OT: The Best/Worst Organizations in Pro Sports
I was debating this topic with friends this weekend and thought it would be a great one to get in front of this community. Simply put, which organization in all professional sports (NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL, MLS & willing to include Euroleages as well) is the best and which is the worst?
Hard to define the parameters of both categories because the qualifications are subjective and many fans will tie emotions to each. However, let's assume being the best or worst is loosely defined by excelling or failing in categories such as wins, brand recognition, stability, sustainability, history, coaching, current players, fan loyalty, positive/negative press and so on.
I'm not sure who I believe is the best, but I am a Browns fan (by birth, and not by sane choices) and they are definitely the worst organization in all of professional sports.
While their incompetence can be so bad at times as to border on comical, I don't think you can say they are the worst NBA team of the last two decades because that period includes 8 straight seasons during the first KG era in which they made the playoffs and played roughly .600 basketball. If you just take the last 10 years, the T-Wolves are probably the worst.
April 14th, 2015 at 11:08 AM ^
April 14th, 2015 at 11:10 AM ^
Even though they are relatively new, I would put the Jaguars up there with the worst teams. They don't seem to have much of a fan base, they never get much exposure, nobody seems to want to go there, and the ownership appears to be lackluster.
If we were talking just ownership, the Browns would probably be worse. However, the Browns could theoretically turn it around with competent management (like the Tigers did after years of being horrible).
The Jaguars, on the other hand, are not in a good market (they compete with the Falcons, Bucs, and Dolphins in a part of the country obsessed with college football) and don't seem to have any real advantages as compared to any other NFL team.
I am so sad that Denard went there.
April 14th, 2015 at 12:37 PM ^
And taken with the pick immediately preceding Chip Kelly's Eagles.
April 14th, 2015 at 11:11 AM ^
Worst: Browns
April 14th, 2015 at 11:13 AM ^
The Red Wings are the best.
The Mets are the worst: not for incompetent player decisions, they have actually developedd or acquired some great pitching talent, but for being a lower-third payroll team in the richest sports market in the country with a lucrative television deal. The owners need to find a way to make up for the Madoff money they lost, so they're milking the team while telling fans to be patient.
April 14th, 2015 at 11:20 AM ^
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April 14th, 2015 at 11:22 AM ^
the lions is they are very profitable and the brand name is valuable per merchandising & recognition. On the football side it's been a debacle as they are one of only 4 or 5 team's to never appear in a super bowl (one of the other teams is the browns). Also the Matt Millen hire and subsequent parade of coaches and the 0-16 season is clearly the worst performance in recent memory.
April 14th, 2015 at 11:24 AM ^
Best: Spurs, Pats, Steelers, packers, Tigers, SF giants
Worst: Browns, Cubs, Iowa state football, Jaugars,
April 14th, 2015 at 11:35 AM ^
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Tigers? Thats funny. A team that hasn't won anything in decades and only made 2 world series in 30 years is considered the best organization in MLB? Even if you look only to the last few years, I'd still be hard pressed to have them in the top 4
It was just a decade ago that they set the record for most losses in a season.
the Tigers held the best record in baseball for the decade, so I can understand where the poster is coming from. The long decade of futility should keep the Tigers out of baseball's top 5 or 10 for most people.
April 14th, 2015 at 11:24 AM ^
There's a lot of good ones but my Browns stand alone at the bottom of the list. What other organization can boast the following:
1. Repeated blown first round draft picks (literally too many to list)
2. A revolving door of head coaches
3. A revolving door of GMs & Team Presidents
4. First owner dies, second owner completely disengaged & third owner, while under federal indictment, meddles constantly in football operations
5. A GM, in direct violation of NFL rules, texting the sideline during games
6. That same GM now suspended for multiple games next season
7. A "celebrity" QB taken more for marketing appeal than football talent who ends in rehab
8. An all-Pro wide out who gets suspended by the league not one, not twice, but three times for repeated substance abuse violations. Same wide out claims "second hand smoke" was the culprit on one his violations and has two separate DUIs.
9. An OC who quits the team mid-contract in disgust
10. In the face of everything above - the Browns raise ticket prices
But tonight is the big new uniform reveal and the city's a buzzin!!!!!! Gonna be covered on all three local news chanels live at 6:00pm. And we've brought in past and present "stars" to model them.
I am not making this shit up. FML.
April 14th, 2015 at 11:48 AM ^
Going to raise a toast in advance of the Browns letting us down once again and a new Mike Polk video to follow.
April 14th, 2015 at 11:27 AM ^
Worst- Clippers. Although I do like Doc Rivers and the direction they are headed in. They better re-sign DeAndre Jordan.
April 14th, 2015 at 11:27 AM ^
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April 14th, 2015 at 11:51 AM ^
Die-hard Mets fan here. Almost all fans will tell you our problems stem from our owners (money tied up in Madoff related issues), but to say we have a huge payroll is wrong. We actually have the payroll of a mid-market team, which is the exact issue why fans are so upset with our owners. We should be amongst the top 5 in payroll.
