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Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated
Entertainment
Daniel Chavkin

Chris Russo Names Cleveland as Best Sports Market in America

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Now that Chris Russo has occasionally joined Stephen A. Smith on “First Take,” the two have given the country all kinds of hot takes.

On Wednesday, the two talking heads gave their opinions on the best sports fan bases by city in the country, and Russo’s list garnered some criticism. Based on loyalty and enthusiasm, he had Cleveland surprisingly as the No. 1 sports market in the country, with Detroit right behind. New York, Chicago and Philadelphia rounded out the top five.

“Without any questions, it knows the kind of city it is, it’s gritty, it doesn’t pretend it’s anything it isn’t,” Russo said about Cleveland.

While praising Cleveland and Detroit, Russo also dinged the lower-ranked teams a bit. He called Chicago “soft” and claimed that New York is “an event town.”

This was not the first time one of Russo’s takes on First Take went viral. In March, he said Larry Bird was better than LeBron James, and he added that “America is tired of Draymond Green” in May. Tune in next week to see how else Russo decides to go viral. 

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