San Diego Padres: Fan Base Disrespected, Not on #Fandom250

The San Diego Padres’ fan base has been excluded from FanSided’s Fandom 250 rankings. For many, this is very troubling, and even infuriating.

It is neglect and disrespect at its finest. The greatest fans in the world, fans of the San Diego Padres, were not even mentioned in FanSided’s Fandom 250 rankings.

The list was released on Tuesday, and included fans of every kind, from sports franchises to actors to musicians.

While seven MLB fan bases secured a spot on the list, including the top ranked Chicago Cubs, there was apparently no room for the Padres.

However, there was room for Batman, Star Trek, The Walking Dead, and even people like Taylor Swift. Not to mention, two of the most unpopular politicians of all time ranked in front of the Padres on this peculiar list.

Who makes this up? We don’t know, but obviously whoever it is needs to be reminded about the great San Diego fans. While other organizations in sports have had a hard time getting enough support to even remain in their city, San Diego, a city of just 1.35 million, is doing just fine with the Padres.

And this has come through year after year of struggles. The Padres haven’t made the playoffs since 2006, have only been in the playoffs five times, and haven’t ever won a World Series.

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Yet fans are as passionate as ever coming into every year. Optimism always abounds in San Diego, a small city not known historically for their baseball team.

Averaging just short of 30,000 fans a game in 2016, Petco Park is one of the great parks to see a game. The Padres, while not the most exciting or successful organizations, have been able to maintain an unwavering base of support.

This speaks to the great people of San Diego, and their passion for their Padres. Since this is precisely the criteria for FanSided’s Fandom 250, we are curious as to how these deserving fans weren’t near the top. Perhaps a mistake was made.

Next: Position by Position Analysis for the Winter Meetings

To view the full list of rankings, visit the Fandom 250 here. To react, either post in the comments section below, or tweet using #Fandom250.