Super Bowl LI: See Where Houston Comes In On Fox Sports' Host City Rankings

The Super Bowl has a long and storied history, and cities ruthlessly compete to host the extravaganza. From the halftime show to the parties and events, who doesn't like the grand finale of the NFL season?

As part of its coverage this year, Fox Sports has ranked the host cities, from worst to first. The list is comprised of 15 host cities, and Houston is among them.

How did the Bayou City do? Let's just say that there is no shame in being number 2:

Houston is a swell town and a fine place to host a Super Bowl. (The complaints are the usual ones, which are pretty rich coming from sportswriters using corporate credit cards and filling out expense reports for meals.) It's been 13 years since the city has hosted the game, and apparently the area around NRG Stadium has been built up with the Discovery Green, which will host most of the Super Bowl Live experience, serving as the new epicenter of the week.

So writes Fox Sports' Chris Chase of his number two host city. Not bad. The thousands of fans arriving for the game will enjoy Discovery Green and it surroundings, as well as all of the new restaurants that have opened downtown in the past few months.

And which city did Chase choose as his top Super Bowl host ? The Big Easy.

Any and every Super Bowl cities list has New Orleans at No. 1 and for good reason -- it's New Orleans. It's a city that knows how to throw a party and is adept at hosting big events. It's insane the city will go at least nine years in between Super Bowls (the games are awarded through 2021, so the first time the Superdome will get another is in 2022 or 2023).

Yes, New Orleans is number one, but coming in second is nothing to sneeze at.

Here's Chase's list in its entirety.

— Image courtesy Wikipedia Commons/Bobby L. Warren