Top 10 Best Sports Franchises in the World

The world of sports is filled with teams that fight to be the best. Dynasties are forged, rivalries flare, and hearts race around the globe. Some sports franchises seem to do it better than others, year after year. They deliver heart-stopping wins, they become part of their city's fabric, and they draw generations of die-hard fans. It's more than wins and losses. It's about that special something that keeps you tuning in season after season.

So, what makes a sports franchise truly great? Is it winning streaks or unforgettable players? Maybe it's about creating a loyal community of fans, or just having a thrilling style of play that gets your blood pumping.
The Top Ten
1 New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Bronx, New York City, New York, that competes in Major League Baseball.

People should keep in mind that if the Yankees don't have the most championships in the world, they have by far the most among teams that play once a season. Manchester United is the only franchise that comes close, and even then, they don't really have an offseason. They compete for multiple different championships, whereas the Yankees compete for just one and have won it a staggering 27 times.

Also, the World Series is a world championship. Although most Europeans say that they're not, name one baseball team outside of North America that is better than any team in the MLB. The answer is a big fat zero. So, yes, if you're the best in the MLB, you're the best baseball team in the world. MLB has been having games played in different territories, such as London (where Europeans got to witness the greatest rivalry in sports, Yankees vs Red Sox), but if any of those territories got a team to play in the MLB, they would absolutely suck.

The Yankees only have one shot at a world championship per year, and they win them at a staggering rate. They had 39 winning seasons in a row from 1926 to 1964 and have had an above .500 team every year since 1993. Those 39 years of winning records is a record that has never been remotely threatened by anyone else... except by themselves.

And that is why the Yankees are the greatest sports club in the world. Literally, all they do is win.

2 Manchester United Football Club Manchester United Football Club is a professional football club based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, that competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English football.

Anyone not saying Manchester United is an idiot. The Dallas Cowboys were born in the 1960s? So? United, or Newton Heath, have a history dating back to 1878. They ARE the highest value club in the world with over 330 (est) million supporters worldwide.

The Yankees' name is known more, but that does not make them more popular.

No one can argue that Manchester United are the richest club in the world. It's a fact proven by Forbes. So, this is really a stupid debate.

Without question, Manchester United is the Greatest Sports Franchise in the World. Simple facts spell that out. The highest revenue of ALL Sports. Largest fan base of ALL sports. Largest T.V. audience worldwide of ALL Sports. Is this just a small-minded American thing to think the Yankees are even comparable to Manchester United? Laughable.

3 Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League as a member club of the league's National Football Conference East division.

Been a Dallas Cowboy fan since the Cotton Bowl and a season ticket holder. Cowboys are the very best! Win or lose, the Dallas Cowboys are America's team! The world watches when the Dallas Cowboys play! Go Cowboys!

I haven't seen one Manchester United fan that has their ride or crib tricked up in support of their team like how those boys are repping it up in the triple D. More people around the world watch the Super Bowl as opposed to whatever soccer is doing. How about them Cowboys... DC4L.

The Dallas Cowboys have and always will be America's Team! Plenty of fans and plenty of haters! How about them Cowboys!

4 Los Angeles Lakers The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Lakers compete in the National Basketball Association, as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division.

Head coach: Frank Vogel

Arena/Stadium: Staples Center... read more

Best franchise of all time! No question. It has produced 3 of the top 5 best basketball players of all time, and they market well and don't spend double of what other franchises do to win (Yankees). Manchester should be disqualified because they play real football, which is by far the most popular sport in the world. And the Cowboys should be disqualified because they are in the NFL, which just proves how misguided Americans are. Just wanting to be different and having a sport that no one else plays.

5 Montreal Canadiens The Montreal Canadiens (French: Les Canadiens de Montréal) are a professional ice hockey team based in Montreal, Quebec. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference.

The Canadiens are the best hockey franchise of all time, bar none. 24 Cups, 61 Hall-of-Fame inductees, 17 retired numbers, and millions of loyal fans worldwide!

Simple fact: 24 championships. Beat that, Broncos! It's very obvious that this poll is answered by mainly narrow-minded people, i.e., Yanks.

