Most Popular Sports Team in Each US State

I'd say that's a pretty accurate list.

 

I'd love to see one with only professional teams.

 

I find that living in South Carolina, most people don't care for professional teams. A lot of them don't like that the pros get paid so much and make the argument that college teams play for the love of the game, pros play for money. I personally don't like college sports.

 

I don't follow college at all. I'm sort of weird with my sports though. I like pro football. And eSports(Mostly that Starcraft thing). Nothing else, really.
I watch NFL, CFL, and watched UFL when it wasn't the most impossible thing on the face of the planet to do.

 

I think it's both sad AND hilarious that the states that have Major league teams still lose out to College teams as far as being the fan favourite...

 

I'm going to disagree with Minnesota. Id say the Twins and Wild are both higher than the Vikes

 

College has, and probably always will have more power than pros. Especially football.

 

I think it depends on the region. I don't know any college football fans here in Minnesota. Same goes for basketball. There are a few college hockey fans I know, but it is Minnesota after all.

 

I wonder if the 49ers can overtake the Lakers once Kobe retires. Assuming they become playoff mainstays and win at least one Superbowl in the next 3 years.

 

A man at my church has a son that was a teacher at the University of Minnesota. He said that our high school team here in GA, could beat the Gophers in football. lol

But yes...I know Minnesota is hockey state USA. It is on my to do list to see some ice action live and in person someday.

 

I wouldn't even be remotely surprised. I don't pay too much attention, but when the Golphers win I know it's usually a big deal, which means they rarely win, haha.

I'm not a big hockey fan, but I've had a chance to see the Wild play live a few times. It's pretty fun. Our arena is nice too.

 

Need some more context on this in terms of how they measure popularity but I'm not buying that on Michigan. The state is too split between UM and MSU, and that doesnt even factor in the other schools like WMU, CMU, and EMU that have large followings.

State team would have to be either the Tigers, Red Wings, or Lions, where there's more of a consensus due to lack of other pro options.

Although again, it's hard to tell without a link what the author of article used to grade "popularity"

 

I honestly don't see your point. I don't see why it's sad for a college team to be popular.

 

Who's your high school team? I'm in GA too.

Northside Eagles for the record.

 

Classified.

I do know who Northside is, but we're not even remotely nearby.

 

Most areas of the country didn't have pros sports until the 60's at the earliest. Outside of Chicago, St. Louis, and Detroit, pro sports were confined to the Northeast for decades. Even Los Angeles was excluded.

College teams were all the areas had.

 

Good point. The Giants and Dodgers moved to the west in the late fifties, in the midwest the Cowboys didn't come along til 1960. And the southeast was totally devoid of pro teams until the Braves arrived in '66.

 

Yeah Missouri is spot on even though I hate Baseball.

 

Uh no

 

I have a hard time believing the PSU fanbase is bigger than that of the Steelers. Likewise, I have a hard time believing that the BoSox boast more fans than the Celtics or Patriots. Other than that, the list seems plausible.

My home state is sports crazy, but there are divided loyalites. While the Redskins are #1, the Cowboys, Steelers, and Ravens all have huge fanbases here. Although the Nationals are gaining a large following in pro baseball as well. No one seems to remember that the Wizards exist.

 

Prolonged success has a lot to do with it, I think. When I moved to Lexington, KY in the mid-90s, I didn't watch college sports at all. 3 months later, I was a raving UK fan due in no small part to the fact that all other sports, college and pro, were a distant second to the Cats. Every able-bodied kid in the state dreams of playing in Rupp Arena one day because they have heard their parents and grandparents cheering the Cats.

While I've never been to Alabama, I can imagine it's the same way for the football team down there. They have been winning championships for decades, so I'm guessing fandom gets handed down like a family keepsake.