Regional Dominance

[ICT/316]

Regional Dominance in Sports. In particular, the NFL. I’m not a big sports fan, but on that note I cheer on the Kansas City Chiefs (when their winning ).
Who does the majority (see 51%+) of a region, state, city, non NFL state or multi NFL state or cities fans support? And another interesting twist is this question. What other NFL team(s) would an area support , even if it’s a small minority (and I’m not talking about your friend originally from Oakland or Miami and he just hates the Colts, ect)?
Examples: Kansas is by far going for KC Chiefs. BUT. there’s this anarchist group of Dallas Cowboy , Vikings and god for bid Denver fans here in Kansas!
Question 1. What about a state like Idaho? My money is on the Seahawks. Alabama? Is it Atlanta, New Orleans or the relatively new Tennessee Titians?
Question 2. What about a state with more than one team? Texas, Dallas stayed and the Oilers left. Before the Texans moved to Houston did the old Oiler fans start supporting the Cowboys?

You see where I’m going with this. Tell us what NFL team the majority percentage (%) of fans in your area support.

Bill

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“Oop... I almost forgot. I won't be able to make it fellas. Veronica and I are trying this new fad called uh, jogging. I believe it's jogging or yogging. it might be a soft j. I'm not sure but apparently you just run for an extended period of time. It's supposed to be wild.”

- Ron Burgundy

[jsk1983]

Being from Buffalo its obviously the Bills who have some of the most loyal fans in the nation and Bills fantacism is almost a second religion right behind the Roman Catholic church.

When I was in school in Binghamton, NY in New York States southern tier it was a mix between the Bills and the teams from NYC (NJ). I actually considered doing a study on this but never got around to it. I would say Syracuse is where you begin to see a waning interest in the Bills and increased interest in the Giants and Jets.

[tulsa]

Oklahoma roots for 4 teams: Dallas, KC, St. Louis, and Denver.

Panhandlers tend to root for Denver. NE Okies tend to go more toward the Mizzou teams while Dallas has penetrated the entire state, obviously especially the southern (OKC and south). I would say the Cowboys is the state's fav. team but you'll find plenty of fans for the other teams out here.

[zman]

I have seen regional states to Colorado going for the Broncos. I have seen many fans in Wyoming, Montana, Utah, going for the Broncs. I have also been told that there is a sizeable fan base in South Dakota too.

Idaho is split I believe, the Northern part going for the Seahawks, but I think the Broncos may have something going in the southern part.

Eastern Montana you may find some Vikings fans, and I could see New Mexico split between the Cowboys and the Broncos.

I was watching the Broncos/Cardinals game last Friday and a fair amount of people at Sun Devil Stadium were cheerign the Broncos.

** Sorry for the Biased post, I know this region well and I love the Broncos**

[boiker]

Chicagoland roots for the Bears (99.5%)
There is a small contigent of Packer fans (.2%)
and then the rest (.3%)

In Central Illinois It's probably Bears (50%)
Rams (45%)
Colts(4.5%)
Other(.5%)

[Bear Up North]

Here in NW Ohio it seems to be about evenly-split between Cleveland Browns fans and Detroit Lions fans. Cincinnati's Bengals would be in third place. I would guess that fourth and fifth place would be either/or the Pittsburgh Steelers ( ) or the Green Bay Packers. There are scattered Washington Redskins fans, Minnesota Vikings fans, Dallas Cowboys fans, and Miami Dolphins fans.

"Me thinks" that those not-so-close-to-NW-Ohio franchises picked up fan base during Super Bowl appearance years. Band wagon fans, if you will.
_____

Now in college football, NW Ohio is about 50/50 between Ohio State and Michigan. This border area truly is the epicenter of the college rivalry considered the NUMBER ONE RIVALRY in all the land.

BTW.....Go Blue.

Bear

[jresta]

Even though the Giants and Jets both play in NJ we'll pretend for a minute that they're really "New York" teams.




The red line on this map was the boundary between East and West Jersey (and is still visible today on any map with municipal boundaries). Now it is more or less the boundary between "north" and "south" jersey.

East Jersey is 90% Giants. It should be no question that West Jersey is 90% iggles. Having grown up in East Jersey I have no idea where Jets fans come from. I heard they're all from Long Island. I also have no idea where Mets fans come from. Queens maybe?

