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Most popular fan bases in your area
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Hradmiralsfan Offline
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Post: #41
RE: Most popular fan bases in your area
(06-11-2022 01:47 AM)Kit-Cat Wrote:  Maryland for me. Far enough away from core SEC and B1G country to not really care about it.

1a. Ravens/NFL (Baltimore to South & East). Maryland has 3,190 miles of shoreline between the Potomac, Chesapeake and Atlantic. Compare that to California at 3,427 miles. For a small state its a huge amount of coast line and every cove and inlet has a tiki bar with the Raven's schedule on the wall. Going out to watch NFL at a dock bar is popular. Mexican restaurants throw up NFL on the big screen.

1b. Orioles/MLB (Baltimore to North & West). That direction points towards mountains and includes DC suburbs where its more a baseball crowd. Cal Ripken is a saint in Maryland and has minor league stadium named after him north of Baltimore. Another factor helping O's baseball is people in MD follow them as a way of differentiating themselves from DC because unlike Virginia, MD has its own FB/MLB teams while Virginia follows DC.

2. NBA. Maryland doesn't have an NBA team but people follow the national names like LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Golden State, Milwaukee. The notable dynasties and players at the time. Dominates the TVs at most places.

3. Sailing/Boating. Annapolis is a sailing capital and with all the coastline there is a lot of places to park a boat. There are 13,500 recreational boats in MD and with 5 people on average associated with a boat counting friends and family that is 67,500 people going out on a boat every year. In pure popularity its bigger than any college sport team. I'm sure you could double or triple that number if you include unregistered craft and kayaks.

4. Horses/Racing. Maryland has 16,000 horse farms comprising 10% of its land. The people who are on the water are into boating and the people off the water are into horses. One of the Triple Crown events The Preakness is just north of downtown Baltimore. Maryland has 3 major casinos and they have off track betting. Going out to watch the Triple Crown has some cache and off track betting at the casinos is usually packed. Preakness has 130,000 spectators. Horses aren't as big as what they are in Kentucky but they pretty big.

5. Navy FB. Navy FB games are something that people try to take in at least one time. They get a good crowd for a G5 and have an upper tier level tailgating for the G5 level. The real treat though is after the game you can walk to downtown Annapolis which has 20 bars, colonial architecture, sailing port. There are always 15,000 people milling around downtown Annapolis on a weekend so it feels like a festival.

6. Univ. Maryland. Maryland games have no casual attraction. The school is surrounded by rough neighborhoods that you have to go through and then once you finally get there UMD only has like 2 college bars. It does not have the normal B1G level party scene with blocks and blocks of parties. But if they are good at FB or BB the alums will fill up stadium/arena quick. UMD is so overmatched though in the B1G and the campus is mediocre by G5 standards (worse than anything in the MAC).

I have a lot of family from the Prince George County and Waldorf area and the sports fandom seems to have changed a lot over the last 20 years down there.

There used to be a ton of die hard “Skins” fans now I feel like I see a ton of mostly casual Commanders fans because the team has been so poorly run. There also seems to be a huge population of Cowboy fans

When Fridge coached the Terps their football was the most popular it’s ever been but they over built their stadium and left the ACC where they could compete to become a bad Big 10 team. Their basketball team is still popular though as was their baseball team this year.

In Southern Maryland, DC and Virginia most people have given up on the O’s and it’s Nats country now.

No one seems to actually watch the Wizards but the Capitals have blown up since Ovechkin was drafted. When I would visit my dad while I’m in high school the only Capitals shirts/hats/etc you’d see were worn by my family it seemed. Since Ovechkin you see Capitals stuff everywhere. People had no clue who Bondra and Kolzig were but now they can actually complain about some 4th line minor league call up
06-11-2022 05:53 AM
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Yosef181 Offline
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Post: #42
RE: Most popular fan bases in your area
(06-11-2022 12:53 AM)BePcr07 Wrote:  
(06-11-2022 12:38 AM)Yosef181 Wrote:  It's the Carolina Hurricanes alongside a bunch of different universities here. Raleigh is the only U.S. city which has an NHL team, but no NFL, NBA, MLB, or MLS team. When living here for a while, you can tell that the Hurricanes are THE pro team around here, as there is a ton of support for them (especially over the last 4-5 years, once Brind'Amour became head coach and the Storm Surges started). While the Canes fan base is united here, the college sports support is extremely fractured, with a ton of NC State, UNC, App, ECU, and Duke people working next to each other.