Let's be real. Three words: iconic, historic, victorious. Nobody even comes close.

6 Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, that competes in the National Football League. Pittsburgh Steelers have won the most Super Bowls with 6 which currently stands today.

You can travel to any city in the country and are most likely to see some Steelers gear over any other franchise.

I've traveled the world, and there's always Steelers fan and their apparel everywhere.

They are the best football team of all time!

7 Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League as a member club of the league's National Football Conference North division. The Packers have won 4 Super Bowls and 13 NFL championships.

With football and American football being the 1st and 2nd most watched sports in the world, the best sports franchise has to be a team from one of these two sports. Therefore, the only real choices here are Manchester United Football Club, Dallas Cowboys, Pittsburgh Steelers, and the Green Bay Packers.

But, I'm an American and I live in Wisconsin, so the choice is a simple one.

While the Yankees are obviously the most "storied" sports franchise in the U.S., the Packers rank very close, with far less negative "drama," Brett Favre notwithstanding. Owned by the fans and operating in the smallest of markets, there's something very down-to-Earth about the Packers that's undeniable!

8 Toronto Maple Leafs The Toronto Maple Leafs, officially the Toronto Maple Leaf Hockey Club and often simply referred to as the Leafs, are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto, Ontario. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference.
9 San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers are a professional American football team located in the San Francisco Bay Area.
10 St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are a professional baseball team based in St. Louis, Missouri. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball as a member club of the National League Central division.

Even in down periods, they are at least a .500 team and seem to be lurking in the background. When on the upswing, which they are more often than not, they have no fear and are truly one of the best teams of all time.

Best baseball city in America!

The Contenders
11 Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles, California. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball as a member club of the National League West division.

How can you not have Dodger Blue higher on this list, knowing that they bring a rich tradition in sports history? They should be up there with the Yankees in terms of baseball generally speaking. Therefore, the Boys in Blue should be ranked higher, no doubt.

Really? I'm surprised to see the Dodgers ranked so low on this list. They need to be in the top 3.

12 New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston region. New England Patriots are one of the few teams to have 5+ wins in the Super Bowl.

Patriots arguably the first for best sports franchise especially because they are still kicking ass and making smart moves, while the other teams on this list are only mentioned due to past achievements. We keep winning and you're mad.

Dominant for 18 years with 9 appearances in SB and 6 wins! This is crazy stupid rankings.

13 Las Vegas Raiders The Las Vegas Raiders are a professional American football franchise based in Las Vegas. The Raiders began playing in 1960 as a member club of the American Football League; they have been a member club of the National Football League since the 1970 AFL–NFL merger... read more

Winningest NFL franchise before 1998, 3 Super Bowls, 5 AFC championships, 22 Hall of Famers.

14 Boston Celtics The Boston Celtics are an American professional basketball team based in Boston, Massachusetts. They are specifically known for honing infamous players such as Larry Bird, Bill Russell, Paul Pierce, and more. They are also known for having the most championships in NBA History, with 17 total.

Most progressive team in sports history. First NBA team to start five black players and the first of the four major US sports to have a black coach. Not to mention, they have the most titles in NBA history. Thanks to Danny Ainge (and Billy King, thank you Nets), they are poised to fight for a title in the years to come. Also, is there anyone cooler, a better defender, a better teammate, or a better sacrificer for the team in NBA history than Bill Russell?

Larry Bird, Paul Pierce, Kevin McHale, Bill Russell, John Havlicek, Dave Cowens, Bob Cousy, Robert Parish, Sam Jones, JoJo White, Rajon Rondo, Ray Allen, Dennis Johnson, Tim Heinsohn, Kevin Garnett, Kendrick Perkins, Nate Archibald, Bill Sharman, Bailey Howell, Cedric Maxwell, Danny Ainge, Isaiah Thomas, Reggie Lewis, Don Nelson, Tom Sanders, Ed Macauley, Frank Ramsey, K.C. Jones, Bill Walton, Pete Maravich, Antoine Walker; '57, '59-'66, '68, '69, '74, '76, '81, '84, '86, '08. I like the Celtics. I'm not the biggest fan, but I am one. It doesn't take a scientist to be able to read this list and figure out that it's STACKED. This is just the grease on the surface. There are so many more names and years that can be added.

