The Mag's Ultimate Standings 2014

The method to our ultimate madness

First: Consulting firm Maddock Douglas surveyed 1,002 North American fans to form 25 criteria for what you want most in return for the emotion, money and time you invest in the 122 MLB, NBA, NFL and NHL teams.

Second: Teaming with NetReflector, an opinion research firm, ESPN.com asked fans to rate their home teams in each area; more than 101,000 of you did! We grouped grades into the categories below. Royals fans, for example, ranked Kauffman Stadium much higher (29) than owner David Glass (112).

Third: Our final measure, bang for the buck, uses calculations developed with Oregon's Warsaw Sports Marketing Center to figure how well teams turn fans' money into wins. FINALLY We combined each team's score across all categories into a weighted average. For example, since fans ranked players as more important than ownership, the former counted for 13.9 percent of a team's final score versus 11.3 percent for the latter. The result? Fan opinion combined with an objective gauge of the cost of winning. Ultimately, everything counts.

Affordability

Price of tickets, parking and concessions

1. Grizzlies

122. Maple Leafs

Coaching:

Strength of on-field leadership

1. Spurs

122. Panthers (NHL)

Fan relations

Courtesy by players, coaches and front offices toward fans, and how well a team uses technology to reach them

1. Spurs

122. Knicks

Ownership

Honesty; loyalty to core players and the community

1. Spurs

122. Marlins

Players

Effort on the field, likability off it

1. Spurs

122. Knicks

Stadium experience

Quality of venue; fan-friendliness of environment; frequency of game-day promotions

1. Giants (MLB)

122. Islanders

Bang for the buck

Wins in the past year, per fan dollars

1. Pacers

122. Maple Leafs

Title track

Championships won or expected within the lifetime of current fans

1. Cardinals (MLB)

122. T-Wolves

Select Category Overall Ranking Bang For The Buck Fan Relations Ownership Affordability Stadium Experience Players Coaching Title Track Select Year 2014 2013 2012 2011 2010 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003 Select Sport All Sports MLB NFL NBA NHL Select Market All Markets Anaheim Atlanta Bay Area Boston Buffalo Baltimore Calgary Charlotte Columbus Chicago Cincinnati Cleveland Dallas Denver Detroit Edmonton Green Bay Houston Indianapolis Jacksonville Kansas City Los Angeles Memphis Miami Milwaukee Minnesota Montreal Nashville New Orleans New York Oakland Orlando Ottawa Philadelphia Phoenix Pittsburgh Portland Raleigh-Durham San Antonio Sacramento San Francisco San Diego San Jose Seattle St. Louis Tampa-St. Pete Toronto Utah Vancouver Washington DC

Click on table headings to sort by category.