Los Angeles is a Real Sports Town

As a Los Angeles native, I grew up knowing that I lived in a “sports city”. Yes, I miss having an NFL franchise, but this alone does not make or break a “sports city”. And yes, we aren’t littered with sports bars like many other places; however, you must look at the big picture.

First of all we need to put size into perspective. Depending on who you listen to, the city of Los Angeles has a population of around 4-6 million. Most natives/longtime residents include the whole county in “Los Angeles” as the other townships and cities are weaved in and out. At one moment you’ll be in Van Nuys while the next street over says Los Angeles in the address. My address is Los Angeles, CA but I am actually in an area that is considered unincorporated part of the County. Therefore, for the purpose of this analysis I shall include the County as the definition of “Los Angeles”. This bumps the population up to 9-12 million – again depending on who you ask. The County also covers 4,084 square miles, which is 800 square miles larger than Delaware and Rhode Island combined.

At any rate, over the years we have not only had two NBA basketball teams, but for a time two NFL football teams. In addition, the Angels have moved around so much that they once actually played in Los Angeles so that makes two MLB teams. The Los Angeles Raiders won Super Bowl XVIII while here. In fact, the first Super Bowl was hosted here as well as five others. The Los Angeles Dodgers have won five World Series titles. The Los Angeles Lakers have won nine NBA titles.

There are also two MLS teams in the area – the Los Angeles Galaxy and Chivas USA. Oh, and don't forget, The Great One himself played for the Los Angeles Kings hockey team for almost eight seasons.

Also in Los Angeles is the historic Rancho Park Golf Course, known as the busiest golf course in the nation. Don’t forget that the Riviera Country Club is also in the County.

Pro teams not your thing? We have USC and UCLA football and basketball. The USC Trojans football team won the BCS National Championship very recently and more than once. The UCLA Bruins men’s hoops squad went to the NCAA championship game in 2006 and is making a go for it again in 2008. In fact, UCLA has a rather storied basketball history. USC men’s hoops teams have made it to the Big Dance on many occasions as well.

The weather in Los Angeles also presents many opportunities for other outdoor sports. There is abundant surfing, skateboarding, BMX, running, cycling, swimming, and nearly everything else you can think of! Boxing and MMA have a place here as well.

Los Angeles will never be a town like Green Bay where their NFL team is everything. Green Bay covers about 50 square miles and has a population of around 100,000 according to the Census Bureau. Entertainment overshadows nearly everything here as we all realize. The perfect weather, large population, and variety of things to do make it very likely that you will run into non-sports people quite regularly here.