TheSportsNotebook is going to keep with the cross-sports theme and take a look at the race for that most coveted of honors–most successful sports fan base–and see how the 2013 race is progressing. It’s particularly relevant in this context, because it all might come down to the ultimate fate of Bill Belichick, Tom Brady and the Patriots.
When the Super Bowl ended, so did the sports calendar that was 2012. All the champions that will go down in the history books as winning in ’12 are complete. That means it’s time for an evaluation of the year that was. There a lot of ways to open a window into American culture, but my favorite way is to assess which cities & fan bases had the best year. Therefore, TheSportsNotebook’s Annual Fan Market Report will walk through each major market, a lot of the minor ones and assess how the fan base is feeling.
The end of the Super Bowl officially marks the end of the sports calendar. The New York Giants are the last team to go into the books as a champion of the 2011 season. A key part of TheSportsNotebook’s Historical Museum is to pick out the geographic area that had the best year in sports when you consider the entire picture. With that in mind, let’s decide who wins the Battle of 2011.