Fans that live outside the sports markets

[jgb191]

I remember I touched on a something like this in the NFL thread, but I wanted to expand the discussion on it some more so that's why I decided to start a new thread on it.

I'm curious as to any of you (or those you know) who live away from any of the sports cities what the rooting interest is (either in rural areas or other cities without a pro-sports team).

For example: in Florida, for people in Orlando, Ft. Myers, Tallahassee, or any other place, are they a Buccaneers fan, Dolphins fan, or Jaguars fan?  Is the Tampa more for the Magic or Heat?

For those that live in anywhere else in Pennsylvania, would those people be rooting for teams from Pittsburgh or Philadelphia?

If you live somewhere else in Missouri, are you fan of the KC or STL teams?  Are you a Royals fan or a Cardinals fan?

If you live in Ohio, are you most likely a Cleveland fan or Cincinnati fan?  Are there Cavaliers fan in or near the Cincinnati area seeing as they don't have an NBA team?

Those that live in Central California (Bakersfield, Fresno, Visalia, etc) are they more for LA teams or the SF teams?

In my home town Corpus Christi, the Cowboys fans vastly outnumber Texans fans (not surprisingly); I would estimate 70% to 30% in favor of Cowboys.  Also the majority root for the Spurs, some for the Rockets, and very few for the Mavericks.  And the overwhelming majority are Astros fan and a small minority for the Rangers.

Something else I found interesting:  Lake Charles, LA rooting interest in the NFL is far more towards the Saints than Texans, despite the fact that the city is way closer to Houston than to New Orleans.

[jeffandnicole]

People are fans of teams, not fans of the locality.

Also, you're looking too strongly at state lines.  There are portions of areas of Pennsylvania that are closer to Baltimore, DC/Landover, NYC/Meadowlands, Cleveland and even Buffalo. If you're basing it on closeness to a city, someone in PA has numerous teams from cities outside PA to root for.

[RoadWarrior56]

Somewhere on the web is a map of the US that includes the fan-base boundaries of each NFL team.  I have seen it several times.  There are others you can find.  Below is a link to such a map, although it might be a year or two out of date.

https://seatgeek.com/tba/articles/where-do-nfl-fans-live-mapping-football-fandom-across-the-u-s/

[NWI_Irish96]

I lived in the Louisville market for 11 years. No local professional teams.
Baseball was mostly Reds though there was weak baseball interest overall.
Basketball was really whatever team people's favorite Louisville or Kentucky players were on.
Hockey barely registered.
Football was the most interesting. The majority were Colts or Bengals, but I knew people, all of whom were native to the area, who were fans of the Steelers, Cowboys, 49ers, Chiefs, Bears and Bills.

[Ted$8roadFan]

There are indeed maps showing the fan bases for MLB and NFL teams (and maybe others) that include many areas far removed from their teams. For example:

https://seatgeek.com/tba/articles/where-do-nfl-fans-live-mapping-football-fandom-across-the-u-s/

[hotdogPi]

MLB's map is 2014 New York Times, but it's paywalled. It gives more detail than SeatGeek by giving the top three by percentage for a given location and being by ZIP code rather than the county level.

[Ted$8roadFan]

A google search will also reveal fandom maps based on Facebook likes.

[Max Rockatansky]

The Central Valley of California (at least Bakersfield and Fresno) lean way more towards following the Los Angeles teams than the Bay Area.  I think a lot of that has to do with the Los Angeles teams having a more blue collar demographic appeal than the Bay Area teams do. 

Me personally, I've just stuck to the Detroit teams I followed as a kid no matter where I lived.  I see no reason to change my fandom because I moved somewhere different. 

[Flint1979]

I've lived in Michigan for most of my life and was born here but I am a Chicago sports fan. I've always been that way and don't see any reason to stop being a Chicago fan. It started with the White Sox and I'm not sure why I liked the Sox over anyone else, then I started liking Frank Thomas and he became my favorite player so I stayed with them. I've also become friends with a former White Sox player (Jack McDowell) which is pretty cool. Then the Bulls started beating the Pistons and I liked Jordan but haven't watched an NBA game in over 20 years I'm a hockey fan not a basketball fan. The Hawks were harder to start following due to Dollar Bill's way of blacking out home games back in the day, his son is doing a much better job running the team. The Bears, I loved rooting for them against the Lions and Packers so they instantly became my favorite team. The only Detroit team I really don't hate or anything is the Red Wings.