Now, I know they're not the Yankees, but, I mean, come on. It's the BOSTON CELTICS! They are easily the number two franchise in sports history. They won ten championships in a row, and that wasn't even with the greatest team they've ever had! Who does that?! Well, besides the Yankees.

I'm surprised, disappointed, and perturbed that y'all have the Celtics this low in your ranking. I hope this helped explain my argument of the success in the last 70 years.

-Boogie

15 Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto, Ontario. The Blue Jays are a member of the East division of the American League in Major League Baseball, and play their home games at Rogers Centre.
16 San Antonio Spurs The San Antonio Spurs are an American professional basketball team based in San Antonio, Texas. The Spurs compete in the National Basketball Association as a member of the league's Western Conference Southwest Division.

We hold the highest winning percentage in NBA history.
Gregg Popovich is the greatest and most valuable coach in league history.
We managed to give the NBA the big three of Ginobili, Parker, and Duncan while still showing top-class ball movement and team involvement.
If we are talking about the best franchises in all of sports, the Spurs should at least be in the top 10, AT LEAST.

Spurs, at 20? Really? What is this, some 'popularity contest'? Sheesh. If you had the chance to ask ANY front-office person, "What one sports franchise in the world would you most want to model your product after?" THIS would be your answer: "The Spurs. No doubt."

17 Portland Trail Blazers The Portland Trail Blazers, commonly known as the Blazers, are an American professional basketball team based in Portland, Oregon.
18 Nashville Predators The Nashville Predators are a professional ice hockey team based in Nashville, Tennessee. They are members of the Central Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League.
19 Boston Bruins The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston, Massachusetts. The Bruins compete in the National Hockey League as a member club of the league's Eastern Conference Atlantic Division.
20 Toronto Raptors The Toronto Raptors are a Canadian professional basketball team based in Toronto, Ontario. The Raptors compete in the National Basketball Association, as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Atlantic Division.

I'm from Montreal and won't have an NBA team, so whenever I watch, I always go with my fellow Northerners.

21 Detroit Red Wings The Detroit Red Wings are a professional ice hockey team based in Detroit, Michigan. They are members of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League and are one of the Original Six teams of the league.

The winged wheel just keeps rolling. No need to change brands. Honestly, I liked going to the "Joe" when the Wings sucked, hands down the greatest sport fans and atmosphere of all time. When they started to dominate in the mid-nineties, the big corporations bought gobs of tickets and gave them to image-minded folks, which made it a little "stuffy" at the games.

The history is storied too. Howe did more for youth hockey than anyone. Yzerman and what all those guys did for Vladimir Konstantinov. What other US team is full of home state players? That stems from the foundation Howe laid.

22 San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are a professional American baseball team based in San Francisco. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball as part of the West division of the National League. They play their home games at Oracle Park in downtown San Francisco.

Definitely should be higher. Have had many greats and are often contenders in the postseason.

23 Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston, Massachusetts, that competes in Major League Baseball.
24 Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol, commonly known as Real Madrid, or simply as Real, is a professional football club based in Madrid, Spain.

This is a pathetic list. How can it be that there are 14 MLB, NFL, and NBA teams over the second best football club in the world (Real Madrid)? If anything, this list should consist mainly of football teams considering football is the most popular sport in the world.

Please, if Manchester United is there, how could Real Madrid not be at the very top of it? The biggest football club in history. Just check their trophies, history, players.

Their number of trophies, not just in La Liga but international play, and beating the best teams in different leagues makes them #1.

25 Chicago Bulls The Chicago Bulls are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago, Illinois. The Bulls compete in the National Basketball Association as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division.

Arena/Stadium: United Center
Head coach: Fred Hoiberg... read more

Should be much higher. Everyone tuned into Bulls games in the '90s just to see Jordan and his amazing plays.

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