For the 10th year in a row, ESPN released its Ultimate Standings of 2012, a comprehensive list ranking all 122 teams within the four major U.S. sports. Eight major categories were used to evaluate each team, which were based on fan-feedback about what they wanted most from their favorite teams. A few of the main categories included coaching, affordability, ownership, and fan relations.
At Sports Networker, we examined the top-10 franchises and compared them across the social media networks of Twitter, Facebook, and Youtube. You might be a little surprised at the results.
Below are a few noteworthy social media facts from ESPN’s top-10 franchises of 2012.
- The NBA led the four major sports in number of teams represented in the top 10 with 4.
- No franchise from Boston or New York made up the elite teams.
- The Green Bay Packers had the most Facebook ‘Likes’ of any franchise.
- Despite being the 8th top franchise, the New Orleans Saints have the third most Twitter followers at 235,447.
- Only 3 of the top-10 teams have an Official Youtube Channel.
Facebook, Twitter & YouTube: The Social Media Debate
1. Oklahoma City Thunder
Twitter — 310,073 Followers
Facebook — 1,527,889 ‘Likes’
YouTube — 352 Subscribers
2. Green Bay Packers
Twitter — 304,660 Followers
Facebook — 3,287,655 ‘Likes’
GB has 52 wins on Kickoff Weekend, tied with Chicago for the most in league history. More in this week’s Dope Sheet: pckrs.com/8x7z
— Green Bay Packers (@packers) September 4, 2012
3. San Antonio Spurs
Twitter — 193,742 Followers
Facebook — 1,354,273 ‘Likes’
YouTube — 2,967 Subscribers
The team has announced Scott Layden has been named the team’s assistant general manager. j.mp/Ton3RV #GoSpursGo — San Antonio Spurs (@spurs) September 5, 2012
4. Indiana Pacers
Twitter — 98,131 Followers
Facebook — 193,399 ‘Likes’
YouTube — 674 Subscribers
5. Memphis Grizzlies
Twitter — 95,956 Followers
Facebook — 183,039 ‘Likes’
Grizz finish in top 5 in @espn THE MAGAZINE’s Ultimate Standings. #1 “Bang for buck”, #6 “Affordability”. on.nba.com/Qsh25n #gogrizz — Memphis Grizzlies (@memgrizz) September 7, 2012
6. Phoenix Coyotes
Twitter — 55, 458 Followers
Facebook — 107, 351 ‘Likes’
Retweet & follow @phoenixcoyotes & @jobingarena to win 2 luxurious Loge Table tix to our SOLD OUT @justinbieber show on Sept 29 #BieberFever
— Phoenix Coyotes (@phoenixcoyotes) September 5, 2012
7. Tampa Bay Lightning
Twitter — 77,279 Followers
Facebook — 257,507 ‘Likes’
Proud to be #7 on @espn‘s annual ranking of pro sports franchises. Cheers to #TBLightning fans, players, coaches & staff on earning the nod!
— Tampa Bay Lightning (@TBLightning) September 7, 2012
8. New Orleans Saints
Twitter — 235,447 Followers
Facebook — 2,851,806 ‘Likes’
Drew Brees: “We Take A Lot of Pride in The Way We Play at Home” bit.ly/OXKzkd #Saints — New Orleans Saints (@Saints) September 6, 2012
9. Texas Rangers
Twitter — 202,258 Followers
Facebook — 1,390,353 ‘Likes’
Did you know @elvisandrusss1 is a wine connoisseur who likes to pie people in the face? atmlb.com/ObtdFk
— Texas Rangers (@Rangers) September 5, 2012
10. Arizona Diamondbacks
Twitter — 53,983 Followers
Facebook — 271,620 ‘Likes’
Congrats to @ospreybaseball outfielder Socrates Brito, who was named our Minor League Player of the Month for August after hitting .378!
— Arizona Diamondbacks (@Dbacks) September 6, 2012
Did you you agree with ESPN’s rankings? Did we miss something in our top-10 list? Leave us a comment below or tweet us @sportsnetworker.
@lynnwitt @tblightning Shows what can happen when there is phenomenal progressive leadership from the top down! #ProudToBeTheThunder
@Dare2Tri and with great fans like yourself!
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