[drucee]

Jets fans are thought to be either from Long Island or the city, whereas the Giants have always been more of a "New Jersey" team. However, like in a few towns in the Chicago suburbs that are clearly in the territory of one of the two tribes (Cubs/White Sox), but support the other, Bergen County is split about 50% Giants-Jets, especially since so many of the players live in the area. The towns of Franklin Lakes, Saddle River, and Upper Saddle River are quite popular with NFL players, actually, In elementary school, my best friend's family was friends with Bart Oates. Phil Simms sent his kid (now a top-ranked football player himsef at UT-Austin) to Ramapo High School in Franklin Lakes, and when my family was house-hunting about 10 years ago, we nearly bought the house of Jets player Dave Meggett.

Does anyone know the identities of the "White Sox towns" in Cubs territory and the "Cubs towns" in White Sox territory. I believe Crestwood is one (goes for the Cubs, but is a southwest suburb), Burr Ridge (same deal), and Hyde Park in Chicago (a South Side neighborhood with mostly Cubs fans),

[illinoisplanner]

Does anyone know the identities of the "White Sox towns" in Cubs territory and the "Cubs towns" in White Sox territory. I believe Crestwood is one (goes for the Cubs, but is a southwest suburb), Burr Ridge (same deal), and Hyde Park in Chicago (a South Side neighborhood with mostly Cubs fans),

Wow! I never realized that some towns were more for a certain team than another. I figured it was a more widespread balance across the region.

[Dan]

Being from Buffalo its obviously the Bills who have some of the most loyal fans in the nation and Bills fantacism is almost a second religion right behind the Roman Catholic church.

Good God, yes.

I always wondered where Erie stood in the world of football fandom. It's equidistant between Buffalo and Cleveland, and Pittsburgh is just a bit farther away. The place seems to have a vibe that leans more towards Buffalo. However, you can get both the Buffalo News and Plain Dealer in Erie stores. Being in the same state as the Steelers might have an influence, though.

When it comes to fandom north of the border, are the Bills considered Canada's NFL team of choice? As far as hockey goes, where's the dividing line between dominant Sabres and Maple Leafs fandom? I'm guessing it probably runs through Guelph. Along the 401, where does Detroit Red Wings country turn into the land of the Leafs?

I can safely say that Mexico -- the whole country -- is solidly in the Dallas Cowboys camp.

[Tranplanner]

When it comes to fandom north of the border, are the Bills considered Canada's NFL team of choice?

No, I expect it varies greatly across the country. I would say the Bills are probably only marginally more popular in Toronto than any other NFL team, and there is a real love/hate split amongst NFL fans regarding the Bills in Southern Ontario - could be a jealousy thing. I'm sure the Vikings ar more popular in Winnipeg than the Bills, and likewise the Seahawks in Vancouver.

I would say the CFL is still, overall, more popular in most Canadian cities than the correspondingly closest NFL team - especially in the smaller market cities where CFL football is the only "professional" game in town. CFL popularity really ebbs and flows - right now I'd say it's on an upswing again.

As far as hockey goes, where's the dividing line between dominant Sabres and Maple Leafs fandom? I'm guessing it probably runs through Guelph. Along the 401, where does Detroit Red Wings country turn into the land of the Leafs?

No, I'd say Sabres fans in Southern Ontario are largely found east of Hamilton. Guelph would be solid Leafs territory. West of London, support for the Red Wings (as well as Lions and Tigers) increases. East of Belleville, support for the Senators and Canadiens increases. Northern Ontario is split along linguistic/cultural lines, with the francophones going for les bleu blanc et rouge, and anglos pulling for the Leafs.

[passdoubt]

Does anyone know the identities of the "White Sox towns" in Cubs territory and the "Cubs towns" in White Sox territory. I believe Crestwood is one (goes for the Cubs, but is a southwest suburb), Burr Ridge (same deal), and Hyde Park in Chicago (a South Side neighborhood with mostly Cubs fans),

Interesting. Do you think it's linked to demographics (i.e. Hyde Park being a pretty posh part of the South Side)? And poorer neighborhoods to the north might identify with the working class White Sox?

My girlfriend's sister who lives there always tells people with pride that she lives in "Hyde Park," and only later concedes that she lives on the "South Side." I guess it's all in how you think about it, not geography...

