The 2017 sports year was one we can conclude to be among the most volatile in history. From the National Anthem protests around the NFL to drama enveloping the NBA world with Cleveland and Golden State meeting in the NBA Finals for the third consecutive year, there’s a lot to focus on.
It’s in this that we take the 25-most popular out of our SNIP top 100 and tell you a story of what defined these franchises throughout the past 12 months. Despite winning titles, we won’t see either the Houston Astros or Pittsburgh Penguins here.
Whether it was a lack of drama for each team or a lack of interest in either sport, both squads weren’t extremely popular. Heck, Pittsburgh didn’t even finish in our top 100.
In any event, starting with the Cleveland Cavaliers and concluding with the Minnesota Timberwolves, here are your 25-most popular sports franchises for 2017 and their stories.
1. Cleveland Cavaliers
It’s all about LeBron James. He earned his seventh consecutive trip to the NBA Finals this past June, only to average a triple double in a third consecutive matchup against Golden State. Sure Cleveland dropped the series in five, but James continues to prove himself as the game’s greatest.
This season, Cleveland has been able to overcome a slow start to be among the top teams in the Association again. That’s despite the fact that Kyrie Irving forced his way from Cleveland and the man the Cavs brought in to replace him, Isaiah Thomas, has not yet played.
2. Golden State Warriors
When you have two former MVP’s on the roster, you promise to be a very popular organization. Add in three consecutive Western Conference titles, two NBA titles in the past three seasons and a 233-46 regular season record under Steve Kerrr, and that’s taken to a whole new level.
After winning the NBA title back in June, the Warriors have jumped out to a 26-7 start to this season. But their popularity is more than what we see on the court.
Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant do amazing jobs marketing themselves. Draymond Green is among the most divisive figures in the sports world. Meanwhile, Kerr has been outspoken against President Trump and the team decided not to visit the White House after winning the title. Add all this in, and you have one of the most popular franchises in sports.
3. New England Patriots
If we were to ask regular NFL fans about the Patriots, their reactions would likely be more on the negative side. How many Super Bowl titles does one head coach and quarterback need? Isn’t it time for other teams to take over the mantle after 17-plus years of domination in New England? It’s called being jealous, and we fully understand that reaction.
But the Pats continue to shows themselves as the class of the professional sports world. Fresh off the fifth Super Bowl title of the Tom Brady era, it doesn’t look like this is going to change anytime soon. New England heads into the new year as favorites to repeat as Super Bowl champs. Brady himself is a legitimate MVP candidate. And in reality, this run is unlike anything we’ve seen in the modern history of the game. Hate away, because they’re not going away.
4. Boston Celtics
It started with the Gordon Hayward signing during the summer. And once Kyrie Irving requested a trade from Cleveland, the Celtics’ popularity took on even new meaning. Could GM Danny Ainge actually pull off a trade for one of the league’s best players? That was answered in the affirmative, with 2016-17 Celtics hero Isaiah Thomas heading to Cleveland in the blockbuster deal.
Heading into the season, Boston was seen as favorites to unseat Cleveland back east. But minutes into his tenure with the Celtics, Hayward suffered a devastating ankle injury. One of the worst we’ve seen. Despite this, Irving and a duo of youngsters led the Celtics on a ridiculous 16-game winning streak following an opening game loss to the Cavaliers. Now, entering the new year, these Celtics are primed to challenge Cleveland back east. Existing in a “real sports city,” this makes the Celtics one of the most popular entities in sports.
5. Dallas Cowboys
America’s Team ran off an amazing 13-win 2016 campaign, culminating in a heartbreaking loss to the Green Bay Packers in the NFC Divisional Playoffs. And so started a drama-filled year for the Cowboys. Most of Dallas’ popularity is due to off-field situations, especially with the on-field product being mediocre.
Suspended six games for his alleged involvement in multiple domestic violence situations, Ezekiel Elliott took the NFL to court and attempted to show up Commissioner Roger Goodell. It didn’t end too swimmingly for Elliott, who just came off serving said suspension.
Meanwhile, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones sought to take on Goodell in another forum. He hired a world-renowned lawyer to help block the commissioner’s extension. Much like with the Elliott situation, Goodell also won this fight. A year that started with Super Bowl expectations has now concluded with the Cowboys being in the news for all the wrong reasons. That’s just par for the course for a team that has not been a legitimate Super Bowl contender in north of two decades and a team that won’t be playing football in January of 2018.