April 14th, 2015 at 11:28 AM ^
But the Pistons when Davison was still alive were a very well run organization. Illitch does a great job with both of his teams.
The Lion's are improving now that the old man is dead.
April 14th, 2015 at 11:31 AM ^
The Lions aren't really that bad of an organization. Really all they do is lose. Other clubs treat their fans much worse and make much dumber moves. Off-field stuff has to count too. Gotta put the Browns below them. The Marlins, no doubt. The Knicks for sure. The Maple Leafs. The 49ers are certainly on their way. Lions might be in the bottom third, but there are some really badly-run teams out there that let the Lions off the hook.
April 14th, 2015 at 11:54 AM ^
Of all those teams you mentioned, none of them had their best player ever, and arguably the best player in their position ever, retire on the eve of training camp. And when they could've pulled a Herschel Walker-type trade to get a bunch of draft picks, they said no. They fired possibly the most competent head coach in franchise history (Moeller), though he had a winning record coaching a pretty average at best team. They let the best DT in the game now and potentially GOAT walk in FA. I didn't even mention 0-16, Joey Harrington, Darryl Rogers.
The Lions are currently pinning their playoff hopes on a guy who's never beating a team on the road with a winning record. And that's not their biggest issue. They have no money in free agency to pick up guys to cover up for their poor draft record.
If they're not the worst run franchise in all of sports, I think they're the worst in football.
I mean, on the other hand, the Lions didn't hire a GM who had "destroyed an entire league" on his resume.
Took a look at their Wikipedia page and they are the poster child for East Coast bias. Only 2 NBA titles and 4 division titles in 40 years. Thought they were much better than that. Still the Lions have one division title in that stretch. One playoff win in 23 years. One title in 57 years. I'm going to choke the next person that uses "Lions" and "when cars had fins" in the same sentence.
Have you not seen a Lions draft? That's the organization ya know.
Have you not seen the dead money numbers for the Lions this upcoming season? That's the organization too.
So is scouting, coaching, etc.
Yeah, the Lions have had some stinkers on the field but that starts at the top!
April 14th, 2015 at 11:32 AM ^
One has had the same owner, head coach, and starting QB (one injury year excepted) for the past 14 years, and all three do a superb job. The Browns have had turnover in each of those three roles over the same span, astounding turnover in the case of the QB position, and with rare exceptions, incompetence has reigned.
But of course the Browns have changed their uniforms to incorporate a brighter orange, so that will probably take care of everything.
I am less interested in the other three sports but will take a stab:
NBA: best Spurs, worst Timberwolves
MLB: best Red Sox, worst Marlins (despite their two titles, f-in Jose Mesa)
NHL: best Red Wings, worst Coyotes
April 14th, 2015 at 11:38 AM ^
Not the worst, but the White Sox are up there.
Yes, they won World Series 10 years ago after an 88 year drought. They still rank near the bottom of the league in attendance.
The Cubs haven't won a title since 1908 and they still put the Sox to shame in attendence numbers.
Jerry Reinsdorf is notoriously cheap even though they're in big market and isn't really well liked by anyone. He ran a bunch of guys out of town, threatened to move the team right after he bought it if the city didn't give him a new stadium and really just leaves them to rot because he cares more about the Bulls.
The farm system has gotten better almost overnight but just a few years ago it was awful.
The gimmicks. Bring Your Dog Day. Who could forget the uniforms with the shorts.
April 14th, 2015 at 11:51 AM ^
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April 14th, 2015 at 11:33 AM ^
Spurs, Pats, Steelers and Packers for sure. The other sports I don't know well enough.
Until recently I would have put the Lakers on there too.
April 14th, 2015 at 11:38 AM ^
April 14th, 2015 at 12:24 PM ^
logged in just to upvote this
I live in Colorado now. Knowing I wasn't a Broncos fan, someone asked which NFL team I root for?
I said I'm mostly a college fan as we really didn't have professional football growing up. They asked me where I was from. I said Michigan. But what about Detroit they said?
A ha!
April 14th, 2015 at 11:39 AM ^
for instance, the Raiders have been a joke for 20 years, but growing up for me the Raiders were a close second to the Steelers and Cowboys in the 70's early 80's.
I'll go with a 30 year window and my percepetions of some organizations
NHL Best: Red Wings and its not even close
Worst: Buffalo Sabres, Toronto Maple Leafs. Hockey mad towns and can't get their act together to have any kind of sustainable success.
NBA Best: Lakers, Spurs, Celtics, grudgingly put the Bulls in this category.
Worst Atlanta Hawks, other than the Dominque Wilkins years not much.
