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St. Louis is a baseball town, many will have you believe, and that's true. The Cardinals are the best team in baseball so far this season, and have a continued string of excellence going that many teams and cities envy.
But that doesn't mean that St. Louis can't be a hockey town too. Enjoyment of sports is not mutually exclusive, and thanks to a WalletHub study (or whatever you want to call it) shows that the Blues are the third best hockey city in the US behind Pittsburgh, PA and Chestnut Hill, MA.
To be fair, as Joe Holleman points out, the study's... interesting. The Blues tie every other NHL city in the "Number of NHL Franchises" category, and while they are considered the third most successful franchise behind the Ducks and Blackhawks (who are tied with the Penguins), I will assume that means "regular season success."
Teams and performance rank is a solid 18, which seems fair. Costs and fan engagement rank is a six, which goes towards a large number of sports bar and a reasonable cost of attending games.
The rankings in general are wonky. How do you measure "fan friendliness?" Did someone visit Nashville and meet a cranky Preds fan? What makes a stadium accessible?
The methodology is interesting. It's a shame that mention wasn't made of the Blues' consistently solid ratings, or the local hockey programs' success, or anything else of that ilk.
So, basically, forget on-line polls. Forget website studies. Share in the comments what really makes St. Louis a hockey town.