Which cities seem to be "dividing lines" between sports team allegiences?

[DBR96A]

Some cities seem to be divided between two (or more) nearby sports teams. Which ones can you think of? I'll list the cities that seem to be divided based on NFL allegiences:

- Hartford, CT (New York Giants, New York Jets, New England Patriots)
- Albany, NY (New York Giants, New York Jets, Buffalo Bills)
- Trenton, NJ (New York Giants, New York Jets, Philadelphia Eagles)
- Harrisburg, PA (Pittsburgh Steelers, Philadelphia Eagles)
- Youngstown, OH (Pittsburgh Steelers, Cleveland Browns)
- Columbus, OH (Pittsburgh Steelers, Cleveland Browns, Cincinnati Bengals)
- Erie, PA (Pittsburgh Steelers, Cleveland Browns, Buffalo Bills)
- Roanoke, VA (Pittsburgh Steelers, Washington Redskins)
- Raleigh, NC (Washington Redskins, Carolina Panthers)
- Valdosta, GA (Atlanta Falcons, Jacksonville Jaguars, Tampa Bay Buccaneers)
- Chattanooga, TN (Atlanta Falcons, Tennessee Titans)
- Huntsville, AL (Atlanta Falcons, Tennessee Titans)
- Toledo, OH (Cleveland Browns, Detroit Lions)
- South Bend, IN (Indianapolis Colts, Chicago Bears)
- Springfield, IL (Chicago Bears, St. Louis Rams)
- Paducah, KY (Tennessee Titans, St. Louis Rams)
- Shreveport, LA (New Orleans Saints, Dallas Cowboys)
- Des Moines, IA (Kansas City Chiefs, Minnesota Vikings)
- Columbia, MO (Kansas City Chiefs, St. Louis Rams)
- Tulsa, OK (Kansas City Chiefs, Dallas Cowboys)
- Salt Lake City, UT (Denver Broncos, San Francisco 49ers)
- Los Angeles, CA (San Diego Chargers, Oakland Raiders)
- San Jose, CA (San Francisco 49ers, Oakland Raiders)
- Medford, OR (San Francisco 49ers, Seattle Seahawks)

[Evergrey]

wow, you put a lot of work into this!


This map may be of interest to you.

http://www.commoncensus.org/maps/nfl_1280.gif

[brickell]

Orlando. Even though Tampa is much closer, a lot of Dolphins fans there. I don't know that it's a dividing line as much as it is a split personality. The same could be said for most of Florida which splits allegiances with both Miami teams and Northeastern teams (mainly NY).

[ctman987]

I know you just listed NFL but for Hartford, CT and baseball it is definitly the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox....smack dab in the middle of these two cities.

[Evergrey]

who does Hartford root for in the NHL since the Whalers are gone?

[BroncoCSU05]

we've got some packers fans in our back yard??


i'm surprised i don't see more red and grey in the phoenix area. that city seems to have forgotten it has a football team for the most part. and lookie SLC...a true divided city if there ever was one.

[dktshb]

Everybody I know in LA are Raiders fans or they just don't care. I don't know of any Chargers fans but I'm sure they exist. Probably a few diehard Rams fans too.

[Nutterbug]

Red Deer, Alberta (Flames-Oilers, Stampeders-Eskimos)

[Nutterbug]

wow, you put a lot of work into this!


This map may be of interest to you.

http://www.commoncensus.org/maps/nfl_1280.gif

Why is it that upstate Floridians prefer to identify with Miami, despite being closer to Tampa or Jacksonville? Same for interior Northern Californians and their allegiance to SF over Oakland.

Is there some sort of extra glamour factor to cities like Miami or San Fran, or do the respective regions' media give their teams more coverage, or what?

[brickell]

My guess is that SF and the Dolphins were much better teams for many more years than either Tampa Bay or Oakland were.

[ctman987]

who does Hartford root for in the NHL since the Whalers are gone?

Very touchy subject to say the least. Right now the city is the home of the AHL Hartford Wolfpack and there are efforts underway by two differant groups of investors to bring professional hockey back to the city with the help of the city and the state. Obviously there are Rangers and Bruins fans out there but many locals were faithful to the Whalers and will not die hardly root and follow another team until the Whalers are back in the city. We can only wish for the best I guess

[PhillyRising]

Very touchy subject to say the least. Right now the city is the home of the AHL Hartford Wolfpack and there are efforts underway by two differant groups of investors to bring professional hockey back to the city with the help of the city and the state. Obviously there are Rangers and Bruins fans out there but many locals were faithful to the Whalers and will not die hardly root and follow another team until the Whalers are back in the city. We can only wish for the best I guess

I can only imagine how many people in Connecticut wanted to gag when the Hurricanes won the Stanley Cup last year. I know I did. The Stanley Cup in Raleigh, North Carolina? :yuck:

[Evergrey]

Why is it that upstate Floridians prefer to identify with Miami, despite being closer to Tampa or Jacksonville? Same for interior Northern Californians and their allegiance to SF over Oakland.

Is there some sort of extra glamour factor to cities like Miami or San Fran, or do the respective regions' media give their teams more coverage, or what?


The Dolphins and 49ers are much older than their regional competitors. They also have a greater legacy of success. The Raiders have been very successful as well... but are still outclassed by the 49ers (5 Super Bowl victories to 3). In addition, the Raiders spent 10 or 15 years in the 80s/90s in Los Angeles, which probably negatively affected their Northern California fanbase.

[Buckeye Native 001]

Since Los Angeles has too many goddamned sports teams (not scientific):

Los Angeles is mostly Raider territory. Orange County is mostly Charger territory (hardly any fans of the Rams here, from what I've seen).

Of course, Los Angeles and the northern suburbs follow the Dodgers, Orange County and the Eastern suburbs (Inland Empire) mostly follow the Angels, but you're likely to see as many blue Dodger hats in the IE as you would red Angels hats.

Everyone is a Lakers fan, but you rarely see anyone wearing a Clippers jersey (save for last year when the Clippers had a decent team...)

Los Angeles has the Kings, Anaheim has the Ducks. Except for the die-hard hockey fans, you won't find too many people around wearing either team's paraphernalia.

USC and UCLA's fanbases are intertwined in Los Angeles county, but I've seen a lot more USC fans down here in Orange County than I have UCLA. Then again, I know some people who claim to like USC football and UCLA basketball, which would be like me saying I like Ohio State football and Michigan basketball. A definite college sports no-no ;)

[phillyskyline]

What city is the dividing line btwn Eagles & Ravens fans? Dover, DE? Or further west around Elkton, MD?

[detroit_alive]

St. Joseph, MI.

Half Chicago teams and half Detroit.

[Ronin]

Even here in the East Bay, CA, I see a noticeable dividing line between 49ers and Raiders fans, even though it is closer to Raiders country, supposedly.

[PhillyRising]

What city is the dividing line btwn Eagles & Ravens fans? Dover, DE? Or further west around Elkton, MD?

Most people in and around Dover tend to follow the Philly teams since they get the Philly stations.....but closer to the beaches you get the Balamer stations so those people may have a rooting interest in their teams.

[SpongeG]

what about baseball - chicago has two teams

[NYRY85]

Some cities seem to be divided between two (or more) nearby sports teams. Which ones can you think of? I'll list the cities that seem to be divided based on NFL allegiences:

- Hartford, CT (New York Giants, New York Jets, New England Patriots)
- Albany, NY (New York Giants, New York Jets, Buffalo Bills)
- Trenton, NJ (New York Giants, New York Jets, Philadelphia Eagles)
- Harrisburg, PA (Pittsburgh Steelers, Philadelphia Eagles)
- Youngstown, OH (Pittsburgh Steelers, Cleveland Browns)
- Columbus, OH (Pittsburgh Steelers, Cleveland Browns, Cincinnati Bengals)
- Erie, PA (Pittsburgh Steelers, Cleveland Browns, Buffalo Bills)
- Roanoke, VA (Pittsburgh Steelers, Washington Redskins)
- Raleigh, NC (Washington Redskins, Carolina Panthers)
- Valdosta, GA (Atlanta Falcons, Jacksonville Jaguars, Tampa Bay Buccaneers)
- Chattanooga, TN (Atlanta Falcons, Tennessee Titans)
- Huntsville, AL (Atlanta Falcons, Tennessee Titans)
- Toledo, OH (Cleveland Browns, Detroit Lions)
- South Bend, IN (Indianapolis Colts, Chicago Bears)
- Springfield, IL (Chicago Bears, St. Louis Rams)
- Paducah, KY (Tennessee Titans, St. Louis Rams)
- Shreveport, LA (New Orleans Saints, Dallas Cowboys)
- Des Moines, IA (Kansas City Chiefs, Minnesota Vikings)
- Columbia, MO (Kansas City Chiefs, St. Louis Rams)
- Tulsa, OK (Kansas City Chiefs, Dallas Cowboys)
- Salt Lake City, UT (Denver Broncos, San Francisco 49ers)
- Los Angeles, CA (San Diego Chargers, Oakland Raiders)
- San Jose, CA (San Francisco 49ers, Oakland Raiders)
- Medford, OR (San Francisco 49ers, Seattle Seahawks)

albany is definitely not divided. the bills have virtually no presence in the majority til you hit syracuse. the majority is the giants.

upstate does not mean buffalo automatically. ppl from albany utica and syracuse identify more with 'new york' teams cause theyre in new york, as opposed to the immediate audience in western ny (rochester/buffalo). many many ppl get this wrong.

[Evergrey]

albany is definitely not divided. the bills have virtually no presence in the majority til you hit syracuse. the majority is the giants.

upstate does not mean buffalo automatically. ppl from albany utica and syracuse identify more with 'new york' teams cause theyre in new york, as opposed to the immediate audience in western ny (rochester/buffalo). many many ppl get this wrong.

According to the map I posted, Bills fans are a significant minority in Albany, Utica is solid Giants territory and Syracuse is solid Bills territory. It's not suprising that the Bills have widespread appeal in the State of New York, since they are the only team that plays its home games in the State of New York.

[Latoso]

Chicago is divided at Madison Street between Cubs fans to the north and Sox fans to the south. The whole Israeli/Palestinian thing is similar, but more subdued than Cubs/Sox. :banana:

[oilcan]

It would be interesting to see Alaska's and Hawaii's stance as well, if anyone has any insight on those two states please comment.

As far as Arizona goes, I would say that map is a little misleading on the account of how many transplants live here. The new UOP stadium in Glendale along with some franchise players helped last year, but there are a lot of huge fan bases from other teams all over the metro area .. Realistically (with the exception of maybe a few teams) you could probably put color codes for each team all over the valley, and yes that is with the understanding that each city has people who support other teams but the valley has got to be an exception in this case. Very similar how Tucson looks on that map but on a larger scale

[HurricaneHugo]

I expect LA to become Charger territory if the Chargers continue to do good and the 49ers/Raiders continue to stink.

[NYRY85]

According to the map I posted, Bills fans are a significant minority in Albany, Utica is solid Giants territory and Syracuse is solid Bills territory. It's not suprising that the Bills have widespread appeal in the State of New York, since they are the only team that plays its home games in the State of New York.

as i stated, bills territory is not until you hit syracuse, idk if you missed that.

utica is definitely giants, and although the map may show a small minority of bills fans in albany, the mohawk valley region in particular is all giants, training camp is in albany and there is a far greater presence of the giants in albany than bills. any buffalo team in albany really. there was a big uproar in albany regarding the telecast of sabres games since adelphia got bought out by time warner and MSG plays the sabres now. i know its all business but still, for years you have a solid fanbase of rangers fans in the mohawk valley how the fuck are you gonna abandon them and put the sabres on in a market thats purely nyc. buffalo is double the distance.

[NYRY85]

although syracuse identifies with new york its probably the dividing point of buffalo and ny teams.

[dfane]

interesting thread.

so many teams competing with each other here in the northeast its not funny.

[Evergrey]

as i stated, bills territory is not until you hit syracuse, idk if you missed that..

Actually, you claimed Syracuse was "New York" territory.. just like Utica and Albany. Go back and look at your first post instead of claiming I missed something.

ppl from albany utica and syracuse identify more with 'new york' teams cause theyre in new york, as opposed to the immediate audience in western ny (rochester/buffalo). many many ppl get this wrong.

[SSLL]

London, ON is also in between Detroit and Toronto, Kingston, ON between Toronto and Ottawa/Montreal.

[Via Chicago]

Chicago is divided at Madison Street between Cubs fans to the north and Sox fans to the south. The whole Israeli/Palestinian thing is similar, but more subdued than Cubs/Sox. :banana:

it should also be noted that when you get to about central illinois, almost everyone seems to follow the cardinals for baseball. in fact, central/southern Illinoisans tend to identify much more with st louis rather than chicago in general.

[NYRY85]

Actually, you claimed Syracuse was "New York" territory.. just like Utica and Albany. Go back and look at your first post instead of claiming I missed something.

and?

Im not tryin to insult you, I know you read it. Its probably just something you overread/missed the point of.

I stand by it. whether you misinterpret what I said or not isnt my problem.

Syracuse identifies itself with NY teams, its not in WNY (actually the exact center between Buffalo and Albany). It is also however a dividing point.

[Latoso]

it should also be noted that when you get to about central illinois, almost everyone seems to follow the cardinals for baseball. in fact, central/southern Illinoisans tend to identify much more with st louis rather than chicago in general.

Cards don't come up until you get to around Springfield. North of there is pretty much Cubs territory outside of Chicagoland. Especially since you have the Peoria Cubs minor leage affiliate to feed into the major league team, much like the Iowa Cubs in AAA do the same to make Iowa Cubs territory.

[illmatic774]

TOLEDO!


Ohio State vs. Michigan! How can you forget that! Lions vs. Browns is small talk.

[Frisco_Zig]

My guess is that SF and the Dolphins were much better teams for many more years than either Tampa Bay or Oakland were.

I think the relative popularity of the 49ers in the Bay, beyond the success, has to do with the size of SF and the percentage of people in the greater Bay who have family roots that started there. My brother, for instance, grew up in SF and now lives in the hinterlands of the bay (in what should be raider country) but keeps his allegiance and has passed it down to his kids. 49ers were the only team in the Bay for decades as well so just about anyone with really old bay roots is likely a 49ers fan


Same deal with the Giants vs. the A's. The A's are the far more successful team but have a much smaller fan base

[ltsmotorsport]

Anyone have census maps for the other pro leagues?

[Trantor]

well, dont know why you guys made this thread only for US cities... but its international so... oh well.


In Brazil, there are several SOCCER clubs in each big metropolis. Some of these soccer clubs are small. But others are big, and there may not only be DIFFERENT ALLEGIANCES in the population inside one city, as complete ANIMOSITY between the city population towards fans of the other team!


São Paulo
the city has 4 big soccer clubs. The one with more fans is Corinthians (about 35 million all over Brasil). It has 2 bitter rivals, São Paulo FC and Palmeiras FC. There is also Santos, which is also big but is not so much of a rival of the other 3 teams.

Rio de Janeiro
The largest animosity is between the fans of Flamengo, Fluminense and Vasco da Gama. Botafogo FC is more neutral.

Porto Alegre
the most intense rivalry inside Brasil, between Internacional FC and Grêmio FBPA.

Belo Horizonte
2nd biggest rivalry in Brasil, between Cruzeiro and Atlético Mineiro

Curitiba
big rivalry between Atlético Paranaense and Coritiba. Paraná Clube was founded very recently (around 1990... most brazilian clubs were founded between 1900 and 1910), so it isnt very rival of the other 2 big clubs, but its growing very fast.




Other famous rivalries in the world:

London: Arsenal, Chelsea

Milan: AC Milan, Internazzonale

Buenos Aires: the city alone has over 15 soccer clubs, but the biggest rivalry, undoubtly is between Boca Juniors fans and River Plate fans.


Argie fans are CRAZY!!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gMIBHEVfnX4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TEM3qUanuCw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dcCl2icNnmA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BQjeJ2oe30k

[Trantor]

shocking video of two groups of fans (of different teams) fighting in some eastern european country! HUGE FIGHT! Hundreds of people

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pBbAnh6r7Qs

[Via Chicago]

Cards don't come up until you get to around Springfield. North of there is pretty much Cubs territory outside of Chicagoland. Especially since you have the Peoria Cubs minor leage affiliate to feed into the major league team, much like the Iowa Cubs in AAA do the same to make Iowa Cubs territory.

well, the cubs have a national following so its not entirely a fair comparison. but i will say that almost everyone i talk to from central illinois seems to be a cards fan, and would much rather live in st louis over chicago, if they were to move.

[Ronin]

I think the relative popularity of the 49ers in the Bay, beyond the success, has to do with the size of SF and the percentage of people in the greater Bay who have family roots that started there. My brother, for instance, grew up in SF and now lives in the hinterlands of the bay (in what should be raider country) but keeps his allegiance and has passed it down to his kids. 49ers were the only team in the Bay for decades as well so just about anyone with really old bay roots is likely a 49ers fan


Same deal with the Giants vs. the A's. The A's are the far more successful team but have a much smaller fan base


It's hard to say for Bay Area teams in general, since they have majority fairweather fans. Back when the Giants were at the Stick, the A's regularly outdrew them. Also, the A's may not have as many fans in terms of sheer numbers, but I think they have a larger percentage of die hards.

As far as allegiances, a lot of it is based on which team was successful when you first started watching ball as a child. I remember the Giants were horrible, while the A's were hot. At the same time, the Raiders were bad, and the Niners were good. Therefore, I am an A's and Niners fan, but absolutely loathe the other two.

[Antares41]

Interesting thread. Been to Erie PA many times. It truly is the most divided sport aligned city I ever visited. And, not only for football, but also hockey( Sabers, Penguins) and lesser extent baseball(Indians, Pirates). The situation put many families in opposition. I think the strongest affilation is with Pittsburgh although mileage wise it is the furthest away. Something about being in the same state.

[Antares41]

I also found the dividing line between the Chicago Bears and the Green Bay Packers to be amusing. Neither teams influence penetrate much beyond the state line, not surprising given both teams play in the same division and the age of the much celebrated rivalry! Just funny to see it play out on a map.

[Shawn]

http://www.commoncensus.org/maps/mlb_1280.gif

Whats with the Sox fans in Montana? I also notice New England / Boston teams seem to have decent support in the Eastern portions of upstate New York.

Holy Braves, Batman!

[fflint]

Why do the 49ers dominate among NorCal football fans? As noted earlier, the 49ers are older. They're also more successful. And the Raiders went to Los Angeles for many years and presumably lost much of the fanbase that way, as others have noted. I also think fan culture plays a role in football loyalties in this part of the country.

The Raiders have cultivated a certain aesthetic--rough, crazy, working class, inner city, hard-drinking fans with face-paint and bellies. It's for real, and it's distinct from the kind of following the 49ers have. The 49ers fans just don't have a reputation for rough and rowdy culture like the Raiders do, and I think that is one reason why more people in the suburbs and smaller nearby metros go with the 49ers.

[Chicago103]

Cards don't come up until you get to around Springfield. North of there is pretty much Cubs territory outside of Chicagoland. Especially since you have the Peoria Cubs minor leage affiliate to feed into the major league team, much like the Iowa Cubs in AAA do the same to make Iowa Cubs territory.

Decatur, IL is Cardinals territory when it comes to baseball and they do in general identify with St. Louis more than Chicago. However Decatur is fairly strong Chicago Bears territory when it comes to football, thats in no small part due to the fact that Decatur is the original home of the Bears. Once you get to Bloomington/Normal and parts north its Chicago territory for everything, I would also say the same for Champaign/Urbana due to the large number of college students from the Chicago area and also they are closer to Chicago than St. Louis at that point.

[PeterG]

You can't get a much bigger rivalry than Celtic and Rangers here in Glasgow, Scotland.
It's not just about football, it's rooted in religion. Celtic (Catholic) and Rangers' (Protestant) hatred of each other makes most other city rivalries look like a wedding. And you don't want to walk around the East End with a Rangers shirt on, or the West End with a Celtic shirt - you probably won't come back!

[relnahe]

I love how Rochester, NY is Toronto Blue Jays territory.

[JManc]

albany is definitely not divided. the bills have virtually no presence in the majority til you hit syracuse. the majority is the giants.

upstate does not mean buffalo automatically. ppl from albany utica and syracuse identify more with 'new york' teams cause theyre in new york, as opposed to the immediate audience in western ny (rochester/buffalo). many many ppl get this wrong.


not true, the bills are huge throughout upstate albeit the fan base thins as you head east. utica may have more giants fans but the bills ( :rock: ) come in a close second. my high school was pretty much divided between the two and the city nearly had a civil war during the '91 superbowl.

[NYRY85]

im sure the jets fans went into hiding. in utica this is what i see giants>jets>bills>eagles>steelers

[dktshb]

I expect LA to become Charger territory if the Chargers continue to do good and the 49ers/Raiders continue to stink. Yep the Raiders stink but the focus is more on USC and UCLA until the Raiders improve.

[fflint]

Yep the Raiders stink but the focus is more on USC and UCLA until the Raiders improve.
That's how it was for me and everyone I knew when I lived in LA, but then I attended UCLA. Go Bruins!

[Buckeye Native 001]

I expect LA to become Charger territory if the Chargers continue to do good and the 49ers/Raiders continue to stink.

Orange County already is Charger territory, for the most part.

[pj3000]

Growing up in Erie, PA, I'd have to say that it is at the pinnacle of U.S. cities with divided sports allegiances. Steelers, Browns, and Bills are the teams. While other cities of some substantial size may have three pro football teams competing for fans, I know of no other that is almost exactly equidistant from all three and right in the middle. In this region of the country (Western PA, Eastern OH especially), football is intertwined with the very history and culture of the rustbelt, blue collar society.

[Rykachet]

Wow...The Cardinals cover a lot of ground.

[MtnClimber]

Wow...The Cardinals cover a lot of ground.

So do the Seahawks, I dont think any professional team covers more ground then the seahawks do. Pretty much all the way from Southern Alaska to Oregon is seahawks territority:)

[Latoso]

So do the Seahawks, I dont think any professional team covers more ground then the seahawks do. Pretty much all the way from Southern Alaska to Oregon is seahawks territority:)

True, but all that land probably has as many people as Cook County Illinois.

[Neuman]

I believe what we are seeing from the two maps for Football and Baseball is the coverage these teams have traditionally covered with their media outlets. Some of the prime example would be the St. Louis Cardinals and their games being carried on KMOX radio for the last 70 years. KMOX has had one of the strongest broadcast signals and has covered a much larger land are than most radio stations have in the country for much of tha last century. The same goes for the Cubs and Bears (Bears used to be on here.) being broadcast on WGN Radio and Super-station WGN which is most of Iowa, Northern Illinois and Indiana. The Braves cover such a huge region because there were no other baseball teams in the South Eastern United States until the last 20 years, along with being broadcast on Super-station TBS.

The smaller pockets of support you see on these maps for teams that are distant from those markets are the result of homegrown talent playing in those distant markets. I work for sporting events from time to time with the networks and have seen how they divey up coverage between markets. The Packers tend to be shown most of the time in Wisconsin and Louisiana because of Brett Favre. The Bears get shown a lot in Texas because of Lovie Smith, Urlacher, Tommie Harris, Vasher, Cedric Benson all coming from or playing college ball in Texas.

The one area I have my doubts on is the Phoenix AZ portion of that map. That city is to Chicago what Miami is to NYC in regard to retiree's and transplants. If you have ever been to a Diamond Backs game when the Cubs are in town you would know what I mean, typically its a pro-Cubs crowd... Of course Cub fans traditionally travel well and this can be said in many cities they play in...:cool:

[NYRY85]

It's not suprising that the Bills have widespread appeal in the State of New York, since they are the only team that plays its home games in the State of New York.


Yes, but the Meadowlands are alot closer to NY than Ralph Wilson Stadium is to Buffalo.

Fans in NY dont base their allegiance to who actually plays where anyway. Its New York (state), thus still Giants and Jets. Theyre NY teams, and they played in NY stadiums before it was more feasible and cost-effective playing 6 miles away in NJ. You can at least see the city from the stadium. Cant say so much for the "Orchard Park" Bills, if you wanna get technical.

[NYRY85]

http://www.commoncensus.org/maps/mlb_1280.gif

Whats with the Sox fans in Montana? I also notice New England / Boston teams seem to have decent support in the Eastern portions of upstate New York.

Holy Braves, Batman!



Looks like this was skewed by polling college students, not only permanent residents, in at least a few cases. How else to explain the number of Red Sox and Celtics fans in Ithaca, NY?

[breathesgelatin]

I'd dispute a few areas on this list.

Raleigh - granted I've never lived in Raleigh, but near as I can tell, North Carolinians have pretty well embraced the Panthers since they came into being. I remember everyone loved the Redskins when I was small. Well, them and the Cowboys. Maybe Raleigh still has a sizeable Redskins population, but I'd be kinda surprised... Granted I am from farther west in NC.

I would guess that NC is moreso a divided area for baseball. For example I grew up in a rural area in the western part of the state. I would say the predominate baseball team there was the Braves, who were over 6 hours away. I don't know if the Nationals have gained a fanbase there. I also guess that areas farther east might potentially root for Baltimore.

And Roanoke, Virginia being divided for the Pittsburgh Steelers? That's some news to me!! I have never heard that - I went to college near there. Honestly in that region of VA people are more bonkers for VA Tech football. But maybe you're right, I dunno.

Austin, TX is definitely a divided area for sports. Lots of Cowboys fans. I am sure there used to be a lot of Oilers fans. Not sure about Houston Texan fans. For basketball I would say Spurs fans predominate. But there is definitely a sizeable minority of Mavs and Rockets fans as well. As far as baseball I would say there are more Astros fans but I definitely know some Rangers fans as well. Of course we're (almost) all Longhorn fans.

[SuburbanNation]

Cards territory goes absurdly close to Chicago on that map which I have a hard time believing. Though, I've seen plenty bars in Illinois with both Bears and Cardinals neon/paraphernalia. I-72 I've always believed to be the "dividing line," if there ever was such a discreet thing.

[Clevelumbus]

Hagerstown, MD seems to be a divider between Pittsburgh Steelers/ Baltimore Ravens

Growing up in Erie, PA, I'd have to say that it is at the pinnacle of U.S. cities with divided sports allegiances. Steelers, Browns, and Bills are the teams. While other cities of some substantial size may have three pro football teams competing for fans, I know of no other that is almost exactly equidistant from all three and right in the middle. In this region of the country (Western PA, Eastern OH especially), football is intertwined with the very history and culture of the rustbelt, blue collar society.

I would put Columbus, OH in the same boat. With the Bengals instead of the Bills.

[ColDayMan]

Hagerstown, MD seems to be a divider between Pittsburgh Steelers/ Baltimore Ravens



I would put Columbus, OH in the same boat. With the Bengals instead of the Bills.

Eh, I don't know about that. Columbus still seems solidly Browns territory though the Bengals are somewhat emerging as a "takeover" and the Steelers are a solid 3rd place (Pittsburgh and eastern Ohio transplants).

[SpawnOfVulcan]

I love that map. Though, honestly, there aren't many teams in Alabama that tend to be loyal to another team. But, I do agree with the map with the preferences. Though, I'm wondering why there isn't a San Diego blob around Decatur, AL because of Phillip Rivers...

Another good topic would be about college football teams :)

Now THAT would be interesting.

[HurricaneHugo]

I expect LA to become Charger territory if the Chargers continue to do good and the 49ers/Raiders continue to stink.

It's been two and a half years since this post and I would say that you can see A LOT more Chargers jerseys/hats in LA. :D

Still fall shorts to the Raider following, much less the USC/UCLA following.

[HurricaneHugo]

I love that map. Though, honestly, there aren't many teams in Alabama that tend to be loyal to another team. But, I do agree with the map with the preferences. Though, I'm wondering why there isn't a San Diego blob around Decatur, AL because of Phillip Rivers...

Another good topic would be about college football teams :)

Now THAT would be interesting.

Rivers is amazing.

And ask and you shall receive:

http://commoncensus.org/maps/ncaaf_1280.gif

[JDRCRASH]

Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.:haha:

[SpawnOfVulcan]

Yayayayayay, for college football!

[Rusty van Reddick]

Chicago is divided at Madison Street between Cubs fans to the north and Sox fans to the south. The whole Israeli/Palestinian thing is similar, but more subdued than Cubs/Sox. :banana:

I grew up in NW Indiana, and none of my friends or anybody I knew supported the Sox. It was all Cubs, even when my dad grew up stone's throw from Comiskey. Sox were like a curse word.

[DBR96A]

The state of Georgia is firmly Bulldogs Country, with Georgia Tech being an island centered around Atlanta. Here's a basic analogy...

Georgia : Georgia Tech : Atlanta :: Penn State : Pitt : Pittsburgh

[BigBird9]

Isn't there an NBA map like this too?

Anyway, it's interesting to look at Austin and San Antonio in the NFL/MLB maps. In the NFL, Austin and San Antonio are dominated by Cowboy fans, but in the MLB map, they're dominated by Astors fans.

Another city as a dividing line: Eau Claire, WI. (Vikings/Packers, Twins/Brewers, U Minnesota/U Wisconsin).

[SpawnOfVulcan]

As for college football, an interesting case to look at is the division between Florida fans and Florida State fans.

One that I would find hard to draw would be the one between Alabama and Auburn, one of the top 5 sports rivalries in the country. It's hard to find a clear division because the state is really quite evenly mixed.

As for the division between the Titans and Falcons in the NFL, I think that Gadsden, AL is the ultimate division place. Chattanooga was suggested, but I'd expect them to be more towards Titans than Falcons for sure.

I would also guess that most of the Tuscaloosa area, Montgomery, and Mobile are definitely more Saints fans that Titans or Falcons.

[brickell]

As for college football, an interesting case to look at is the division between Florida fans and Florida State fans.


Most of Florida is Gator country. I can't think of many geographical differences except in parts of the panhandle and in Miami. Every area has their share of UF and FSU alumni, but the gators usually outnumber everyone else.

[Buckeye Native 001]

Even in Miami? I know the Canes have had a few bad seasons as of late, but they've also had at least 20 years of success. More than enough time for a gigantic fanbase to develop?

Most of Ohio is solidly Ohio State (duh), with Cleveland having the most-rabid fanbase outside Columbus. Toledo is split between OSU and scUM but the majority of Cincinnatians, for whatever reason, hate Ohio State. Tressel's finally getting a Cincinnati recruit pipeline established (most Buckeyes squads of years past were stacked predominantly with Northeastern Ohioans), which should've been developed years ago given the Cincinnati metro's obsession with high school football.

Long story short, Cincinnati's hatred of Ohio State probably has something to do with the University of Cincinnati, not to mention the strong Catholic ties to Notre Dame.

[ColDayMan]

Actually, it roots back to Miami University and Ohio State "upstaging" the then-flagship school. UC then became the second largest in the state and it began the hatred of OSU since.

[Buckeye Native 001]

Stupid me, I forgot all about the Cradle of Coaches :(

[pj3000]

Even in Miami? I know the Canes have had a few bad seasons as of late, but they've also had at least 20 years of success. More than enough time for a gigantic fanbase to develop?


No. Miami is definitely Hurricane country. As brickell said, Miami is a an area that differs from the majority of FL. Sure, there are numerous Gator and Seminole fans in S. Florida, but the collective allegiance and media coverage is all about the Canes. The University of Miami also attracts a much more national student body than UF or FSU and is a smaller, private university. UM alumni are often scattered throughout the US, moreso than the other two... like me.

And... its about 30 years years of unparalleled success, not 20. :)

[Trae]

A city map:

http://www.commoncensus.org/maps/national_1280.gif

And the NBA:

http://www.commoncensus.org/maps/nba_1280.gif

[TonyAnderson]

wow, you put a lot of work into this!


This map may be of interest to you.

http://www.commoncensus.org/maps/nfl_1280.gif

That's true about SLC and Utah (Broncos and 49ers) It's weird because they're both far out of state. The reason why the southern portion is pro 49ers is mainly that Steve Young, hall of fame qb for the niners, went to BYU, located in that area.

[BuffaloBill]

York Co. Pennsylvania is a big-time dividing ground for the NFL.

The southern part of the county is Ravens, York City and elsewhere in the county is a split between Steelers and Eagles.

It arguably makes the Harrisburg television market the biggest cluster**** for Sunday football viewing.

[dchan]

There's no real dividing line in the Lehigh Valley for sports. A vast majority of the fans here are Eagles and Phillies fans, for obvious reasons. But because there have been a ton of NYC-area transplants (poor and rich) migrating here since the 80's, there have been a lot more Yankees, Mets, Giants, and Jets fans as well.

Obviously, the largest of these transplant fans are undoubtedly the Yankee fans because they have so many bandwagon fans. The same can be said for Red Sox fans. And come to think of it, I didn't see so many Phillies "fans" around before they won the World Series.

[Juelz]

Interesting how Miami teams dominate Florida so much.

[BnaBreaker]

I can tell you right now that when it comes to sports, South Bend might as well be a part of Chicago. This is without a doubt, Chicago Bears country. There is very little identification with Indianapolis here.

[BG918]

Even though there is now an NBA team here, Oklahoma is solidly a college sports, and specifically college football, state. OU dominates the central, including Oklahoma City, and for the most part the western and southern parts of the state. OU also has a sizeable following in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area. OSU has fewer fans but they are fiercely loyal and located mainly in the north-central and northeast parts of the state, including Tulsa. Tulsa is split maybe 60/40 in terms of OSU fans to OU fans. Tulsa also has a fair amount of Arkansas Razorback fans as Fayetteville is only 2 hours to the east, and quite a few Kansas Jayhawk fans as well with Lawrence 4 hours to the north.

In terms of the NFL, the Dallas Cowboys are the main team here with some KC Chiefs fans in the northern counties and Tulsa.