[Max Rockatansky]

I've lived in Michigan for most of my life and was born here but I am a Chicago sports fan. I've always been that way and don't see any reason to stop being a Chicago fan. It started with the White Sox and I'm not sure why I liked the Sox over anyone else, then I started liking Frank Thomas and he became my favorite player so I stayed with them. I've also become friends with a former White Sox player (Jack McDowell) which is pretty cool. Then the Bulls started beating the Pistons and I liked Jordan but haven't watched an NBA game in over 20 years I'm a hockey fan not a basketball fan. The Hawks were harder to start following due to Dollar Bill's way of blacking out home games back in the day, his son is doing a much better job running the team. The Bears, I loved rooting for them against the Lions and Packers so they instantly became my favorite team. The only Detroit team I really don't hate or anything is the Red Wings.

One thing I have noticed about the Detroit market is that there has been a lot of people who follow the Packers in football after the Brett Farve era.  Usually those same people still tend to follow the rest of the Detroit teams if they are still into the big four sports.  That can probably be chalked up to the Lions never really doing anything with players like Barry Sanders, Calvin Johnson and Matt Stafford.

[SP Cook]

In my area, which is between Huntington and Charleston WV I would say the situation is:

NFL: Probably 60% of NFL fans follow a local(ish) team, of that:  75% Bengals, 15% Steelers, 10% Browns.   That is the WV part of this TV market, if you include the OH and KY counties that get their TV from here, which are yet closer to Cincinnati, the Steelers go way down and the Bengals go up more.

MLB:  Probably 80% of MLB fans follow a local(ish) team, of that: 90% Reds, 10% Pirates, 0% I*****s/Guardians.  Although the MLB black out map says they are a "local"  team and they thus get blacked out.  Never met a fan of that team who was from here, once.  Never.

NBA: 99% of people do not follow it at all, but among those that do, there is no geographic element to it.  The Cavaliers games are on the local Bally's Sports channel, but no one considers that a local team.  Mostly people just follow whatever.

NHL:  99% of people do not follow it at all, but there is only a very small geographic element to it any way.  Both the Penguins and the Blue Jackets are on sports channels you can get (the Pittsburgh one is extra, Cincinnati/Columbus/Cleveland is in the base package).  There are a few people who follow one of those teams, but lots of people who follow other teams as well.

[NWI_Irish96]

I've lived in Michigan for most of my life and was born here but I am a Chicago sports fan. I've always been that way and don't see any reason to stop being a Chicago fan. It started with the White Sox and I'm not sure why I liked the Sox over anyone else, then I started liking Frank Thomas and he became my favorite player so I stayed with them. I've also become friends with a former White Sox player (Jack McDowell) which is pretty cool. Then the Bulls started beating the Pistons and I liked Jordan but haven't watched an NBA game in over 20 years I'm a hockey fan not a basketball fan. The Hawks were harder to start following due to Dollar Bill's way of blacking out home games back in the day, his son is doing a much better job running the team. The Bears, I loved rooting for them against the Lions and Packers so they instantly became my favorite team. The only Detroit team I really don't hate or anything is the Red Wings.

One thing I have noticed about the Detroit market is that there has been a lot of people who follow the Packers in football after the Brett Farve era.  Usually those same people still tend to follow the rest of the Detroit teams if they are still into the big four sports.  That can probably be chalked up to the Lions never really doing anything with players like Barry Sanders, Calvin Johnson and Matt Stafford.

There is a sizable Packers following in Chicago. Mostly older generations but some of it has passed down.

Back when Chicago had two football teams, the Bears played at Wrigley Field and the Cardinals as Comiskey Park. As there is now with the Cubs and Sox, there was a big northside/southside rivalry between the Bears and Cardinals. When the Cardinals left for St. Louis, a lot of their fans became Packers fans because rooting for the Bears just wasn't an option.

[hbelkins]

In my area, which is between Huntington and Charleston WV I would say the situation is:

NFL: Probably 60% of NFL fans follow a local(ish) team, of that:  75% Bengals, 15% Steelers, 10% Browns.   That is the WV part of this TV market, if you include the OH and KY counties that get their TV from here, which are yet closer to Cincinnati, the Steelers go way down and the Bengals go up more.

MLB:  Probably 80% of MLB fans follow a local(ish) team, of that: 90% Reds, 10% Pirates, 0% I*****s/Guardians.  Although the MLB black out map says they are a "local"  team and they thus get blacked out.  Never met a fan of that team who was from here, once.  Never.

NBA: 99% of people do not follow it at all, but among those that do, there is no geographic element to it.  The Cavaliers games are on the local Bally's Sports channel, but no one considers that a local team.  Mostly people just follow whatever.

NHL:  99% of people do not follow it at all, but there is only a very small geographic element to it any way.  Both the Penguins and the Blue Jackets are on sports channels you can get (the Pittsburgh one is extra, Cincinnati/Columbus/Cleveland is in the base package).  There are a few people who follow one of those teams, but lots of people who follow other teams as well.

My situation, unsurprisingly, is a lot like yours. Although there is a decent contingent of Braves fans around here, and I attribute that to a generation that grew up with WTBS-TV (Superstation 17) showing practically every Braves game.

The Bengals picked up a lot of fans last year with their Super Bowl run, and the Reds are shedding fans due to their ineptitude.

I've certainly not noticed a lot of interest in hockey in these parts, and NBA interest is generally contingent on whatever team your favorite former Wildcat is on.

[JayhawkCO]

When I was in Kansas City, obviously the Chiefs, Royals, and Sporting are kings. NBA had only moderate interest since college basketball is such a big deal there. No teams were followed more than others. NHL was not anything I ever heard anyone talk about other than when the Penguins were possibly going to relocate before getting bailed out the casino.

[GaryV]

My brother-in-law rom SW Michigan, who unfortunately died way too young, was a big Vikings fan in the (2nd) Tarkenton era and beyond. This despite never having gone west of the Wisconsin Dells, and that only once as a child.

[jp the roadgeek]

In CT:

MLB: Notorious for the crossover zone between Boston and NY (known as the Munson/Nixon line).  Really depends on which end of the state you're in.  Red Sox and Yankees fans dominate, but there's a smattering of Mets fans.  Most non-market team fans are transplants.  The Yankees and Mets claim the entire state as their territory, while the Red Sox claim all but Fairfield County.

NFL:  Similar to MLB with the Giants and Pats, however there is cross-pollination of MLB and NFL allegiances between Boston and NY (plenty of Sox fans who are Giants fans and Yankee fans who are Pats fans).  Unlike the Mets, the Jets draw very little interest north of Fairfield County and the New Haven area (yet local TV will force them on us when they can), and there are actually more out of market (Cowboys, Steelers, Packers, etc) fans than Jets fans, and they are not necessarily transplants.

NBA: More of a niche sport than die hards.  Celtics fans are mostly those who followed them during the Bird era.  The Knicks have very little interest north of Fairfield County, and Nets fans are nonexistent.  Otherwise, it's a conglomeration of other teams.  The availability of local teams on cable is ridiculously erratic; you can get the Celtics near the NY border but can't in parts of Hartford County.  And MSG isn't available for the Knicks on most cable systems, having been replaced by YES.

NHL: Most are still jilted from the Whalers leaving, and it's become more of a niche sport.  The Rangers have their AHL affiliate in Hartford, but they get very little media coverage.  The Islanders have theirs in Bridgeport, but most of the state knows little about them.  There are those who have migrated to the Bruins and Rangers, while very few have remained loyal to the Hurricanes.  NESN carries the Bruins everywhere except Fairfield County.  As for the NY teams (for people who actually get MSG): the Rangers are available in most of the state, but for some reason, the Islanders and Devils are restricted to Fairfield County.

MLS: 99.9% don't care

WNBA: The Connecticut Sun draw some interest, but are more of a niche sport.

College Football: UConn sucks, otherwise there's no rhyme or reason who to root for.

College Basketball: One word: UConn.  And CT is probably the only state where a man can follow womens' basketball and not have his man card pulled.  Very little interest in out of market teams.

[elsmere241]

When I was in greater Raleigh, nobody seemed to care that technically it was part of the Hornets' and Panthers' home market, unless their team was playing one of them and the game was blacked out.

The Hurricanes had just come over from Greensboro, and they tended to draw a bigger crowd when a team from the Northeast was visiting.  Apparently that was typical for Southeast Division NHL teams at the time.

[jgb191]

People are fans of teams, not fans of the locality.

Also, you're looking too strongly at state lines.  There are portions of areas of Pennsylvania that are closer to Baltimore, DC/Landover, NYC/Meadowlands, Cleveland and even Buffalo. If you're basing it on closeness to a city, someone in PA has numerous teams from cities outside PA to root for.

Good point you made; the map does indicate pockets of Broncos fans in the northernmost counties of the Texas panhandle, seeing as they are closer to Denver than to Dallas/Ft. Worth.

I know of someone that is from Gary, Indiana who is a Pacers fan even during the Bulls empire of the 1990's; he rooted for the Pacers over the Bulls despite living closer to the Chicagoland area than Indianapolis.