On a side note, Raleigh could really use another pro team. We almost had an MLS squad, but the Carolina Panthers owner waved his money in the air and ended that. Wake County, which includes Raleigh, now has a higher population than Mecklenburg County, which includes Charlotte. So to Major League Baseball: We're ready for you.

Is there an abnormally strong following for minor league baseball? Maybe I’m misremembering a conversation I had with a friend from the area. I do think of the Raleigh-Durham area as somewhat sacred ground for college sports but I am surprised there’s only 1 major league team.

The Durham Bulls do have a fairly strong casual following here. The stadium is nice, located in an active area, and it's extremely affordable compared to the Hurricanes (the most expensive Bulls tickets are usually ~$25, cheaper than the cheapest Canes tickets). The crowds at Bulls games usually aren't as rowdy as the Canes, but that's because the Bulls are geared more towards a casual, laid-back experience.
06-11-2022 06:55 AM
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XLance Offline
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Post: #43
RE: Most popular fan bases in your area
(06-10-2022 08:03 PM)sctvman Wrote:  
(06-10-2022 07:32 PM)PeteTheChop Wrote:  
(06-10-2022 07:16 PM)OdinFrigg Wrote:  College football fans:

1. South Carolina

2. Clemson (strong #2)

3. Georgia

4. North Carolina

Pro Sports:

Charlotte & Atlanta (predominately), but mixed.

Where's the imaginary line in South Carolina where there there start to be more Tiger fans than Gamecock fans?

There is none. They coexist almost statewide but the different metro areas have different mix of fans.

Columbia is probably 75/25 Carolina South Carolina. Greenville 70/30 Clemson in town, but the closer you get to Clemson it is even more dominant.

Charleston is probably the most evenly matched as I said at the beginning. Rural upstate SC is heavy, heavy Clemson, probably most dominant in the state. The rural midlands less so for Carolina South Carolina.

Myrtle Beach and Hilton Head are a lot more divided with so many transplants. Coastal has a significant amount of fans but basically only in Horry County. Most of those folks are Gamecock fans (they used to be a branch campus of USC-Columbia).

Rock Hill is more even Carolina South Carolina but you have a lot more Charlotte pro sports fans once the Charlotte TV market begins. The Hornets basically don’t exist south of Rock Hill. Charlotte FC broadcasts their games around the Carolinas OTA but soccer is still very new around here.

Carolina is in Chapel Hill.
06-11-2022 07:15 AM
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jcohen42 Offline
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Post: #44
RE: Most popular fan bases in your area
Here's my best approximation of a Philly ranking:

1. Eagles
<huge gap>
2. Sixers
3. Phillies
4. Flyers
5. Penn State football
<sizable gap>
6. Villanova basketball
7. Union
8. Temple basketball
9. Temple football
10. Other college basketball (St. Joe's, Penn, La Salle, Drexel)
11. Other college football (Villanova, Rutgers, Delaware)
12. Other pro sports (Wings, et al)
06-11-2022 07:45 AM
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sctvman Offline
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Post: #45
RE: Most popular fan bases in your area
(06-11-2022 12:38 AM)Yosef181 Wrote:  It's the Carolina Hurricanes alongside a bunch of different universities here. Raleigh is the only U.S. city which has an NHL team, but no NFL, NBA, MLB, or MLS team. When living here for a while, you can tell that the Hurricanes are THE pro team around here, as there is a ton of support for them (especially over the last 4-5 years, once Brind'Amour became head coach and the Storm Surges started). While the Canes fan base is united here, the college sports support is extremely fractured, with a ton of NC State, UNC, App, ECU, and Duke people working next to each other.

On a side note, Raleigh could really use another pro team. We almost had an MLS squad, but the Carolina Panthers owner waved his money in the air and ended that. Wake County, which includes Raleigh, now has a higher population than Mecklenburg County, which includes Charlotte. So to Major League Baseball: We're ready for you.

