Atlanta named crappiest sports city in America

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SPORTSBOOK.COM

********************** Sportsbook.com crowns Atlanta the worst sports city in America

Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Twin Cities and Houston round out top five worst cities

Sportsbook.com members say Los Angeles is the worst in online voting

NEW YORK - Completely unenthused fans, perennially bad NBA and NHL teams, a dearth of team championships and the misuse of the most electrifying player in football has led experts to name Atlanta the Worst Sports City in America, Sportsbook.com's first annual search for best of the worst.

This inaugural list, compiled by an expert panel of writers, bloggers and sports know-it-alls, is sponsored by Sportsbook.com, the largest online casino and sportsbook on the planet.

"Despite their 14 straight division championships, the Braves couldn't sell out playoff games," explained David Barkoe, Sportsbook.com spokesperson.

"The Falcons cannot for the life of them figure out how to successfully use Michael Vick to win games and there's not much to say about the performance of the Hawks and Thrashers," Barkoe said.

"Atlanta's sports scene is in shambles and their fans should be overjoyed that, according to our experts, they've finally won a championship — Worst Sports City in America," he said.

The continued absence of an NFL team and the general malaise of most fans landed Los Angeles in second place.

Philadelphia's ferocious fan base, combined with its longstanding championship drought, puts the City of Brotherly Love in third.

College hockey-loving Minneapolis/St. Paul drops in at fourth, while Houston rounds out the top five.

For these rankings, Sportsbook.com's panel analyzed the following criteria in determining, without a doubt, the Worst Sports Cities in America:

- Recent on-court/on-field successes - Passion and/or intelligence of fan base - Condition and appeal of local stadiums and arenas - TV, print and radio media landscape - Hurtful and inaccurate stereotypes

Eligible cities competing for the title of Worst Sports City have at least one professional franchise (NFL, MLB, NHL or NBA).

In addition to polling their experts, Sportsbook.com asked their members to cast their vote for the Worst Sports City in America.

The people spoke and they say Los Angeles is the Worst Sports City in America.

Sixteen percent of respondents at Sportsbook.com said the City of Angels was the worst, followed by Philadelphia at 15 percent, Atlanta at 12 percent, Minneapolis at 5 percent and New York City at 4 percent.

"In our online voting L.A.'s lack of an NFL team was the number one reason our members said the City of Angels is the Worst," continued Barkoe.

"But that's the beauty of sports," Barkoe said. "Our experts pick Atlanta and our members pick Los Angeles - the arguments and debates can go on forever."

Finally, when questioned as to why Sportsbook.com would sponsor an annual Worst Sports City Award in the first place, Barkoe responded, "There are plenty of lists about which city is the 'best sports city' but we never saw anyone go the other way."

"We know about Philly's depressed and dejected fan base," he said.

"We laugh at Los Angeles, our second largest city, which lacks an NFL team to root for on Sunday."

"Our experts analyzed all these factors and came up with a list that epitomizes the culture of sports the way it is truly experienced across the US."

For the complete report on the Worst Sports City America, including the full article and results from our online voting, click here.

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Recognized for its outstanding service to its customers, the management team who have built Sportsbook.com remain in place and committed to continuing to provide the same excellent service.

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