Pittsburgh chalks up another sports win

City named No. 1 by Sporting News

Thursday, October 08, 2009
By Timothy McNulty, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
http://www.post-gazette.com/sports/

Larry Roberts/Post-Gazette

Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl holds the Sporting News trophy as he poses with Ed Baker, publisher of the Sporting News and a mock-up of the magazine's cover proclaiming Pittsburgh as the No. 1 sports city in the country.

It took 16 years, but on-a-roll Pittsburgh has finally been named the No. 1 sports city by Sporting News magazine, beating out 398 other towns in the United States and Canada.

The city was so anointed largely on the backs of the dual 2009 Steelers and Penguins championships, but don't tell that to the former Luke Steelerstahl.

"I don't know how we don't win this every year," Mayor Luke Ravenstahl said at the announcement, held in his City-County Building conference room with Sporting News publisher Ed Baker.

The magazine's cover pairs Sidney Crosby and Ben Roethlisberger, and the 29-year-old mayor noted its resemblance to an iconic Sports Illustrated cover with Willie Stargell and Terry Bradshaw from 1979.

Times are a little bit better now, and the Sporting News designation gave Mr. Ravenstahl a chance to crow again about good publicity for the city. Keep in mind Mr. Ravenstahl is a sports nut who ceremoniously changed his name in January, walked a Super Bowl red carpet in Tampa and is in a charity fantasy football league with other mayors this fall.

"We are in many ways in the national and international spotlight right now because of the G-20 and the economic revitalization of this town. ... It's a great day for Pittsburgh and a great day for sports fans," Mr. Ravenstahl said.

Philadelphia was second in the magazine's ratings and Boston third. Last year Boston won the honor and in 2007, Detroit.

Mr. Baker said the selection incorporates the number of teams in each city (which hurts Pittsburgh, due to the lack of pro basketball), team won-lost records (where the Pirates hurt the ranking), and a lot of things that go in the city's favor, such as playoff records, attendance and fan ferocity.

"There's some science, some math and some subjectivity attached to it," Mr. Baker said.

The issue hits newsstands this week. It contains an eight-page spread on Pittsburgh sports, with stories on Western Pennsylvania quarterbacks, Pitt versus West Virginia, Steelers Super Bowl rings and tips from ex-Pirates on making the team a winner again.

"I think it's a great time to reflect on how lucky we are as Pittsburghers and how lucky we are to have the great fans we have, not only in the city of Pittsburgh but around the world. I hope our fans realize this is a great tribute to them as well," Steelers spokesman Dave Lockett said.
Penguins spokesman Tom McMillan -- wearing a giant Stanley Cup championship ring on his right hand -- noted that Penguins, Steelers and Pirates players routinely attend each other's games. "That is really unique. That doesn't happen in most cities," he said.

Pittsburgh has piled up similar awards to the Sporting News one lately -- Forbes said the Penguins were the fastest-growing brand in hockey this year, and last year's Turnkey Team Brand Index rated the Steelers third in overall brand loyalty after the Packers and Red Sox.

Mr. Baker, the magazine publisher, gave the mayor a Tiffany vase to mark the honor. Mr. Ravenstahl's ornate office already has a number of sports items in it, including a framed football jersey and Tiffany football given to late Mayor Bob O'Connor to mark the Steelers Super Bowl win in 2006.

The mayor -- who after the news conference talked to reporters about the city's perspective on the cash-strapped Carnegie Library system -- talked about the escape Pittsburgh's sports fandom supplies.

"People find comfort and unity in sports and it's an escape for them. ... On a Monday morning, you don't have to pick up the newspaper to know if the Steelers won or not. You just have to walk around town and get the sense of people. ... That really speaks volumes to the intensity of fans here and how much we interact with the teams," he said.

Timothy McNulty can be reached at tmcnulty@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1581.

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First published on October 8, 2009 at 12:00 am