What is the most passionate sports community in the nation?

I think a lot of people would say New York. When the Knicks are rolling, Madison Square Garden is rocking. It is home to the perennial MLB favorite Yankees, occasional National League contenders in the Mets, and lets not forget the two NFL franchises. It hosts the U.S. Open in tennis, among many other big events.

Some might argue Philadelphia or Boston. Even if their teams are down, the fans remain passionate, loud and opinionated.

Fans of college sports may throw out Lincoln, Nebraska; Baton Rouge, Louisiana; or Durham, North Carolina.

But what about Portland?

Yes, Portland.

To an outsider, the city of Portland is home to flannel wearing hippies who work two hours a week while dreaming of becoming a clown.

But for those of us lucky to live here (or to claim it as our own, despite living 110 miles to the south), Portland is a city full of passionate people.

Photo by Michael Stringfield, courtesy of the Portland Timbers.

On Monday the Portland Timbers, a Major League Soccer expansion franchise in 2011, announced that they had surpassed 10,000 season ticket sales for their inaugural season.

That’s a one, followed by four zeros.

For soccer.

In the United States.

The Portland Trail Blazers at one-time rode the longest consecutive sell-out streak in NBA history. A streak that only came to an end when the fans began boycotting a team that had become known as the “Jail Blazers” for their off-court transgressions. The boycott and empty seats, which I would argue came from a place of  passion for the franchise, ultimately lead to a complete rebuilding of the roster. The team once again sells out regularly.

And while not exactly Portland, the University of Oregon and Oregon State University have both benefited greatly by drawing on fan support from the city. The lanes of Interstate 5, the state’s main traffic artery, become a parking lot for tens-of-miles on game days at the two schools to the south.

In Portland, such strong support may not be passion after all. It could be simple economics. The metro area is the largest in the country with only one professional franchise in the “big four” leagues, the NFL, MLB, NBA and NHL.

In fact, when cities are ranked based on population per sports franchise, Portland ranks as the most under-served metro area in the United States. (See data below)

Citizens of Portland are simply starved for sports options. So much so, a significant number of Oregonians make up Seattle Seahawks and Mariners ticket sales and television viewers.

A November 2007 press release from the Mariners stated that the team is “a strong product for FSN Northwest in Portland, averaging a 2.3 rating” from 2005-2007.

That rating actually ranks higher than five MLB franchises in their hometowns for the first half of the 2010 baseball season according to a Sports Business Journal report.

Maybe it’s the starvation that makes the city of Portland so passionate?

Is Portland the most passionate sports community? Maybe.

Regardless, the Timbers are cashing in on that passion in what is possibly the best economic situation an expansion franchise in any sport could face.

Population Base per Franchise

Population data from the U.S. Census using the Metropolitan Statistical Areas as defined by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget.