ESPN's Stephen A. Smith Names His Top Five Sports Cities in America

ESPN's First Take , featuring Stephen A. Smith and Molly Qerim, took the show on the road on Friday for a live taping at the 2024 National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) convention in Chicago. The show had special appearances by Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams and wide receiver D.J. Moore, along with hip-hop artist Chance the Rapper.

Besides guests, the show also featured a segment where Smith named his top five sports cities in the United States.

Smith announced his list by having young women walk out holding stylized cards with the cities' names on them. The list was as follows:

1. Boston
2. Chicago
3. New York City
4. Philadelphia
5. Houston

"I hate this. This breaks my heart. It hurts me so bad," Smith said as he announced Boston as his top sports city. "Look, Boston is a special sports town that has had some success."

Though it came much to his chagrin, Smith isn't the only one who holds Boston sports in high regard. The city has produced a number of championships from its teams over the last 25 years.

Since the turn of the century, Boston sports teams have produced 13 championships. Six of those are from the New England Patriots, four are from the Boston Red Sox, and two are from the Boston Celtics, with the most recent being their NBA title in June.

No doubt, like most things Smith says, this will be met with heavy debate among sports fans, especially those who reside in their respective cities.