[grimoald]

Of course world cities like Tokyo, London or Paris are known for all sorts of things other than sports, that's why they are world cities.

On the other hand, I'm pretty sure German cities like Dortmund and Leverkusen are primarily known because of their soccer teams (at least among those who are into soccer, and that is a lot).

[TulliusCicero]

That's actually a decent point, though I think it's debatable whether this is actually useful.

There are probably otherwise-sad US cities with decent pro sports teams that help bring name recognition...but does that actually translate into anything productive? The data on economic benefits seems to indicate the answer is 'no'.

[dagw]

I probably couldn't find Green Bay on a map, yet I know the name thanks to their very famous and successful sports team. But as you say, I still have no interest in visiting.