6. Oklahoma City Thunder
Oklahoma City surprised the masses by winning 47 games in its first season without Kevin Durant, only to fall to the Houston Rockets in the first round of the playoffs. The team then made major news during the summer, adding All-Star forwards Paul George and Carmelo Anthony to the mix while signing reigning NBA MVP Russell Westbrook to an extension.
At that point, it seemed to be a foregone conclusion that OKC would challenge for the Western Conference title. Heading into the new year, it’s highly unlikely this will happen. George, Anthony and Russ are all shooting under 40 percent from the field. The Thunder are barely over .500 on the season, and George himself might be traded in February. It’s good to be popular, but not for these reasons.
7. Los Angeles Lakers
Lonzo Ball. Lonzo Ball. Lonzo Ball. LaVar Ball. LaVar Ball. Okay, you get the point. Despite an improved performance this season, the Lakers’ popularity is all about the Balls. How is Lonzo performing in his first season as an NBA player? Is LaVar actually going to shut up and let Luke Walton coach his son? These are huge questions heading into the 2018 calendar year.
Though, this next year might bring more answers than questions. Los Angeles will be flooded with cash during what promises to be one of the better free agency periods in NBA history. LeBron James has been linked to the Lakers. Paul George has as well. Will new president Magic Johnson make some major news by adding one or both of these players to an already talented young core?
8. New York Yankees
For the first time in a while, the Yankees find themselves as a popular sports franchise for all the right reasons. This past season saw New York earn a surprise trip to the ALCS with primarily a young core, led by reigning AL Rookie of the Year Aaron Judge. In a sports atmosphere where baseball has taken a back seat to the NBA and NFL in terms of excitement, Judge’s absurd power and towering homers caught the attention of the nation.
As much as we loved to see the Yankees go away from being the evil empire that spends countless millions, that’s now changed. The team added reigning NL MVP Giancarlo Stanton in a trade with Miami, and now boasts one of the most-potent home-run duos in MLB history. It’s now time for the Yankees to return to their rightful place as a franchise we love to hate. Because, why the heck not?
9. Seattle Seahawks
Oh, man. For the past several years, these Seahawks were the darlings of the media world. Boisterous personalities such as Richard Sherman and Michael Bennett joining a likeable Russell Wilson to form a dominating on-field team. The excitement factor was real, too, with the Legion of Boom showing us that defense can also be entertaining.
But 2017 saw all this come to a crashing halt. Season-ending injuries to Richard Sherman, Kam Chancellor and Cliff Avril made the Seahawks’ defense look more like the Lesion of Boom. Add in the team’s Week 14 meltdown at the end of a loss to the Jaguars and a blowout 42-7 loss to the Rams in Week 15, and all this has been taken to a whole new level. What to do next in Seattle? That’s the biggest question heading into 2018.
10. Philadelphia Eagles
The up-and-down experience of Philadelphia sports fans came through a big way in 2017. With very little expectations of Super Bowl contention heading into the season, these Eagles and star quarterback Carson Wentz absolutely dominated early and often. After starting 1-1, Philadelphia ran off a nine-game winning streak before falling flat against Seattle in Week 13.
It then lost Wentz, a real MVP candidate, for the season to a torn ACL the following week. That came in the same game that saw Philadelphia clinch the NFC East title. Forced to rely on Nick Foles moving forward, the enigmatic backup shocked the masses by throwing four touchdowns in Week 15’s win over the New York Giants. This clinched a first-round playoff bye. Now, heading into the playoffs, all the focus is on whether Foles can lead this team to a Super Bowl title.
11. Denver Broncos
John Elway is primarily to blame for the Broncos’ popularity in 2017. And it’s not a good popularity. Following the retirement of Peyton Manning and the Broncos’ first Super Bowl title since Elway was under center, it’s been completely downhill for this organization.
Back in 2016, Elway decided to trade up in the first round of the draft for Paxton Lynch. He’s proceeded to throw a total of 97 passes in two seasons. Trevor Siemian has been a downright bust under center. And the Broncos even went back to Houston Texans free agent bust Brock Osweiler after everything else failed.
From Super Bowl contender to bottom-feeding organization. That’s how the 2017 calendar year defined a Broncos team that’s in the midst of one of its worst seasons since the early 1980s.
12. Pittsburgh Steelers
Their heartbreaking Week 15 loss to New England aside, 2017 has been very good to the Steelers. They entered said week with an eight-game winning streak and looking to grab home-field advantage throughout the playoffs. Despite that not coming to fruition, this team heads into January as one of the favorites to hoist the Lombardi Trophy.
