During last season's Stanley Cup Final, hockey fans around the world were exposed to the incredible hockey city that is Nashville, Tennessee.
For the first time in franchise history, the Predators made it to the Stanley Cup Final and their fans showed their support before, during and after their incredible run. That support has carried over to this season, too, as fans are hoping to go on another magical ride come the postseason.
The city of Nashville and the Predators may not have received the recognition they deserved before last season, but they certainly have received it now and there's no better proof of that than ESPN naming the Preds as the No. 1 franchise in all of sports.
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(NHL.com)
So, you're probably asking yourself why the Predators are number one, and we've got the answer, as per ESPN:
If we were still running ESPN's Ultimate Standings -- which compiled fan surveys and financial analysis to determine which franchises give back the most to fans -- there's no question who would rank No. 1 this year. Nashville made the Stanley Cup finals while charging middle-of-the-pack ticket prices. Beyond that bang for the buck, the Preds deliver eye-popping customer service. In our most recent polls, Nashville topped all NHL clubs in engaging fans through social media, delivering information via mobile devices, making it easy to use the team website and providing avenues for feedback.
In this social media world we now live in, that last part is very important and we saw this first hand after a fan found out late that he won NFL tickets.
As hockey fans, it's cool to see an NHL team in the top spot of a list of all franchises in sports, and we applaud the Predators for growing their franchise on and off the ice to a Stanley Cup contender.