NFL Best: 49'ers, they were it in the 80's, 90's, Steelers, Patriots close
Worst Lions
MLB Best Cardinals and Yankees
Worst San Diego
April 14th, 2015 at 11:41 AM ^
MLB: Best Yankees, Worst Astros
NBA: Best Lakers, Worst Clippers
NHL: Best Red Wings, Worst Panthers
April 14th, 2015 at 11:41 AM ^
April 14th, 2015 at 11:46 AM ^
I'm surprised no one has mentioned the Pirates as the worst organization. Historically they haven't been bad and have had a pretty good last couple of years but they just recently snapped a 20 year string where they had a losing record every year - the longest such streak in professional sports.
April 14th, 2015 at 11:54 AM ^
Best:
Red Wings, Spurs, Cardinals/Yankees, Steelers
Worst:
Maple Leafs, Knicks, Cubs (though, not for long), Browns,
April 14th, 2015 at 12:08 PM ^
If we aren't limited to now, the Pirates were the worst organization from the mid-90s until 2007 (when Neal Huntington became GM). Most consecutive losing seasons of all time (until Huntington had time to get his system/players in place), worst trades/free-agent signings (e.g., Derek Bell, trading for over-the-hill Matt Morris and agreeing to take on full salary), an owner who's business model was to maximize profit by minimizing salary. The horror.
April 14th, 2015 at 12:10 PM ^
Like the OP said, emotions are wrapped up in this question. There are so many metrics. I agree with many of the posters above, and think the Red Wings are way up there. They have had an incredible run the last 20 some years. Also think the Patriots have had sustained success under Belichick and with Brady at QB.
Even as a Chicago native, I agree that the Blackhawks aren't quite there yet. But they're not far. They had the highest average attendance and the largest TV audience in 2013-2014. They currently are listed number 4 on the most profitable list of NHL teams. I don't know what the playoffs will bring, and what will happen with payroll and salary caps. But should they win, and should they be able to retain their core and continue to win, they would have to be in the discussion.
The team that has been a bit under the radar is the Bulls. They are at the top for attendance this year, and with Jordan, have a perfect record when in the Finals. They've got a ways to achieve the success of the Lakers and the Celtics. But this year is very interesting. With Rose healthy, and if he stays healthy, they could win it all, and have the core to be competitive for several years.
I'm at a loss with baseball. Though a Sox fan, the Cubs will always fill Wrigley, the Tigers have been very good, and the Yankees and now the Red Sox are also very competitive. The Cardinals always seem to do well.
Double post, double fun.
April 14th, 2015 at 12:15 PM ^
April 14th, 2015 at 12:24 PM ^
I can't give the Yankees or any other club who is basically able to buy whatever roster they want much credit. That's just being rich. Building an organization like the Spurs have is far more impressive than anything I've seen the Yankees do
April 14th, 2015 at 12:26 PM ^
April 14th, 2015 at 12:28 PM ^
April 14th, 2015 at 12:40 PM ^
Very big difference.
I still maintain that we are not a greedy fan base, but no fan deserves dealing with this absolute pile of shit that we're given every year.
Packers fans have had over 20 years straight of pro bowl quarterbacking, and Favre never missed a game. The Colts suck for one fucking year and get Luck. You two fan bases can go fist yourselves.....I said we're not greedy, I didn't say we aren't bitter as all hell.
I will also go to my grave saying Tim Couch was not a bust. Dan Marino wouldn't have won with that excuse for a professional football team that Couch had to play with. The guy got his ass kicked for 3 years, got his confidence shattered, and still got us to the playoffs. In return he had to hear his own fans cheer when he got injured.
April 14th, 2015 at 12:31 PM ^
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April 14th, 2015 at 12:31 PM ^
Best: Yankees, Red Sox, Pats, Packers, Cowboys, Steelers, Red Wings, Spurs, Lakers
Worst: Marlins, Rays, Cubs, Astros, Jaguars, Buccaneers, Browns, Raiders, Blue Jackets, Florida Panthers
Worst of the Worst: the Lions. Sorry, fellow Lions fans, but this is one bad organization, and it goes all the way to the top. As long as the Fords are in charge, I don't see anything changing.
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April 14th, 2015 at 12:36 PM ^
The San Antonio Spurs are the best organization in pro sports, presently.
16 straight 50+ win seasons. The last season they didn't win 50 games there was a lockout and they had a winning percentage of 74, which would be good for roughly 60 wins in an 82 game season.
They've won 5 championships over that same period of time, spanning 3 decades. 6 total Finals appearances, 9 Western Conference Finals appearances, all while playing in the stacked Western Conference of the NBA.
They have one of the greatest GMs ever, and one of the greatest coaches ever. They've done all of this while playing in one of the smaller media markets in the NBA.
April 14th, 2015 at 12:46 PM ^
For an NBA worst anyway, I think you have to go with the Timberwolves. They've been around since 1989, have one division title and one coach with a winning record overall - Flip Saunders - who is of course in his second stint with the team. If you remove Saunders' tenure, the average tenure of a Timberwolves coach is just 2.2 years, with four stints where someone lasted only one season. If you took the names Kevin Garnett and Kevin Love off the individual awards wall, it would be a very sparse wall. For a now-established franchise, that's pretty bad.