(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 start to be more Tiger fans than Gamecock fans?

(06-10-2022 07:30 PM)Kit-Cat Wrote:  

(06-10-2022 07:15 PM)Frank the Tank Wrote:  

(06-10-2022 07:03 PM)Hradmiralsfan Wrote:  Central PA

College: 95% Penn State a few Pitt and other team fans
NFL: Steelers, Eagles Ravens and a small hood out of the “Commanders” from when they did training camp here
Baseball: Phillies, Orioles , Nationals and Pirates
Hockey: Penguins, Capitals Flyers and Probably the most popular area team AHL Hershey Bears


I would say pretty much everyone here at least casually follows Penn State but it’s nowhere near the level of Bama and Auburn fans I saw in college

We are kind of in a weird spot for pro leagues as we are right on the edge of multiple sports teams we are one of the worst cities for tv blackouts and if you are a Steelers fan like my wife most sundays you are out of luck if my Ravens play at the same time because we get the Ravens game (unless they play a NFC team). For baseball in my neighborhood we get the Nationals, Orioles and Pirates on tv but my friend five minutes down the road gets the Phillies station. As a huge fan of the Capitals and Nationals I have told my wife we can’t move to that neighborhood lol. Then there is the Hershey Bears which is run better than a lot of NHL teams and is considered the New York Yankees of the American Hockey League basically if they aren’t hanging a banner it’s a disappointing year

Sounds like parts of Iowa. Dyersville (the location of the Field of Dreams field) is blacked out from Cubs, White Sox, Cardinals, Brewers, Royals AND Twins games.

I don't understand pro sport blackouts in this day age when nobody is even watching the games anymore on TV.

Thats irritating they still make fans suffer through blackouts.

It is so stupid add into it because the Orioles own MASN and the Nationals are forced to have their games on MASN (which the Orioles refuse to pay them for and have fired a ton of their best people) I’m unable to stream Nationals games past my sidewalk. As someone who grew up an Os fan Angelo’s has made me wish the Orioles would move to Nashville

(06-10-2022 07:30 PM)Kit-Cat Wrote:  

(06-10-2022 07:15 PM)Frank the Tank Wrote:  

(06-10-2022 07:03 PM)Hradmiralsfan Wrote:  Central PA

College: 95% Penn State a few Pitt and other team fans
NFL: Steelers, Eagles Ravens and a small hood out of the “Commanders” from when they did training camp here
Baseball: Phillies, Orioles , Nationals and Pirates
Hockey: Penguins, Capitals Flyers and Probably the most popular area team AHL Hershey Bears


I would say pretty much everyone here at least casually follows Penn State but it’s nowhere near the level of Bama and Auburn fans I saw in college

We are kind of in a weird spot for pro leagues as we are right on the edge of multiple sports teams we are one of the worst cities for tv blackouts and if you are a Steelers fan like my wife most sundays you are out of luck if my Ravens play at the same time because we get the Ravens game (unless they play a NFC team). For baseball in my neighborhood we get the Nationals, Orioles and Pirates on tv but my friend five minutes down the road gets the Phillies station. As a huge fan of the Capitals and Nationals I have told my wife we can’t move to that neighborhood lol. Then there is the Hershey Bears which is run better than a lot of NHL teams and is considered the New York Yankees of the American Hockey League basically if they aren’t hanging a banner it’s a disappointing year

Sounds like parts of Iowa. Dyersville (the location of the Field of Dreams field) is blacked out from Cubs, White Sox, Cardinals, Brewers, Royals AND Twins games.

I don't understand pro sport blackouts in this day age when nobody is even watching the games anymore on TV.

Thats irritating they still make fans suffer through blackouts.

At least up until now, the MLB clubs have cared more about getting their respective RSNs onto basic cable in their protected territories than losing out on those that would pay for MLB.tv. The dollars (at least up to this point) have been far greater from RSNs. That may finally be breaking down with several RSNs now considering direct-to-consumer options.

