A new first-of-its-kind study by the Samford University Center for Sports Analytics in Birmingham, Alabama, has produced the inaugural “Relevance Rankings” of U.S. sports leagues, entities and teams — and how Miami teams fare runs the gamut from high relevance to, well, something closer to irrelevance.
The rankings, says the Center, are based on a deep dive into social media data from 6.9 million U.S sports fans in a study conducted this past August that analyzed how fans connected to teams, sports brands, events, athletes and media.
The Miami Heat led all South Florida teams by a lot, ranking fourth in the NBA with a 6.