NBA Fans Got Nothing on Laramie! Still Rank Well As BBall Fans

First and foremost, let's remember the great season that our Wyoming Cowboys and Cowgirls had. The Cowboys made an appearance in the NCAA Tournament and the Cowgirls made it to the Sweet Sixteen of the NIT. What a show they put on! They are both prime examples of why Laramie basketball fandom is hyped. And despite not having an NBA team in southeast Wyoming, Laramie ranks pretty well in terms of overall basketball fans.

Yes, of course the Denver Nuggets are relatively nearby and there are plenty of Nuggets fans in Wyoming. However, for a non-NBA city and not having an NBA team that resides anywhere in the state, Laramie had a relatively good showing given its market size.

The determination of where Laramie ranked compared to other cities on the list was similar to a study that was done by WalletHub during the college basketball season in terms of criteria. However, with the NBA being more of a weighing factor than the NCAA level of play, you would think it may be tougher for Laramie to hold its own since they don't have an NBA team of their own. However, Laramie did not have so much of a drop off as you might expect.

On the list that ranked over 290 of the largest cities that consist of either an NBA team or at least one NCAA Division I school with a basketball team, Laramie ranked 157th overall. That is not too much of a drop from their ranking of 131, when the focus was primarily the NCAA Division I level of play for basketball. Look at us, Laramie. We're holding our own.

That means even without an NBA team to root for in our own state, we rank higher than such cities as State College, PA (Philadelphia 76ers), Stony Brook, NY (Brooklyn Nets or New York Knicks), and Bakersfield, CA (too many NBA teams in their state to count).

The NBA Playoffs, of course, have been in full swing for the past few weeks and have already seen the elimination of the Denver Nuggets from the playoffs with a first round exit at the hands of the Golden State Warriors, 4 games to 1. While that's unfortunate from a local standpoint, since then I've definitely noticed the turnout of basketball fans at local bars and restaurants that will be there to watch any one of the ongoing series in the current second round of the NBA playoffs. That's a good indicator of some hyped basketball fans, Laramie.

To see where each city on the list ranked, check out the map below:

Source: WalletHub

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University of Wyoming’s Top 50 Football Players

During the summer of 2021, 7220Sports.com counted down the Top 50 football players in University of Wyoming history, presented by Premier Bone & Joint Centers, Worthy of Wyoming.

The rules are simple: What was the player's impact while in Laramie? That means NFL stats, draft status or any other accolade earned outside of UW is irrelevant when it comes to this list.

This isn't a one-man job. This task called for a panel of experts. Joining 7220's Cody Tucker are Robert Gagliardi, Jared Newland, Ryan Thorburn, and Kevin McKinney.

We all compiled our own list of 50 and let computer averages do the work. Think BCS -- only we hope this catalog is fairer.

Don't agree with a selection? Feel free to sound off on our Twitter: @7220sports - #Top50UWFB

- University of Wyoming’s Top 50 Football Players