(06-10-2022 07:40 PM)Hradmiralsfan Wrote:  

(06-10-2022 07:30 PM)Kit-Cat Wrote:  

(06-10-2022 07:15 PM)Frank the Tank Wrote:  

(06-10-2022 07:03 PM)Hradmiralsfan Wrote:  Central PA

College: 95% Penn State a few Pitt and other team fans
NFL: Steelers, Eagles Ravens and a small hood out of the “Commanders” from when they did training camp here
Baseball: Phillies, Orioles , Nationals and Pirates
Hockey: Penguins, Capitals Flyers and Probably the most popular area team AHL Hershey Bears


I would say pretty much everyone here at least casually follows Penn State but it’s nowhere near the level of Bama and Auburn fans I saw in college

We are kind of in a weird spot for pro leagues as we are right on the edge of multiple sports teams we are one of the worst cities for tv blackouts and if you are a Steelers fan like my wife most sundays you are out of luck if my Ravens play at the same time because we get the Ravens game (unless they play a NFC team). For baseball in my neighborhood we get the Nationals, Orioles and Pirates on tv but my friend five minutes down the road gets the Phillies station. As a huge fan of the Capitals and Nationals I have told my wife we can’t move to that neighborhood lol. Then there is the Hershey Bears which is run better than a lot of NHL teams and is considered the New York Yankees of the American Hockey League basically if they aren’t hanging a banner it’s a disappointing year

Sounds like parts of Iowa. Dyersville (the location of the Field of Dreams field) is blacked out from Cubs, White Sox, Cardinals, Brewers, Royals AND Twins games.

I don't understand pro sport blackouts in this day age when nobody is even watching the games anymore on TV.

Thats irritating they still make fans suffer through blackouts.

It is so stupid add into it because the Orioles own MASN and the Nationals are forced to have their games on MASN (which the Orioles refuse to pay them for and have fired a ton of their best people) I’m unable to stream Nationals games past my sidewalk. As someone who grew up an Os fan Angelo’s has made me wish the Orioles would move to Nashville

https://www.pennlive.com/sports/2021/09/...utType=amp

I’ve had to explain to my wife almost every Sunday why we can’t watch the Steelers game (while I laugh inside while wearing my Ray Lewis jersey)

(06-10-2022 07:45 PM)Frank the Tank Wrote:  

(06-10-2022 07:30 PM)Kit-Cat Wrote:  

(06-10-2022 07:15 PM)Frank the Tank Wrote:  

(06-10-2022 07:03 PM)Hradmiralsfan Wrote:  Central PA

College: 95% Penn State a few Pitt and other team fans
NFL: Steelers, Eagles Ravens and a small hood out of the “Commanders” from when they did training camp here
Baseball: Phillies, Orioles , Nationals and Pirates
Hockey: Penguins, Capitals Flyers and Probably the most popular area team AHL Hershey Bears


I would say pretty much everyone here at least casually follows Penn State but it’s nowhere near the level of Bama and Auburn fans I saw in college

We are kind of in a weird spot for pro leagues as we are right on the edge of multiple sports teams we are one of the worst cities for tv blackouts and if you are a Steelers fan like my wife most sundays you are out of luck if my Ravens play at the same time because we get the Ravens game (unless they play a NFC team). For baseball in my neighborhood we get the Nationals, Orioles and Pirates on tv but my friend five minutes down the road gets the Phillies station. As a huge fan of the Capitals and Nationals I have told my wife we can’t move to that neighborhood lol. Then there is the Hershey Bears which is run better than a lot of NHL teams and is considered the New York Yankees of the American Hockey League basically if they aren’t hanging a banner it’s a disappointing year

Sounds like parts of Iowa. Dyersville (the location of the Field of Dreams field) is blacked out from Cubs, White Sox, Cardinals, Brewers, Royals AND Twins games.

I don't understand pro sport blackouts in this day age when nobody is even watching the games anymore on TV.

Thats irritating they still make fans suffer through blackouts.

At least up until now, the MLB clubs have cared more about getting their respective RSNs onto basic cable in their protected territories than losing out on those that would pay for MLB.tv. The dollars (at least up to this point) have been far greater from RSNs. That may finally be breaking down with several RSNs now considering direct-to-consumer options.

That's right. Its about the broadcast territory and trying to blackout competitors.

its more interesting to follow as a national sport than a local one a lot of people. Highlights in MLB are better than watching the games.

(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. 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.

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 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.

