At 02:03 AM 10/6/01 -0000 Alberto Monteiro wrote:
>Minor cities in Brazil usually have one soccer team - when Brazil had
>any soccer worth mentioning - and one or two other local teams of
>other sports. Big cities have several teams for all sports. This, of course,
>includes volleyball.
In the United States, we commonly refer to the "Big 4 Team Sports" of
American Football (NFL), Baseball (MLB), Basketball (NBA) and Hockey (NHL.)
Almost all of our largest cities have one of each: New York (two of NFL,
MLB, and NHL!), Chicago, Boston, Philadelphia, Atlanta, Miami, Dallas,
Detroit, San Francisco, Denver, Phoenix, and Minneapolis.
The list of cities with three out of the four pretty much rounds out a list
of US major cities:
Washington (no MLB), Los Angeles (NFL), Cleveland (NHL), Charlotte (MLB),
Tampa (NBA), Pittsburgh (NBA), Houston (NHL), and Seattle (NHL).
After that, both Soccer (MLS) and Women's Summer Basketball (WNBA) are
slowly rising towards the status of the Big 4. Many of the above have MLS
and WNBA franchises.
In the Northeast, there is, as noted earlier, Major League Lacrosse. But,
as much as I love my home of New York State, any League that can have
franchises in New York, Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse *and* Albany just
isn't on the map. ;-) There are probably a few other minor team sports
leagues on this scale, such as women's fast-pitch softball and roller
hockey - but I'm not aware of very many.
The absolute pride of American team sports, however, is American Minor
League Baseball. Each of the MLB Teams has a farm system. The system
usually begins with a AAA Team in a second-tier US City, such as Buffalo
and Columbus that have teams in one of the other "Big 4" Leagues or cities
such as Rochester, Toledo and Scranton where AAA is the biggest game in town.
Below the AAA Team will be a AA Team which includes a few cities that have
a team in the "Big 4", such as San Antonio and Jacksonville, and also much
smaller cities such as a Bowie, MD (the biggest thing in the 30 miles
between Baltimore and Washington.)
Further below that are one or more single A teams. The "single A" teams
ensure that even the smallest cities in America have at least some team
sport to root for, places like Fort Wayne, IN and Batavia, NY (home of the
Muckdogs!).
If anyone even wants a truly American experience, I heartily recommend a
minor-League baseball game at the AA or lower level. The prices are
cheap, the fans are truly there to enjoy the game, and the organizations
really go all-out to ensure an entertaining experience.
JDG
__________________________________________________________
John D. Giorgis - [EMAIL PROTECTED] - ICQ #3527685
"Freedom itself was attacked today, and Freedom will be Defended."
-U.S. President George W. Bush, 09/11/01