Yeah most people even in the Carolinas don’t realize how strong the Canes fan base is within 25 miles of PNC Arena now. In 4 years we went from rumors Dundon was moving the team to Houston to getting a Stadium Series game.

Problem is 90% of the fan base is within that circle. There’s a few fans in Charlotte, some in the Triad, a few in Wilmington, and that’s about it.

There is an inferiority complex toward NC stuff down here. I bet you could ask 50 random people here and maybe 10 or so would even know Raleigh has a hockey team. Among sports fans more people know, but I know folks who hate everything about the state and don’t want anything to do with it, even the Panthers.

Charleston has a lot of Capitals fans because our ECHL team (Stingrays) has been affiliated with them for years and the military. They brought the Stanley Cup here after they won a few years ago and it was like a Caps home game that night.
06-11-2022 09:47 AM
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jimrtex Offline
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Post: #46
RE: Most popular fan bases in your area
(06-11-2022 12:38 AM)Yosef181 Wrote:  On a side note, Raleigh could really use another pro team. We almost had an MLS squad, but the Carolina Panthers owner waved his money in the air and ended that. Wake County, which includes Raleigh, now has a higher population than Mecklenburg County, which includes Charlotte. So to Major League Baseball: We're ready for you.
Baseball has twice as many home dates, and expects twice as many people in the stands. Fans can reasonably travel to Charlotte for NBA and Raleigh for NHL. That is one reason the Hurricanes sell 11-match and 22-match tickets.
06-11-2022 09:50 AM
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Big Frog II Offline
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Post: #47
RE: Most popular fan bases in your area
Fort Worth/Tarrant County
TCU
Texas
Texas Tech/Texas A&M
Oklahoma
(This post was last modified: 06-11-2022 09:54 AM by Big Frog II.)
06-11-2022 09:52 AM
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jimrtex Offline
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Post: #48
RE: Most popular fan bases in your area
(06-11-2022 01:47 AM)Kit-Cat Wrote:  Horses aren't as big as what they are in Kentucky but they pretty big.
Is this a reference to Assateague horses?
06-11-2022 09:56 AM
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johnintx Offline
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Post: #49
RE: Most popular fan bases in your area
(06-11-2022 07:15 AM)XLance Wrote:  
(06-10-2022 08:03 PM)sctvman Wrote:  
(06-10-2022 07:32 PM)PeteTheChop Wrote:  
(06-10-2022 07:16 PM)OdinFrigg Wrote:  College football fans:

1. South Carolina

2. Clemson (strong #2)

3. Georgia

4. North Carolina

Pro Sports:

Charlotte & Atlanta (predominately), but mixed.

Where's the imaginary line in South Carolina where there there start to be more Tiger fans than Gamecock fans?

There is none. They coexist almost statewide but the different metro areas have different mix of fans.

Columbia is probably 75/25 Carolina South Carolina. Greenville 70/30 Clemson in town, but the closer you get to Clemson it is even more dominant.

Charleston is probably the most evenly matched as I said at the beginning. Rural upstate SC is heavy, heavy Clemson, probably most dominant in the state. The rural midlands less so for Carolina South Carolina.

Myrtle Beach and Hilton Head are a lot more divided with so many transplants. Coastal has a significant amount of fans but basically only in Horry County. Most of those folks are Gamecock fans (they used to be a branch campus of USC-Columbia).

Rock Hill is more even Carolina South Carolina but you have a lot more Charlotte pro sports fans once the Charlotte TV market begins. The Hornets basically don’t exist south of Rock Hill. Charlotte FC broadcasts their games around the Carolinas OTA but soccer is still very new around here.

Carolina is in Chapel Hill.

I spent a summer in Charleston once. I worked for a U of SC grad. One day, I made the mistake of referring to UNC as Carolina. That went over like a lead balloon.

Poor U of SC. I root for them a lot, as they're an SEC underdog. But, they have identity issues. Inside the state, they are known as both USC and Carolina. Outside the state of SC, most people hear USC and think Los Angeles; and hear Carolina and think of UNC.
06-11-2022 10:30 AM
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Kit-Cat Offline
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Post: #50
RE: Most popular fan bases in your area
(06-11-2022 09:56 AM)jimrtex Wrote:  
(06-11-2022 01:47 AM)Kit-Cat Wrote:  Horses aren't as big as what they are in Kentucky but they pretty big.
Is this a reference to Assateague horses?

i'm saying that while the horse breeding scene is relatively big in Maryland that its not at the same magnitude as what it is in Kentucky. Assateague is an attraction and not part of the sport.

