St. Louis Blues fans know their worth and how loyal they are. Once again we are made to feel like we’re off on a deserted island though.
For the second year in a row, our parent company, FanSided, has released their list of the top 250 fan bases across all entertainment fields. And for the second year in a row the St. Louis Blues and their fans were not included.
Now, overall, we have come to expect these things. As much as we love our town, St. Louis is somewhat of a city in decline – or at least that is the view we project at times.
Riots and high crime/murder rates don’t give the city a very good image. However, that cannot have too much to do with it since other cities with similar problems made the list.
Most likely it is a combination of factors. St. Louis is a small market when it comes to sports franchises, the Cardinals not withstanding. As loyal and great as we are, St. Louis fans tend not to vote well enough in these sorts of things either. So, our own fans are to blame for some of it.
Nevertheless, even if we shrug off our usual bias against these sorts of national media type things, the list itself is enough to take issue with. The Blues deserve a spot in the list given some of the nonsense that made it in.
First and foremost, Star Wars comes in at fourth. I am admittedly a giant Star Wars nerd, but it is behind Dwayne the Rock Johnson, Game of Thrones and The Ohio State. What!?
Who voted on this stuff? Star Wars is loved around the world, even as fans take issue with the current film and the prequels. Game of Thrones has gained popularity all over, but I find it hard to believe that the books or show have the kind of fan base that Star Wars does.
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Ohio State at #1 is a joke. Top college fan base is fine, but there is no way in the world it has more or better fans than Star Wars.
However, this is not a pro-Star Wars article (even if it is). C’mon though. The Rock has more fans than any pro sports franchise? I find that hard to believe.
Going down the list, or up if you prefer, there are other items to take issue with. The new television show, Westworld is ranked higher than the Avengers. Bullspit.
Even the first page of rankings are head-scratchers. The Blues fans cannot make this list, but “fans” of the film The Room and fans of Rocket League make this list. Even Aaron Judge apparently garners more attention than our own fans.
Just because James Franco makes a film about the filmmakers, doesn’t mean The Room has actual fans in the numbers to draw attention. I have only seen a friend play Rocket League, but to say it has a true fan base seems odd.
Clearly they garnered enough votes, but there are really more fans of Aaron Judge than the Blues? Yes, we’re a small market but that’s somewhat embarrassing.
Sticking with just NHL teams, there is plenty to dislike. Our old rival, the Detroit Red Wings make the list as the first NHL team on there. They got ranked at 238.
The Edmonton Oilers are ranked 175, Montreal Canadiens 120 and the Toronto Maple Leafs got 68. Then our current rivals, the Nashville Predators and Chicago Blackhawks got ranked 198 and 77 respectively.
Hate them or not, but both do have good fan bases. However, they’ve also got a lot going against them. Nashville has been around for a cup of coffee and only recently started getting fans to show up regularly. Their arena used to be half full of Blues fans when St. Louis would come.
Chicago has tons and tons of loyal fans. The flip side of that is that they have one of the biggest bandwagon fan sections as well. I would not call it a majority, but some of their most vocal fans could not tell you anything about the team prior to 2010.
No offense to FanSided itself. They do great things for fans and have plenty of interesting pages to read. This list is just…well, you all make up your own mind.
Once again, Blues fans are underrated and overlooked. It should come as no surprise.
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This area has problems recognizing fans within its own borders. The team markets mainly to West County and some of the ritzier areas. There are just as many, if not more, fans in southern St. Louis county, Jefferson county and other surrounding areas.
However, because they don’t have the dollars to spend, they get overlooked at times. Maybe it makes sense the rest of the country overlooks St. Louis itself then.
Thank goodness the Cardinals got ranked at 72. It would have been a kick in the teeth to not be rated higher than the KC Royals.
Maybe one day Blues fans will get their due. We were recognized as part of the best sports city in America back in 2000. Maybe if/when the Blues finally lift the Cup, the rest of the country will stand up and notice.