Only six sports franchises in North America give their fans less than the Raiders — or at least that’s what ESPN the Magazine says.
The magazine annually rates every NFL, MLB, NBA and NHL team on eight measures: affordability, coaching, fan relations, ownership, players (effort + likability), stadium experience, on-field/court/ice success and wins over the past three years.
The Raiders ranked 116th, ahead of only the Sacramento Kings, Cincinnati Bengals, Detroit Lions, Toronto Maple Leafs, New York Knicks and (of course) Los Angeles Clippers. The best franchise, by the way, was the L.A. Angels, followed by the Carolina Hurricanes, Pittsburgh Steelers and Detroit Red Wings.
The press release announcing the rankings didn’t break down scoring in the various categories, but it wouldn’t be hard to guess where the Raiders failed. You’d have to figure they scored well on fan relations — they really take that relationship seriously. But their stadium is old and stinky, they have lost three-quarters of their games since 2002, they change head coaches approximately every 28 days and their owner is, well, different.
Raiders fans have legitimate reasons to pooh-pooh the rankings. The team got into a public spitting contest with ESPN reporter Chris Mortensen after Lane Kiffin’s firing last year, and many in the organization suspect an anti-Raiders bias at the network. And hey, you could argue that ESPN the Magazine doesn’t give its readers a whole lot for the price.
But the rankings are generated in part through fan feedback, so you can’t simply blame the media on this one.
Anyway, whether you agree with No. 116 or not, it’s another sad indication of how far this franchise has sunk in the popular perception. People used to love the Raiders or hate them for their arrogant power. Now they are mostly ridiculed or dismissed entirely.
One note of optimism: These rankings aren’t set in stone. Two years ago, the Boston Celtics came in at No. 112. This year they’re holding steady at No. 20. Win some games, hang onto the coach, offer some free Johnnie Lee Higgins bobble-heads and even the decrepit Coliseum won’t hold the Raiders back.
