http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/ le...ory?id=3363263
Four in nine makes San Antonio leTown USA
By Thomas Neumann
Only one city can truthfully make the following claim: We have won four world championships in the past nine seasons.
San Antonio.
Although it relies on one franchise, the Spurs, to carry the torch for the city in the world of major league sports, San Antonio boasts unmatched success in recent years.
Boston will probably take umbrage with this assessment. Although the Red Sox have won two of the past four World Series, consider that …
The Patriots play 30 miles away in Foxborough. The team hasn't been the Boston Patriots since 1970, when they left town after a decade of relative indifference. Furthermore, they were this close to signing a deal to move to Hartford in 1999. So let's not be so quick to hand over those three Lombardi Trophies to the city of Boston.
After all, this campaign ultimately aims to determine leTown USA. Not leState USA or leRegion USA.
• The Spurs have the highest winning percentage in NBA Finals history (.727, 16-6) .
• Through the 2006-07 season, the Spurs had the highest winning percentage in any of the four major sports over the previous decade (.709, 559-229) .
• ESPN The Magazine has compiled the Ultimate Standings each of the past five years, rating the four major pro sports teams by a formula which combines winning, affordability, stadium, coach, players and ownership. The Spurs have finished first twice and no lower than third out of 122 franchises.
• San Antonio has also determined four national college basketball championships since 1998, playing host to three men's Final Fours and one women's Final Four.
San Antonio tends to lose style points on the national stage. The Spurs don't strut, preen or pound their chests for the cameras. All they do is win, and because of that some fans perceive them to be boring. But isn't winning the true bottom line?
Green Bay, another one-horse town, was dubbed letown when the Packers won five championships in the 1960s. If the Spurs win the 2008 NBA le, that would be San Antonio's fifth championship in a decade.
What more needs to be said?
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