Maryland
16,000 horse operations
79,000 horses

Kentucky
35,000 horse operations
242,000 horses

Horse Racing is more important to the general population than what UMD FB is and in Kentucky that is probably true for UK FB.
06-11-2022 11:07 AM
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PeteTheChop Offline
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Post: #51
RE: Most popular fan bases in your area
(06-11-2022 07:15 AM)XLance Wrote:  Carolina is in Chapel Hill.

Reason No. 867 why (South) Carolina bailed on the ACC and ain't going back
06-11-2022 11:07 AM
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Kit-Cat Offline
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Post: #52
RE: Most popular fan bases in your area
(06-11-2022 05:53 AM)Hradmiralsfan Wrote:  
(06-11-2022 01:47 AM)Kit-Cat Wrote:  Maryland for me. Far enough away from core SEC and B1G country to not really care about it.

1a. Ravens/NFL (Baltimore to South & East). Maryland has 3,190 miles of shoreline between the Potomac, Chesapeake and Atlantic. Compare that to California at 3,427 miles. For a small state its a huge amount of coast line and every cove and inlet has a tiki bar with the Raven's schedule on the wall. Going out to watch NFL at a dock bar is popular. Mexican restaurants throw up NFL on the big screen.

1b. Orioles/MLB (Baltimore to North & West). That direction points towards mountains and includes DC suburbs where its more a baseball crowd. Cal Ripken is a saint in Maryland and has minor league stadium named after him north of Baltimore. Another factor helping O's baseball is people in MD follow them as a way of differentiating themselves from DC because unlike Virginia, MD has its own FB/MLB teams while Virginia follows DC.

2. NBA. Maryland doesn't have an NBA team but people follow the national names like LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Golden State, Milwaukee. The notable dynasties and players at the time. Dominates the TVs at most places.

3. Sailing/Boating. Annapolis is a sailing capital and with all the coastline there is a lot of places to park a boat. There are 13,500 recreational boats in MD and with 5 people on average associated with a boat counting friends and family that is 67,500 people going out on a boat every year. In pure popularity its bigger than any college sport team. I'm sure you could double or triple that number if you include unregistered craft and kayaks.

4. Horses/Racing. Maryland has 16,000 horse farms comprising 10% of its land. The people who are on the water are into boating and the people off the water are into horses. One of the Triple Crown events The Preakness is just north of downtown Baltimore. Maryland has 3 major casinos and they have off track betting. Going out to watch the Triple Crown has some cache and off track betting at the casinos is usually packed. Preakness has 130,000 spectators. Horses aren't as big as what they are in Kentucky but they pretty big.

5. Navy FB. Navy FB games are something that people try to take in at least one time. They get a good crowd for a G5 and have an upper tier level tailgating for the G5 level. The real treat though is after the game you can walk to downtown Annapolis which has 20 bars, colonial architecture, sailing port. There are always 15,000 people milling around downtown Annapolis on a weekend so it feels like a festival.

6. Univ. Maryland. Maryland games have no casual attraction. The school is surrounded by rough neighborhoods that you have to go through and then once you finally get there UMD only has like 2 college bars. It does not have the normal B1G level party scene with blocks and blocks of parties. But if they are good at FB or BB the alums will fill up stadium/arena quick. UMD is so overmatched though in the B1G and the campus is mediocre by G5 standards (worse than anything in the MAC).

I have a lot of family from the Prince George County and Waldorf area and the sports fandom seems to have changed a lot over the last 20 years down there.

There used to be a ton of die hard “Skins” fans now I feel like I see a ton of mostly casual Commanders fans because the team has been so poorly run. There also seems to be a huge population of Cowboy fans

When Fridge coached the Terps their football was the most popular it’s ever been but they over built their stadium and left the ACC where they could compete to become a bad Big 10 team. Their basketball team is still popular though as was their baseball team this year.

In Southern Maryland, DC and Virginia most people have given up on the O’s and it’s Nats country now.

No one seems to actually watch the Wizards but the Capitals have blown up since Ovechkin was drafted. When I would visit my dad while I’m in high school the only Capitals shirts/hats/etc you’d see were worn by my family it seemed. Since Ovechkin you see Capitals stuff everywhere. People had no clue who Bondra and Kolzig were but now they can actually complain about some 4th line minor league call up

Yes this is more insight.

The Cowboy thing I have thought has come from two factors. One Washington has always considered Dallas to be their primary rival so if you didn't like the Redskins the Cowboys where the alternative. Kind of like Michigan/ND as an alternative to Ohio State. Secondly for a long time Dallas was the only team for a wide stretch of the south and if you were from places like Louisiana or Mississippi the Cowboys might be your natural rooting interest.

Northern Virginia is definitely Capitals and Nationals and they flood into DC for those games. This is more college football territory than what Maryland is. March Madness is bigger though than FB Saturdays.
06-11-2022 11:23 AM
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Kit-Cat Offline
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Post: #53
RE: Most popular fan bases in your area
(06-11-2022 09:56 AM)jimrtex Wrote:  
(06-11-2022 01:47 AM)Kit-Cat Wrote:  Horses aren't as big as what they are in Kentucky but they pretty big.
Is this a reference to Assateague horses?

Wild Mustangs people go to see at the beaches. Beaches are also a big factor in the region for MD.

More people have a bumper sticker on their car representing their favorite beach than their favorite team. Any of the beaches from Delaware down to North Carolina have certain "fans". Beach snobbery is what some base their identity around.
06-11-2022 11:49 AM
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Post: #54
RE: Most popular fan bases in your area
(06-11-2022 07:45 AM)jcohen42 Wrote:  Here's my best approximation of a Philly ranking:

1. Eagles
<huge gap>
2. Sixers
3. Phillies
4. Flyers
5. Penn State football
<sizable gap>
6. Villanova basketball
7. Union
8. Temple basketball
9. Temple football
10. Other college basketball (St. Joe's, Penn, La Salle, Drexel)
11. Other college football (Villanova, Rutgers, Delaware)
12. Other pro sports (Wings, et al)

I’m in the City Line suburbs and pretty much agree with this ordering.

One add is that soccer has an unusual following. Immigrants love their country’s national teams…and there are a lot of immigrants (myself included) or first generation children near the big cities that turn-out for games. Mexico and El Salvador have the largest fan bases. Even South American teams can fill large stadiums…I was surprised how well my Chilean team did in attracting fans to the Linc and Meadowlands Stadium during the 2019 Copa America. Also, in the suburbs there are lots of fans of European soccer clubs. The Premier League has been impressively successful in enhancing their brands via TV (as well as touring during the preseason).
06-11-2022 11:51 AM
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bill dazzle Offline
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Post: #55
RE: Most popular fan bases in your area
For Nashville — and the thoughts of a fan of the sports teams at Vanderbilt, Belmont, Tennessee State and Middle Tennessee State (and, yes, I have had a direct and personal affiliation with all four universities) ...

Power Trio

1. Titans

2A. Predators

2B. Tennessee Vol football


Tier 2 (in no particular order)

* Nashville SC (Major League Soccer)

* Vanderbilt men's basketball

* Tennessee State football

* Nashville Sounds minor league baseball

* Vanderbilt football

* Tennessee Vol men's basketball

* Vanderbilt baseball


Tier 3 (in no particular order)

* Memphis Grizzlies

* Middle Tennessee State football

* Belmont men's basketball

* Tennessee Lady Vol basketball


Tier 4 (in no particular order)

* Vanderbilt women's basketball

* Memphis Tiger men's basketball

* Atlanta Braves

* Lipscomb men's basketball

* TSU men's basketball

* Middle Tennessee State men's basketball

* Middle Tennessee State women's hoops

* Tennessee Vol baseball


Thoughts:

The Titans are at the top due to two key factors: 1. It's the NFL; and 2. the Titans fan base is far more diverse (whites, blacks, Hispanics, women, liberals, conservatives, rich, poor, middle class, women, mainstream, non-mainstream, etc.) than the fan bases of any of the others on my list.

