Hawks ranked 94th in ESPN's Ultimate Standings

[TheNorthCydeRises]

Here were the categories that the pro franchises were judged by:

- Bang for the Buck: ( reg season + playoffs wins the past 3 years per revenue directly from fans )

- Fan Relations: ( Openness/consideration toward fans by players, coaches and ownership )

- Ownership: ( Honesty and loyalty to core players and local community )

- Affordability: ( Price of tickets, parking, and concessions )

- Stadium Experience: ( Quality of arena and game-day promotions and friendly environment )

- Players: ( Effort on the field and likability of it )

- Coaching: ( Strength of on-field/court leadership )

- Title Track: ( Championships already won or expected within lifetime of fans )

The top 10

1) Oklahoma City Thunder

2) Green Bay Packers

3) San Antonio Spurs

4) Indiana Pacers

5) Memphis Grizzlies

6) Phoenix Coyotes

7) Tampa Bay Lightning

8) New Orleans Saints

9) Texas Rangers

10) Arizona Diamondbacks

94) Atlanta Hawks

Hawks rank amongst NBA teams: 23rd

Hawks rank amongst teams in Atlanta: 3rd ( out of 3 teams ) . . Braves ( 27th ) - Falcons ( 41st )

The good news is that we were 103rd last year overall

Here is the summary overview of the Hawks and why they placed 94th

http://espn.go.com/s...sport/nba#table

Edited September 7, 2012 by northcyde

[AHF]

Yikes. We rank high in value for your dollar (16th in bang for your buck and mid-range in affordability) but just blow in all the other categories like fan relations, ownership, stadium experience, coaching, etc.

[TheNorthCydeRises]

This is interesting.

You can sort the list overall, or just amongst NBA teams, or even amongst teams just in a certain market. Then you can click on an individual column and see the sub criteria within that column.

For example, the Hawks ranked 16th overall in the "Bang for the Buck" category and 5th in the NBA. The two sub categories within the Bang for the Buck section are . . .

- Fan Cost: ( cost of being a fan for a full season, and their ranking within that league or overall )

- Win-Loss record over the past 2 years

In those 2 categories, the Hawks ranked 7th in cost and 10th in W-L.

This would indicate that watching the Hawks would be a pretty good buy for a sports fan in ATL. And honestly, it has been just that over the years, even without a superstar player.

Despite that, the Hawks ranked 27th in the NBA in Fan Relations and 28th in the Players category. This just proves how apathetic the fan base was/is with the ownership and the players, despite the Hawks perennially making the playoffs during that time.

Under the Players category, there were 2 sub-categories: Likability of players and Belief that players always gave their best effort. In those 2 categories, the Hawks ranked 25th in Player Likability and 28th in perceived Player Effort.

When you look at Fan Relations, you had 4 sub-categories: Professional acting players on and off the field . . Player/owner appreciation shown toward fans . . Accessibility of players to fans . . Team provides avenue for fan feedback. Here's where the Hawks ranked in those categories amongst NBA teams:

- Professional acting players: 22nd

- Player/Owner Appreciation: 29th

- Accessibility: 28th

- Fan Feedback: 29th

When you look at all of this, it goes back to one thing in my opinion.

PUBLIC RELATIONS

I don't know who is in charge of Hawks public relations, but the Hawks have a MAJOR PR problem. For a team that has been above average the past 3 years, the apathy shouldn't be as low as it is. Bringing Ferry aboard was a major step in improving not only the culture of the team, but possibly the perception of the franchise. But he has a looooooooooooooong way to go, if these numbers are how Hawk fans feel about this team.

That's why I say that Ferry doesn't have 6 years to turn this around. He has more like 2 years to do it. The apathy toward the Hawks is just too great to expect fans to tolerate an extended period of no playoff success. And if a superstar isn't brought in to energize the casual fans, this team is going to have to be really, really good in order for them to get the respect of the ATL fan base.

[TheNorthCydeRises]

OWNERSHIP: 103rd overall . . . 25th in the NBA

Sub-Categories

- Honest Ownership: 28th

- Loyalty toward core: 13th

- Committed to community: 25th

AFFORDABILITY: 56th overall . . . 17th in the NBA

Sub-Categories

- Affordable tickets: 17th

- Affordable parking: 17th

- Affordable concessions: 22nd

STADIUM EXPERIENCE: 98th overall . . 25th in the NBA

Sub-categories

- Great/quality stadium or arena: 23rd

- Fan Promotions/contests/giveaways: 29th

- Fan friendly environment: 27th

They messed up the Coaching category. They may have the actual rankings right, but they have the sub-category of Fan Cost in the coaching section.

Those rankings are abysmal. And it shows just how out of touch the ASG, and especially Gearon and Sund, have been over the past 3 years.

[lethalweapon3]

5th best "bang for the buck" in the NBA! Alrighty! Now we just need somebody with some bucks.And while I do miss @hawksprguy, I agree with 'cyde to an extent that the PR with the local and regional fanbase has been weak, and I suspect Ferry has a hand (if not the whole arm) in trying to shake things up. I think it's more the marketing (anyone remember the "Insaniteague" ad last season?), which is a separate function on this team, while PR has been mostly a combo of media relations and community outreach.They've done a great job with community outreach, not so much with media relations (see Sir Charles and the hatefest/ignorefest from the ESPN talking heads), but the marketing has been hit-and-miss for awhile. While there isn't much love for the Hawk players, on the plus side, there is quite a bit of admiration for the venue they play in -- I know people who don't even know The Highlight Factory's real name -- and while we laughed at the moniker when the Hawks were terrible it's a credit to them that the nickname and the accompanying atmosphere stuck. Folks tend to enjoy being there once they get there. They just don't necessarily enjoy being there to see the Hawks, unless someone else compelling is in town.~lw3

[Randy]

As for the PR problem, I think that Joe Johnson may have cost the team a lot with his comments after the Orlando debacle a few years ago. Soured a lot of people. Then they paid a ton of $ to keep him. No PR can overcome something like that. (And I even think he was probably a bit misunderstood about that comment, but it didn't read well.) Plus, the players lack much in the way of charisma anyway. Josh really is the main guy that gets people excited about the games.

Plus, all the blown draft picks over the years.

As for the ownership, I think the Thrashers sale cost them a lot too, and while it may have been inevitable, it didn't sit well in a lot of corners.

As for the, getting blown out on national TV never helps either. Esp. when it give people looking for an excuse to trash the team.

Bottom line -they do need better PR, but they need to not do things that kill it in the first place. Probably will take years for fans to forget about some of this stuff. If ever. (If voters has memories as long as sports fans, no one would ever get elected more than once. )

Edited September 10, 2012 by Randy