It truly has been an amazing turnaround. Remember, back in October, there was some question as to whether Ben Roethlisberger was finished. That came following a five-interception performance against Jacksonville. Since then, Big Ben has led a dominating offense that includes super stars Le’Veon Bell and Antonio Brown, the latter of whom has put up some mammoth performances.
13. San Antonio Spurs
Head coach Gregg Popovich’s willingness to speak out against President Trump has certainly placed the Spurs in the news around the United States. But it’s the team’s continued on-court excellence that has San Antonio as the sixth-most popular NBA franchise for the 2017 calendar year.
Despite being swept out of the Western Conference Finals by the Golden State Warriors in June and losing Kawhi Leonard for the first quarter-plus of the 2017-18 campaign, San Antonio is right up there with the best teams in the Association, just a notch behind Houston and the aforementioned Warriors out west. We’re not too sure how the postseason will play out here, but the Spurs are bound to win 50-plus games for the 20th consecutive full season. That’s some absurd stuff right there.
14. Chicago Cubs
To say that 2017 was a disappointing year for the Cubs would be an understatement. Fresh off winning their first World Series since 1906, this squad had major ups and downs during the 2017 season. Ultimately, the lovable losers would go on to win 82 games en route to losing to the Dodgers in the NLCS.
Despite this, there is some major star power on this squad. Anthony Rizzo, Kris Bryant, Addison Russell and Kyle Schwarber make up the core. And they’re not going away anytime soon.
15. Houston Rockets
Despite an otherworldly performance from James Harden during the 2016-17 campaign, these Rockets couldn’t make it out of the Western Conference Semifinals. That’s when the team decided to shock the NBA world by trading for All-Star guard Chris Paul to team up with Harden in the backcourt.
It has played out to perfection this season. Houston will enter January with one of the best records in the Association. And for his part, Harden is having one of the greatest single seasons in NBA history. He leads the NBA in scoring and ranks second behind Russell Westbrook in assists. Again, we’re not too sure if Houston has what it takes to take out Golden State. But the vibes are most definitely strong with this squad heading into the new year.
16. Green Bay Packers
The year started with Aaron Rodgers leading an epic late-game win over Dallas in the NFC Divisional Playoffs. It then pretty much concluded with Rodgers, who was coming off a broken collarbone, throwing three interceptions in a horrible Week 15 loss to Carolina. Talk about your ups and downs.
But one thing is for sure here. As long as Rodgers is healthy and tossing the rock, these Packers remain the biggest draw in Wisconsin. It’s now all about the organization actually building up the necessary talent behind Rodgers to compete. That much was evident during the two-plus months of Rodgers’ absense from the field this season.
17. Boston Red Sox
In a baseball season that was defined by the long ball, these weak-hitting Boston Red Sox found it in themselves to win the AL East after hitting just 168 homers. Though, that was not enough for the Sox to take out Houston in the playoffs back in October.
From now up until Spring Training, it will be interesting to see if Boston does what is necessary to build up its lineup as a way to compete with what is suddenly a fearsome Yankees lineup. And in reality, baseball needs this rivalry to be taken to the next level in order to hoist up the game’s popularity. It’s on you, Boston.
18. New York Giants
From the infamous boat trip in January and an embarrassing playoff loss to Green Bay to widespread injuries at wide receiver and major internal rifts, the 2017 calendar year has been defined by drama after drama in Jersey.
Ben McAdoo, just months removed from winning 11 games in his first season as the Giants’ head coach, was fired back in November. Prior to that, he benched future Hall of Fame quarterback Eli Manning. In between this, the Giants suspended Janoris Jenkins and Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie. If that weren’t enough, New York ran off a 2-13 start to the season. New York is the nation’s largest media market. It loves drama and the Giants surely provided that during 2017.
19. Los Angeles Dodgers
The Dodgers’ 2017 season can be broken up into three parts. From April until mid-August, this team was on a record-setting pace. It had posted an 87-34 record through August 19th, winning six-plus games in a row six times. Then, from that point on, the Dodgers closed the regular season with a 17-24 mark. This led some to wonder whether Los Angeles was a legit World Series contender.
But once the playoffs started, Dave Roberts’ squad was back to its old ways. The Dodgers swept Arizona in the NLDS before taking out Chicago in the NLCS in five games. Unfortunately, the team just didn’t have enough to ovecome the Houston Astros in the World Series.
Moving forward into 2018, the excitement is real in Los Angeles. Between now and the start of the spring, it will be interesting to see if this organization makes a big move. Even if that doesn’t happen on-field success will continue to lead to major popularity in the nation’s second-largest media market.
20. Arizona Cardinals
The 2017 season has been an absolute dumpster fire for a Cardinals team that entered September with Super Bowl aspirations. Stud running back David Johnson went down for the season with a wrist injury back in Week 1. Carson Palmer followed suit several weeks later. And now, Bruce Arians is left relying on the combination of Drew Stanton and Blaine Gabbert to toss the rock in the desert.
It’s an interesting dynamic to look at. Arizona started the 2017 calendar year by finishing up an uninspiring 2016 campaign. It then shared in a bunch of good vibes during the spring with both Palmer and Larry Fitzgerald announcing they would return. Now, it’s likely the end of an era of contention in Arizona. This next year will be defined by what promises to be the start of an extensive rebuild.
21. Houston Texans
The 2017 season started so swimmingly for these Texans. After a disastrous first half performance from Tom Savage in Week 1, the team turned to rookie Deshaun Watson. And for the next six weeks, things looked great. Watson was out there breaking records, having compiled 20 touchdowns in his six starts. That’s when things went terribly wrong. Whether it was during his Week 8 outing against Seattle or practice a couple days later, the former Clemson star suffered a brutal torn ACL and was lost for the season.
Since then, it’s been complete and utter disaster. Houston has lost seven of its past eight games and is running up the rear in the AFC South. The team apparently doesn’t know how to handle the concussion protocol, and head coach Bill O’Brien is on his way out. Like a lot of the teams on this list, the Texans’ popularity in 2017 isn’t a good one.
22. Oakland Raiders
A calendar year that started with Oakland falling to Houston in the playoffs primarily due to the season-ending injury Derek Carr suffered is now concluding with there being more question marks than answers on the field. The Raiders will not be playing postseason football a year after posting a 12-4 record. Carr himself has regressed to the point where it’s fair to question whether he’s actually a franchise quarterback. Head coach Jack Del Rio might not be long for his job.
Off the field, there’s even more question marks. The Raiders received league approval to move from Oakland to Las Vegas, which should come in time for the 2020 season. Meanwhile, it appears this franchise and its fan base are stuck with one another in Oakland for the next two seasons. How that plays out moving forward remains to be seen.
23. Cleveland Browns
This is about as unfortunate as it gets. The Browns’ sole reason for popularity is futility. The old saying, “factory of sadness” has been taken to an entirely new level. Here’s a team that’s lost 30 of its past 31 games dating back to the start of the 2016 season. With a loss to close out the 2017 calendar year, Cleveland will become just the second team to go winless during a 16-game schedule.
If that’s not bad enough, the team moved on from VP Sashi Brown on the very same day it hired John Dorsey to replace him. Dorsey then promptly threw shade at his players by technically indicating that they’re not “real football players.” Meanwhile, it appears that Hue Jackson’s job might be safe. He’s 1-30 as head coach in Cleveland. Yeah, it’s a complete and utter disaster in Cleveland. One might say, “the mistake by the lake.”
24. Minnesota Vikings
On the other side of the ledger, these Vikings head into the playoffs with a real opportunity to be the first team to host the Super Bowl. Taking over for the injured Sam Bradford early in the season, career backup Case Keenum has revitalized a once dormant career. Meanwhile, the likes of Jerick McKinnon and Adam Thielen are having career-best seasons.
This has Minnesota as one of the favorites in the NFC to play in the Super Bowl. It also comes after the team lost its entire starting backfield to season-ending injuries early in the year. Talk about the popularity for this team being at an all-time high. And it’s a darn good popularity at that.
25. Minnesota Timberwolves
Add Jimmy Butler to a star-studded lineup that already included Karl-Anthony Towns and Andrew Wiggins. Then, sign former All-Star Jeff Teague as well as veteran Taj Gibson. This will make your franchise pretty darn popular in the Minnesota area. But in reality, it’s the excitement factor for the Wolves that has them trending in the right direction.
Butler has to be considered one of the best two-way players in the game. Towns has morphed into an absolute superstar. And despite struggles on defense, Wiggins is a major offensive catalyst here.
An organization that saw both Kevin Garnett and Stephon Marbury leave for bigger markets, Minnesota might very well be the next appealing landing spot for top-end players. Butler was the first step. Towns and Wiggins remaining long term will be the next step. And a potential title down the road would only add to this. The Wolves are exciting. They’re popular. That’s not going to change any time soon.