In contrast, the Preds and UT Vol football fans bases, while large and dedicated, are noticeably white, mainstream and socio-politically right leaning. So there simply are not the sheer number of "would-be fans" for those two. There is a "cap," so to speak.

Nashville SC (our MLS franchise) has developed a large and loyal following very quickly. Lots of our immigrant population, hipsters, urbanites, etc., enjoy the club — as such demographic groups tend to like "international" things (in this case, soccer).

The Sounds (Triple-A International League) draw very well and are an underrated sports entity in Nashville. But Sounds fans likely enjoy the experience of being in the ballpark as much (if not more) as being "true" Sounds fans.

Vanderbilt men's basketball still offers a solid fan base — with a combination of "old-school, conservative, well-educated and moneyed" whites who live throughout the city's affluent urban and suburban west side and a relatively large number of "others" (more fans of color and blue-collar types than you might think, nut jobs like Uncle Dazzy, etc.)

Tennessee State football remains a rather big deal in the city's well established North Nashville black community. It receives strong local media coverage.

Like Tennessee Vol football, UT men's hoops fans in Nashville seem to be significantly white and socio-politically conservative (you rarely see a black person in this city wearing orange). I would argue that if you polled 10,000 black Nashvillians who like college basketball, far more would be fans of TSU than of UT. In fact, there might be more black Memphis Tiger hoops fans in Nashville than black UT hoops fans in the city. Having taught at TSU for five years (as an adjunct) and being a member of the Nashville media for more than 30 years ... I've picked up on this demographic dynamic.

Vanderbilt football offers a respectable number of African-American fans (probably more, per capita, than lots of "state U" football programs). But our fan base overall is small. As is the fan base for VU baseball (though it is dedicated). Sports are simply not as big a deal at Vanderbilt as they are at the large, public, mainstream universities.

Belmont men's basketball is respected in this city as a "player" to an extent. The BU facility is nice and the fan base is solid in terms of numbers and spirit. The Nashville media covers BU hoops.

The most popular women's sports program for Nashvillians is almost certainly UT Lady Vol basketball. However, the Vanderbilt women and the MTSU ladies draw some interest from some in the city (including this poster).
(This post was last modified: 06-11-2022 12:13 PM by bill dazzle.)
06-11-2022 11:53 AM
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PeteTheChop Offline
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Post: #56
RE: Most popular fan bases in your area
(06-11-2022 11:53 AM)bill dazzle Wrote:  For Nashville — and the thoughts of a fan of the sports teams at Vanderbilt, Belmont, Tennessee State and Middle Tennessee State (and, yes, I have had a direct and personal affiliation with all four universities) ...

Power Trio

1. Titans

2A. Predators

2B. Tennessee Vol football


Tier 2 (in no particular order)

* Nashville SC (Major League Soccer)

* Vanderbilt men's basketball

* Tennessee State football

* Nashville Sounds minor league baseball

* Vanderbilt football

* Tennessee Vol men's basketball

* Vanderbilt baseball


Tier 3 (in no particular order)

* Memphis Grizzlies

* Middle Tennessee State football

* Belmont men's basketball

* Tennessee Lady Vol basketball


Tier 4 (in no particular order)

* Vanderbilt women's basketball

* Memphis Tiger men's basketball

* Atlanta Braves

* Lipscomb men's basketball

* TSU men's basketball

* Middle Tennessee State men's basketball

* Middle Tennessee State women's hoops

* Tennessee Vol baseball


Thoughts:

The Titans are at the top due to two key factors: 1. It's the NFL; and 2. the Titans fan base is far more diverse (whites, blacks, Hispanics, women, liberals, conservatives, rich, poor, middle class, women, mainstream, non-mainstream, etc.) than the fan bases of any of the others on my list.

In contrast, the Preds and UT Vol football fans bases, while large and dedicated, are noticeably white, mainstream and socio-politically right leaning. So there simply are not the sheer number of "would-be fans" for those two. There is a "cap," so to speak.

Nashville SC (our MLS franchise) has developed a large and loyal following very quickly. Lots of our immigrant population, hipsters, urbanites, etc., enjoy the club — as such demographic groups tend to like "international" things (in this case, soccer).