[cololi]

Being from a non NFL state, I would say that there is no one majority team in Utah. I think there are teams that have a higher following, the most notable being the 49ers, probably because they have a long history of players/coaches who had some sort of affilaition with the state (Mike Holmgren, Steve Young, Alex Smith, etc.)

Sorry Zman, but to my knowledge, the Broncos are one of the most hated teams in Utah (even the Mike Anderson was a Ute). I think it comes from having to watch them every single week. When they played Green Bay in the superbowl, the bar we watched the game at was almost completely anti donkey.

[The One]

Well, here in Miami the %'s seem to be:

Miami- 50%
Jets- 25%
NE- 10%
Giants- 10%
Other Northeastern Teams- 4.99999%
Denver- 0.000001%

[zman]

Sorry Zman, but to my knowledge, the Broncos are one of the most hated teams in Utah (even the Mike Anderson was a Ute). I think it comes from having to watch them every single week. When they played Green Bay in the superbowl, the bar we watched the game at was almost completely anti donkey.

Ahh, who needs ya, anyways!

I guess I only know of one fan in SLC, and he grew up in Denver with me.

[the north omaha star]

Central Maryland - Ravens
DC suburbs and southern MD - Redskins. The dividing line between Redskins and Ravens is around Laurel or Columbia depending on who you talk to.
Western MD - Steelers Once you pass through the Sideling Cut on I-68 you're in Steelers country even though you're in Maryland.


Since Omaha doesn't have a team. Most Omahans are rooting for the Chiefs, Bears, Vikings, Broncos and Packers. As kids, my brothers and I were Bears fans because we have an uncle that lives on Chicago's North Side.

[illinoisplanner]

Being from a non NFL state, I would say that there is no one majority team in Utah. I think there are teams that have a higher following, the most notable being the 49ers, probably because they have a long history of players/coaches who had some sort of affilaition with the state (Mike Holmgren, Steve Young, Alex Smith, etc.)

Sorry Zman, but to my knowledge, the Broncos are one of the most hated teams in Utah (even the Mike Anderson was a Ute). I think it comes from having to watch them every single week. When they played Green Bay in the superbowl, the bar we watched the game at was almost completely anti donkey.

Ha!! Proves my point that Salt Lake City DOES need its own NFL team.

[ICT/316]

[QUOTE][I always wondered where Erie stood in the world of football fandom./QUOTE]

Erie's majority by far have to be fans of the Steelers. Though all three cities (Cleveland, Buffalo, at Pitts) are about the same distance apart. Browns and Bill's fans for sure would be a very large minority.

Bill

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“The only way to bag a classy lady is to give her two tickets to the gun show…”
[kisses his biceps]

- Ron Burgundy

[Dan]

No, I'd say Sabres fans in Southern Ontario are largely found east of Hamilton. Guelph would be solid Leafs territory.

Whoops! I had my Golden Triangle towns mixed up. I was thinking Grimsby, not Guelph.

[Big Owl]

Before Charlotte had a football team things were pretty much split between Atlanta and the Redskins with a scattering of other teams in there. I have noticed in charlotte there are a lot of bars with Bills fan clubs and the like... who would have guessed that but i thing everyone "pulls" for the panthers when they are up in the standings.

[marford21]

As far as LA goes, it's pretty much like this...

50% Raiders
15% Rams
15% 49ers
5% Cowboys
5% Steelers
5% Chargers
5% others

[biscuit]

There is no other major league market city close enough to here to compete for dominance with the home teams. Well, that's excluding Cleveland, but professing a love for the Browns is subject to severe punishment. Tar and feathering, banishment, and atomic wedgies are not at all unheard of.

[steel]

Some newer cities don't really have their own fans since they are made up of so many transpants who root for their own home town team.

[ICT/316]

Jacksonville and the Carolina Panthers? How did THAT, mess with Florida ( Tampa Bay, Miami)? And the Red Skins/ Atlanta? Those two teams alone filled in a big gap (and a populated gap, too). We’re talk’n a whole metro area here with Jacksonville. And a whole state with N.C. Any perceptive on this?

Bill

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Mmmmm... I look good. I mean really good. Hey everyone... come and see how good I look!”

- Ron Burgundy

[apagano]

In Central Pennsylvania, it's about 33% Eagles, 33% Steelers, 15% Ravens, 10% Redskins, then a smattering of other teams.