Ithaca NY

1) Syracuse anything
Long way to
2) Penn State football (mainly older folks that grew up watching them.)
Long, long way to
3) Cornell Hockey
4) Cornell anything else
5) Ithaca College
6) Whatever school transplants/faculty came from
7) Buffalo.

i think, unlike our other Chicagoland posters, I actually live in the city...and FWIW, I think the most popular team in my neighborhood would be the Mexican National Soccer Team. The Bears would be #2.

I don't live near the lake, and honestly, all of the local colleges are basically non-existent in my part of the city. I've never met or seen a DePaul, Northwestern or Loyola fan anywhere in my neck of the woods. It's Big Ten or Notre Dame or nothin'. I'm sure it is a different situation in the suburbs though.

(06-10-2022 08:45 PM)MattBrownEP Wrote:  i think, unlike our other Chicagoland posters, I actually live in the city...and FWIW, I think the most popular team in my neighborhood would be the Mexican National Soccer Team. The Bears would be #2.

I don't live near the lake, and honestly, all of the local colleges are basically non-existent in my part of the city. I've never met or seen a DePaul. Northwestern or Loyola fan anywhere in my neck of the woods.

You should come to my old neighborhood in Houston next to NRG Stadium. When the Mexican team plays there 70,000 people would try to cut through on my street honking the whole time.

(06-10-2022 04:53 PM)loki_the_bubba Wrote:  Houston area

Texans

Astros
Cowboys

Rockets

UT
aTm


LSU, Houston, Baylor




Sam Houston
Rice

Others receiving votes: Texas Tech, SMU, Arkansas, TCU,SFA

That's pretty accurate. Houston is a football town that lives and dies (mostly dies) with the Texans. Houston loves the Astros right now because they win, and will love the Rockets again if they win. You're also right about the Cowboys: they are almost a second Houston NFL team. They picked up a lot of fans here in their dynasty years of the 90's, and then when the Oilers left. Also, I've found that there's a natural split: native Houstonians are Texans fans, while people that moved here from other parts of Texas tend to be Cowboy fans. There are relatively few Texans fans once you travel outside the Houston DMA.

As far as colleges go, it's UT and A&M. U of H and LSU are right behind them.

I'd throw Oklahoma into "others receiving votes", as well. Not dominant, but a definite presence, especially with the oil industry here.

1. Patriots (hate to say it)
Small GAP
2. Giants
3. Yankees/Red Sox
5. UConn basketball
GAP
6. Jets
7. Mets
GAP
8. Celtics
9. UConn football
10. Bruins

Alabama, anywhere in the state except maybe within 7-8 miles of Auburn.

Alabama
Alabamas backups
Auburn
Auburns backups
High School
Any other university which plays football. HBCU classic games would take this spot if played in state
NFL unless gambling is included

In the DFW central suburb of Arlington it is : Dallas cowboys then far behind it is Texas Rangers then Dallas Mavericks . It doesn't seem anybody around here even realizes that colleges have sports.

(06-10-2022 09:27 PM)Gemofthehills Wrote:  Alabama, anywhere in the state except maybe within 7-8 miles of Auburn.

Alabama
Alabamas backups
Auburn
Auburns backups
High School
Any other university which plays football. HBCU classic games would take this spot if played in state
NFL unless gambling is included

Disagree. Let me do Dothan where I live.

Tier 1

1. Alabama football. There used to be an imaginary dividing line between city and rural, city folks supporting Alabama, farmers and ranchers supporting Auburn, but now that's gone. There's a mix everywhere you go.

2. Auburn- not as big as Alabama's, but definitely there. Generally speaking, you can find more Auburn fans across the river in Georgia.

Tier 2
3. Georgia/Florida State/Florida/Troy- I fall into this group. People get irritated that I don't pull for 'Bama or Auburn, but most of the time, I hold my ground and pull for Georgia and Troy. When the Iron Bowl rolls around, I generally pull for the underdog. It's quite common to see Florida State and Florida fans too, given Dothan's proximity to Florida. Troy has a very strong fanbase for a G5, IMO.

Tier 3

4. Dallas Cowboys/Atlanta Falcons/New Orleans Saints- most NFL fans follow one of these three teams. There are exceptions though.

5a. Atlanta Braves
5b. Mexican national soccer team. Almost forgot about these guys, but they are a factor as well since many Latinos and Latinas have moved in recently.