Another place I am intrigued is Iowa.  They are within proximity to the Twin Cities, Kansas City, St. Louis, Chicago, and Milwaukee/Green Bay.  I am sure that state is as divided as it gets.

[hotdogPi]

Another place I am intrigued is Iowa.  They are within proximity to the Twin Cities, Kansas City, St. Louis, Chicago, and Milwaukee/Green Bay.  I am sure that state is as divided as it gets.

This is why I suggested an Omaha sports team as a possibility (second choice after San Antonio/Austin, I believe) that plays on the Iowa side of the river and is called the Iowa somethings. It will get all of Iowa, all the populated parts of Nebraska, and half of South Dakota.

[SP Cook]

Also, you're looking too strongly at state lines.

As far as pro sports go, it is odd that the state line DOES matter.  People that live in southern Illinois, for example, generally follow the Cardinals, not the Chicago teams.

One place where state lines do matter is Virginia.  The ENTIRE state is, umm, Commanders fans.  All the way to the tip of Lee County, eight and a half hours away, but as soon as you cross out of Virginia, more geographically logical fandom resumes. 

Not really a state line, but I have always wondered why the Blue Jays don't get traction in Buffalo.    Its not even 2 hours and they share TV channels.

Another place I am intrigued is Iowa.  They are within proximity to the Twin Cities, Kansas City, St. Louis, Chicago, and Milwaukee/Green Bay.  I am sure that state is as divided as it gets.

The MLB black out map declares that the state of Iowa has six home teams.  The Cubs, White Sox, Twins, Cardinals, Brewers, and Royals.   Similarly southern Nevada is supposedly home to the Diamondbacks, Dodgers, Angels, Padres, A's and Giants. 

MLB's black out map has a lot of really illogical claims on it.

[NWI_Irish96]

MLB's black out map has a lot of really illogical claims on it.

Especially when you consider that the distribution of teams' channels doesn't match up with the blackout map. The White Sox blackout area includes places like Indianapolis, Fort Wayne and Des Moines that don't carry their channel. You can't watch their games by buying MLB Extra Innings or MLB.tv to protect channels that can't be seen there.

[hotdogPi]

One place where state lines do matter is Virginia.  The ENTIRE state is, umm, Commanders fans.  All the way to the tip of Lee County, eight and a half hours away, but as soon as you cross out of Virginia, more geographically logical fandom resumes. 

Interesting how baseball is different from football here. According to the NYTimes graphic for baseball, get outside suburban DC and no team, even the Nationals, reaches 30%.* In Richmond, the Nationals aren't even in the top 3 (third place is 13%), and the same is true for Hampton Roads (third place 10%). The map shows Yankees colors except for a portion in the southwest corner for the Braves, but it's really just "no team at all".

*Part of Delmarva in Virginia is in the 40s for the Orioles, and the northernmost point in Virginia is at 30% for the Orioles.

[NWI_Irish96]

One place where state lines do matter is Virginia.  The ENTIRE state is, umm, Commanders fans.  All the way to the tip of Lee County, eight and a half hours away, but as soon as you cross out of Virginia, more geographically logical fandom resumes. 

Interesting how baseball is different from football here. According to the NYTimes graphic for baseball, get outside suburban DC and no team, even the Nationals, reaches 30%.* In Richmond, the Nationals aren't even in the top 3 (third place is 13%), and the same is true for Hampton Roads (third place 10%). The map shows Yankees colors except for a portion in the southwest corner for the Braves, but it's really just "no team at all".

*Part of Delmarva in Virginia is in the 40s for the Orioles, and the northernmost point in Virginia is at 30% for the Orioles.

A lot of that is due to the Nationals being relatively new in town.

The Colts moved to Indy in 1984 and it wasn't until Peyton Manning hit his prime in the 2000s that the Cots overtook the Bears as the most popular team in places like South Bend, Fort Wayne and Lafayette.

[hbelkins]

One place where state lines do matter is Virginia.  The ENTIRE state is, umm, Commanders fans.  All the way to the tip of Lee County, eight and a half hours away, but as soon as you cross out of Virginia, more geographically logical fandom resumes. 

Much closer to Cincy, Nashville, Charlotte, and probably even Atlanta, than DC -- and in the Knoxville television market, which I'm guessing shows Titans' games.

[jgb191]

Interesting how baseball is different from football here.

That's how it is in South Texas.  In baseball, the Houston Astros fans are the majority here, while those of the Texas Rangers are in the minority.  It's the reverse in the NFL, where the Dallas Cowboys fans are in the majority while fans Houston Texans are the minority.  Same area, but two different cities are favored depending on the sport.