The Sounds (Triple-A International League) draw very well and are an underrated sports entity in Nashville. But Sounds fans likely enjoy the experience of being in the ballpark as much (if not more) as being "true" Sounds fans.

Vanderbilt men's basketball still offers a solid fan base — with a combination of "old-school, conservative, well-educated and moneyed" whites who live throughout the city's affluent urban and suburban west side and a relatively large number of "others" (more fans of color and blue-collar types than you might think, nut jobs like Uncle Dazzy, etc.)

Tennessee State football remains a rather big deal in the city's well established North Nashville black community. It receives strong local media coverage.

Like Tennessee Vol football, UT men's hoops fans in Nashville seem to be significantly white and socio-politically conservative (you rarely see a black person in this city wearing orange). I would argue that if you polled 10,000 black Nashvillians who like college basketball, far more would be fans of TSU than of UT. In fact, there might be more black Memphis Tiger hoops fans in Nashville than black UT hoops fans in the city. Having taught at TSU for five years (as an adjunct) and being a member of the Nashville media for more than 30 years ... I've picked up on this demographic dynamic.

Vanderbilt football offers a respectable number of African-American fans (probably more, per capita, than lots of "state U" football programs). But our fan base overall is small. As is the fan base for VU baseball (though it is dedicated). Sports are simply not as big a deal at Vanderbilt as they are at the large, public, mainstream universities.

Belmont men's basketball is respected in this city as a "player" to an extent. The BU facility is nice and the fan base is solid in terms of numbers and spirit. The Nashville media covers BU hoops.

The most popular women's sports program for Nashvillians is almost certainly UT Lady Vol basketball. However, the Vanderbilt women and the MTSU ladies draw some interest from some in the city (including this poster).

Great post Mr. Dazzle
06-11-2022 12:48 PM
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Crayton Offline
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Post: #57
RE: Most popular fan bases in your area
1. Bucs
2. Lightning
3. Rays
(large gap)
4. Gators
5. Bulls
(gap)
6. Spring Training clubs
7. Rowdies, non-team sports (golf, wrestling)
8. general Southeast/National fan bases

The Lightning beat out the Rays likely because they are based in Tampa.
(This post was last modified: 06-11-2022 01:01 PM by Crayton.)
06-11-2022 01:00 PM
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72Tiger Offline
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DonatorsDonatorsDonators
Post: #58
RE: Most popular fan bases in your area
Knoxville -

Any Vol Sport

Far behind in this approximate order -

Braves
Nascar
Bama/Georgia/Florida football bandwagon
Titans
PGA
Reds
NBA in the younger demographic

That's about it. For the record, I don't like any of the above. Can tolerate Reds baseball, but I'm a Cardinal fan. The rest, I change the channel immediately if they are on.
(This post was last modified: 06-12-2022 09:47 AM by 72Tiger.)
06-11-2022 01:14 PM
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UTEPDallas Offline
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Post: #59
RE: Most popular fan bases in your area
In Dallas-Fort Worth is the Cowboys 24/7. The rest of the pro sports get support depending on the season they have. Ten years ago was the Texas Rangers. The Mavericks usually have the most support of any team not named the Cowboys. The Stars have a loyal fan base but not as big as the Mavs and Rangers. The same applies to FC Dallas.

As for college, it’s Texas, Oklahoma and Texas A&M in that order. The second tier is Texas Tech, Baylor, Oklahoma State, TCU and probably Arkansas. The next tier is North Texas especially in Denton County and the northern parts of Dallas and Tarrant counties. SMU is non existent outside the Park Cities, Uptown, Oak Lawn, Knox-Henderson, Lake Highlands and the M Streets. The rest is just alumni and fans of the many people who have moved here. I see P5 and G5 gear everywhere some more than others. I see more LSU gear than Missouri ones for example.
06-11-2022 01:29 PM
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Porcine Offline
1st String
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I Root For: Arkansas, SBC
Location: Northern Arkansas
Post: #60
RE: Most popular fan bases in your area
1.Razorbacks

2.Cowboys/Cardinals

3.Bandwagon fandom

3.Random school/pro/transplant fandom.
(This post was last modified: 06-11-2022 01:41 PM by Porcine.)
06-11-2022 01:41 PM
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