk about the Falcons all day and night, but at least Arthur Blank is trying to help out unlike these guys. Their way of making themselves not look cheap is to give someone who’d only be a Robin on any of the power teams max money. You never give Robin Batman’s money geez.
thrasherdawg
June 17th, 2011
11:27 pm
Wasn’t Great!
When Bettman was annoced to present the trophy’s the chant “Bettman Sucks” was so loud he couldn’t even here himself talk.
The BOOING was so loud he couldn’t here himself talk. When will the HNL get a clue and get rid of this clown? Bettman couldn’t run a popsicle stand.
All he had to do was come to Atlanta and tell the fans 13,000 season tickets and the team stas in Atlanta…the reason he didn’t, he knew he would have lost 60 million dollars.
Slimjr
June 17th, 2011
11:42 pm
Yawn………………….
Willy
June 18th, 2011
6:34 am
I’m still angry about all the times the Hawks quit during the regular season (the playoffs barely register for me, except for Teague).
jhan
June 18th, 2011
9:26 am
If only we had Dwayne Casey we surely would have won the NBA title this year!!! Give me a break!
Raybud
June 18th, 2011
1:58 pm
Lets convince Arthur Blank to buy the Hawks.
ward
June 18th, 2011
10:55 pm
The day after the McDavid group from Texas offered to buy the three entities (Philips/Thrashers/Hawks) from AOL/Time Warner for 250 million, it is a fact that Turner’s son-in-law showed up with a similar offer (250million) to “keep” the Atlanta connection with the three franchise pieces. Let’s not give old Ted Turner a “pass” from being “out of the picture” on the orgin of the ASG since son Beau, son-in-law and three fellow TBS business buddies were part of the original 9 ASG dwarfs. The next problem they encountered was the lawsuit (McDavid’s) which had to be settled (McDavid had a verbal guarantee of acceptance from AOL/Time Warner). Seems McDavid and his group were pissed that they were passed over for the “day-late” offer for the same amount from Turner’s son-in-law and “his” group. Originally McDavid wanted $500 million for his troubles and the slap in the face. That slap was generated with Turner’s knowledge since it was the ASG……..then the comedy of errors started when Belkin wanted out and that suit went on for too many months and years to count. The Thrashers really never had a chance and the recent ranking proves the point. Turner and his minions were responsible and their management dysfunction for hockey was made all the worse as one considers Ted named the team and generated the original Thrasher NHL papers. He should be ashamed for losing the team along with his ASG stooges who mismanaged the franchise.
Air Zaza
June 19th, 2011
1:56 pm
The Hawks are rated far too low. Three playoff trips in a row. Well paid players. They have some very good pieces in Teague and Smith. They have some nice franchise players in Horford and Joe. They have two good players in Hinrich and Jamal C. They are a very good team. New Orleans should not even come close to Atlanta much less better. This sounds like ESPN is blowing smoke at ASG. No way in hell Atlanta is 120 in Championship chances. The f**k, that’s absurd. They might as well been the worst team in the league if that’s the case and it clearly wasn’t. ESPN can blow on one.
wreckmaniac
June 19th, 2011
11:17 pm
Why didn’t the Spirit offer the Hawks to Winnipeg along with the Thrashers ? Then Phillips arena could be used to develope youth hockey and house the first team in the North American Volleyball League. There’s just no creative thinking any more.
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June 19th, 2011
11:50 pm
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FULL BOYCOTT
June 20th, 2011
7:24 pm
FULL BOYCOTT OF PHILIPS!
Bobby Hull
June 21st, 2011
9:14 am
Thrasherdawg, are you saying that if Bettman had said ’sell 13,000 season-tickets’ to Atlanta fans that they would’ve been sold? HAH! You couldn’t even bring out more than a couple of hundred people to a ’save the Thrashers’ rally! What makes you think you’d sell 13,000 season tickets? Let alone in TWO MINUTES like real hockey fans?
Face it, Atlanta didn’t lose the Thrashers because of lousy ownership who failed to put a good product on the ice, Atlanta lost the Thrashers because Atlanta DIDN’T SUPPORT HOCKEY. Sure, point out for the thousandth time that attendance was good when the team was good. Congratulations, but that doesn’t make you a hockey fan, that makes you a bandwagoner. There are plenty of cities in the NHL that have struggled with futility for years, yet they still have teams. Why? Because they’re hockey fans, and REAL hockey fans will support their team in good times and bad, even when the bad lasts the better part of a generation.
So quit crying, you only have yourselves to blame for losing the team.
ATL Observer
June 21st, 2011
9:55 am
@Bobby Hull, that’s a lot of baloney, the Blackhawks’ joint was a desolate barn only a few years ago and then when the ownership changed, suddenly the place was packed. Everyone is raving about Boston’s support of the Bruins now but they’ve had several years where there were many many empty seats to be had. Pittsburgh seems to have no trouble supporting hockey when Mario Lemieux or Sidney Crosby plays for the team. The leaner years? You be the judge.
Re: the 13,000 issue, the point isn’t whether or not Atlanta would have bought the tickets, it’s the due course. Bettman gave lots of other cities chances to save themselves (Nashville, Pittsburgh, Glendale about 1,000 times….) but Atlanta apparently was a lost cause even though the franchise was in OK shape before ASG and the lockout collectively laid waste to what had come before (and I’d argue the franchise wasn’t even being run great then, just 1000x better than the ASG clowns).
There’s a difference between being a bandwagonner and wanting to be respected. The average consumer wasn’t respected by the ASG and thus they were turned off. Supporting ownership that doesn’t respect you doesn’t make you a “good fan”, it makes you f*!@ing stupid.