6. Everyone else.

(06-10-2022 08:45 PM)MattBrownEP Wrote:  i think, unlike our other Chicagoland posters, I actually live in the city...and FWIW, I think the most popular team in my neighborhood would be the Mexican National Soccer Team. The Bears would be #2.

I don't live near the lake, and honestly, all of the local colleges are basically non-existent in my part of the city. I've never met or seen a DePaul, Northwestern or Loyola fan anywhere in my neck of the woods. It's Big Ten or Notre Dame or nothin'. I'm sure it is a different situation in the suburbs though.

In the Chicago suburbs, it’s also predominantly Big Ten public schools or Notre Dame. Certainly, you’re eventually going to just run into people that attended colleges all across the spectrum from lots of different locations, but the critical mass of fans largely come from either the Big Ten or ND.

Now, at *work* as a lawyer in Chicago, I run into Northwestern and Michigan grads more than any other school. Outside of the Big Ten, the most common conference you’ll see is honestly the Ivy League. So, specific locations or professions can skew that feeling of where “everyone goes to school” - when I’m at work, running into Northwestern people is super-common compared to running into Iowa grads, whereas it’s definitely the opposite for the general Chicagoland population.

(06-10-2022 10:24 PM)Frank the Tank Wrote:  

(06-10-2022 08:45 PM)MattBrownEP Wrote:  i think, unlike our other Chicagoland posters, I actually live in the city...and FWIW, I think the most popular team in my neighborhood would be the Mexican National Soccer Team. The Bears would be #2.

I don't live near the lake, and honestly, all of the local colleges are basically non-existent in my part of the city. I've never met or seen a DePaul, Northwestern or Loyola fan anywhere in my neck of the woods. It's Big Ten or Notre Dame or nothin'. I'm sure it is a different situation in the suburbs though.

In the Chicago suburbs, it’s also predominantly Big Ten public schools or Notre Dame. Certainly, you’re eventually going to just run into people that attended colleges all across the spectrum from lots of different locations, but the critical mass of fans largely come from either the Big Ten or ND.

Now, at *work* as a lawyer in Chicago, I run into Northwestern and Michigan grads more than any other school. Outside of the Big Ten, the most common conference you’ll see is honestly the Ivy League. So, specific locations or professions can skew that feeling of where “everyone goes to school” - when I’m at work, running into Northwestern people is super-common compared to running into Iowa grads, whereas it’s definitely the opposite for the general Chicagoland population.

I went to HS a few hours away from Chicago in a small city. Its a different mentality in the more rural Midwest areas as far as where you attend. For those kind of markets its what is in-state and often relationships dictate which university they'll attend.

But in a high level metro like Chicago I can see where the B1G label is important and they'll go to an Iowa first over a Illinois St. In a rural part of Illinois I'm sure they are less concerned about a label.

I remember one girl in my HS that was B1G or bust. Her parents though were educators and that might have something to do with it. They knew the score.

But many view a smaller college experience as better than Big State U. They might try to trade up a little to something like a Southern Illinois over a mediocre private college.

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.

(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.

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).

Well I don't really get out much, especially since COVID-19 hit.

I'd imagine the Eagles are the #1 team in Philly by a big margin. I've been to two Phillies games this season. The atmosphere has been relaxed, not so passionate, and the crowd wasn't packed (one was a Thursday afternoon "business person's special" so that one was understandable). I don't remember hearing it at either game this year but a common practice at Phillies game is when they screw up is to do an Eagles chant which is spell out the Eagles name and then yell out Eagles. I have gone to tons of Phillies because they are usually the cheapest and it is outside during the summer when the weather is nicest. I have been to one Eagles game with a co worker and he treated me. They're pretty expensive. I have been to a few 76ers game but it's been a while since I've been there. I would like to go back. The issue is they play few afternoon games and I don't like to go to night games too often. I've been to one Flyers game but I don't like hockey. I like to go to the college basketball games. Villanova has the best team now. Getting games at the Pavillion is hard. I've gone to several games when they play at the 76ers arena. When Temple gets good again I'd go to their games. Same with St. Joe's. Temple football right now isn't IMO worth going to. The local sports radio seems to talk the most about the Eagles.

I'd have to believe Villanova is the popular basketball team and Penn State the popular football team. Temple has the most alumni in the Philly region but because they suck in both sports and they don't play any local teams it's hard to get up for them these days.