Dejay
June 21st, 2011
12:20 pm
ATLObserver, I’m so glad that you brought those facts into the light. Folks around the country have this misconception that Atlanta is the only city on the planet that turns its back on teams that don’t win. Seriously, people honestly believe that teams like the Bruins, Patriots, Blackhawks, et al had decades of sold-out arenas and stadiums because they’ve recently won something but that’s so far from the truth that its scary. Those teams also had lean years as well as the teams here and you know what the majority of their ‘more passionate, more dedicated than Atlanta’ fans did? They took the $$$ out of their wallets and spent it elsewhere.
As I’ve stated a million times, you can’t name a city in this country with multiple pro teams (sorry, but one-horse towns like San Antonio, Salt Lake, Portland, Green Bay, and OKC doesn’t count) who doesn’t run for cover when their teams lose, much less when the ones in charge has a complete disconnect from their fans in terms of how good their product really is. The Notorious A.S.G. thinks that a playoff team that has NO SHOT AT WINNING THE EAST and goes out of its way to keep the status quo right there (see Joe Johnson’s contract extension) should obligate fans into going to ballgames, which explains why folks stay away from Philips unless Kobe or Lebron is in town. Didn’t they learn ANYTHING from watching us turn on the Braves when they were found to be playoff frauds over a decade ago? I know that’s blasphemy in some parts of town but losing 14 times in 15 chances while the manager not only keeps his job but call his shot in terms of how he wants to exit will sour any fanbase over time. Would Bobby Cox had been given the chance to get his uniform number mowed into the outfield in NYC, Boston, or Philly with that track record? No need to respond; we all know the answer.
That’s why so many folks gravitate so much to what Arthur Blank is doing with the Falcons (the lockout notwithstanding). He ‘gets it’. He knows that just making the playoffs and getting beat isn’t enough for this fanbase because we’ve seen it soooooooooo many times with the Braves and Hawks. If he was content on just winning in the regular season, he wouldn’t have cosigned a deal to bring in a high-priced draft pick like Julio Jones, let alone give an ‘all-in’ declaration to the front office to do what it takes to get a Lombardi trophy to Flowery Branch. Do you think Terry McGuirk or any member of the ASG would’ve been as distraught as he was following the Green Bay loss? They would’ve been harping on how great a regular season they had; we’ve seen those type of interviews dozens of times.
What doomed the Thrashers was not only the fact that they lost (a lot) but the ones running the show had as little desire to put a better product on the ice as Time Warner had in keeping WCW on its cable stations a decade ago. How else do you explain Don Waddell getting a decade to run the franchise into the ground but also get a promotion because he kept the payroll at the league minimum? How else do you explain they telling the world that ‘all is well’ while secretly trying to sell the club? How else do you explain them trying to sue the very law firm who drew up their ownership charter when they couldn’t sell the team because of the Belkin issue? What, we’re supposed to still come out and support a product being run in that manner? Doing something like that wouldn’t make us fans; that would make us lemmings who stand for nothing and fall for anything.
Unlike Cub fans who drink the Kool-Aid every spring, only for Lucy to pull the football from under them come June like she did Charlie Brown, we’re not built that way. In the south, YOU MUST WIN. High school football coaches get fired for 7-3 seasons and college coaches get run after bowl victories because they could beat their rivals (Jim Donnan, Phil Fulmer, and Bill Curry will attest). If you don’t, fine. We’ll take our wallets elsewhere. In the words of Charles Barkley, ‘I might be wrong but I doubt it’….
hawkfan
June 21st, 2011
2:15 pm
well dwane casey is now coach of the raptors, go figure another Canadian team doing what atl teams couldn’t do, and it was ironic that jason terry said in the mavs celebration last week “Atlanta, where is that at? im home” and the dallas crowd cheering, that basically explains asg to you
Bettman the Moron
June 21st, 2011
2:59 pm
Bring back the Thrashers…..ASG, go to hell…..Winnipeg, F YOU….
Brendan
June 21st, 2011
6:32 pm
Folks, the Spirit Group, if it could have, would have sold the Thrashers back in 2005, again, by divorcing it from the proceeds derived from the operating rights to Philips Arena. When an ownership does that, it means the team gets relocated. Nobody can withstand the financial losses of running a hockey team, if they don’t enjoy the profits from operating the venue for events that aren’t hockey-related. Those profits offset the liabilities of NHL payroll and travel budget.
The NHL Commissioner can talk about how, “Nobody wanted to own the team” all he wants, but he’s not telling the full story. What’s more truthful is … nobody wants to own an NHL franchise, ANY NHL franchise, without profits from the venue.
Moose Hedberg
June 22nd, 2011
11:38 pm
@ Bettman the Moron
Why FU Winnipeg? Something was for sale and they bought. They didn’t cause this.
Remember these predictions?
“They won’t sell to Winnipeg.” Wrong
“They’ll never sell 13000 season tickets.” Wrong – sold in 2 minutes for multiple years with a waiting list capped at 8,000
“The board of governors will never approve the sale.” Wrong – approved unanimously
astonished
June 23rd, 2011
1:04 am
Atlanta hockey fans, don’t give up. It took Winnipeg 15 years to get a team back and most thought that small market was permanently minor league. The Thrashers outdrew the Jets in each team’s final seasons. I’m no Bettman fan but I think he was right, there was no one who had the both the wherewithal and cash to buy them. Nobody would without also owning the lease on Philips; if ASG claims they didn’t make money on the Thrash, a renter tenant wouldn’t have a chance. It’s too bad ASG poisoned the hockey waters because even a slightly-winning team here would be successful. We have more hockey fans here than many people would think. I miss the Thrashers already :-{…
Ben
June 23rd, 2011
10:46 am
Now we know why the sale of the Thrashers to someone local was such a disaster, WADDELL HANDLED IT!