[texcolo]

Dallas is squarely divided between the Cowboys and America's Team.

[DBR96A]

York Co. Pennsylvania is a big-time dividing ground for the NFL.

The southern part of the county is Ravens, York City and elsewhere in the county is a split between Steelers and Eagles.

It arguably makes the Harrisburg television market the biggest cluster**** for Sunday football viewing.

The only dilemma in the Harrisburg-York-Lancaster market is which AFC team CBS shows. Since FOX has the rights to NFC games, the local FOX affiliate probably shows Eagles games, but from what I've heard, the local CBS affiliate has been forced by the NFL in recent years to show Ravens games, even though Steelers games have always gotten higher ratings. To the NFL, Harrisburg-York-Lancaster is a secondary market for the Ravens, even though the ratings would indicate otherwise.

[xzmattzx]

What city is the dividing line btwn Eagles & Ravens fans? Dover, DE? Or further west around Elkton, MD?

Sussex County seems to be the transition zone; Dover and Elkton are pretty solid Eagles areas. I think tiny slivers of the Eastern Shore are Eagles territory, but these spots don't amount to much. Football is a tougher one to gauge here, since Joe Flacco has turned people more into college football into Ravens fans. (UD has a strong football following like found in the South or in college-dominated areas, such as with schools like Georgia or Ohio State or Tennessee, but on a smaller scale.)

[brickell]

Interesting how Miami teams dominate Florida so much.

I know that's what the map shows, but I don't think it really does. The Dolphins are the exception, with a lot of ex-pat Miamians holding on to their dolphin loyalty. The other Miami teams are too new to hold much clout beyond their media market.

[LosAngelesSportsFan]

i think the Lakers influence doesnt stop until Portland. There are probably just as many Laker fans in the Bay area as there are Golden State fans and same for Sacramento. All someone has to do is watch a "road game' for the Lakers and that becomes evident. the sphere of influence also goes west to Phoenix and at least to Las Vegas.

[RockMont]

Why do the 49ers dominate among NorCal football fans? As noted earlier, the 49ers are older. They're also more successful. And the Raiders went to Los Angeles for many years and presumably lost much of the fanbase that way, as others have noted. I also think fan culture plays a role in football loyalties in this part of the country.

The Raiders have cultivated a certain aesthetic--rough, crazy, working class, inner city, hard-drinking fans with face-paint and bellies. It's for real, and it's distinct from the kind of following the 49ers have. The 49ers fans just don't have a reputation for rough and rowdy culture like the Raiders do, and I think that is one reason why more people in the suburbs and smaller nearby metros go with the 49ers.




Sadly, neither of these teams has done well at all, in recent years. Bay Area teams, in all sports have had such a rich tradition, and nowadays, particularly the football teams, have deviated from it.

[Buckeye Native 001]

i think the Lakers influence doesnt stop until Portland. There are probably just as many Laker fans in the Bay area as there are Golden State fans and same for Sacramento. All someone has to do is watch a "road game' for the Lakers and that becomes evident. the sphere of influence also goes west to Phoenix and at least to Las Vegas.

I can personally assure you that if there are Lakers fans in Phoenix, they hide it well.

[LosAngelesSportsFan]

ya, i meant it stops at phoenix, although there seem to be plenty of Laker fans at Phoenix home games.

Just curious, what team is most popular there? Cardinals? Dbacks or Arizona basketball? i know its not the coyotes.

[Buckeye Native 001]

Its kinda cyclical, depending on who's currently winning. The Suns are still king for right now, but with all the crap Sarver and Kerr are putting the fans through, I'd say the Cardinals, if they can maintain their success from last year, are in an advantageous position to become the dominant team in the Valley. Two years ago, that would've been unthinkable. The Diamondbacks are third and the Coyotes are an afterthought.

And the Coyotes are interesting, since allegedly a lot of their fanbase came from the East Valley (why there, I don't know), but their arena is in the West Valley. Its really a shame, since Glendale Arena is one of the nicer hockey venues in the league, but its more common to see fans of the opposing team (especially Western Conference foes) than 'Yotes fans at any given game.

Since there's so many transplants, its sometimes hard to gauge how popular the local teams really are (besides the Suns), since there's overwhelming support for whatever team you supported in your hometown. Needless to say, we've got a lot of Cubs and Sox fans with all the Chicago transplants as well as the Indians (lots of Clevelanders move to Phoenix for whatever reason), Nebraska, Green Bay and Iowa (lots of transplants from the upper midwest and great plains)

[pizzaguy]

http://www.commoncensus.org/maps/mlb_1280.gif

Whats with the Sox fans in Montana? I also notice New England / Boston teams seem to have decent support in the Eastern portions of upstate New York.

Holy Braves, Batman!

Bullshit.

There's no way in hell the A's have a bigger fanbase than any other team in California.

There are only like 2 or 3 A's fans on the planet.

[Fortunate4Now]

Yes, but the Meadowlands are alot closer to NY than Ralph Wilson Stadium is to Buffalo.

Fans in NY dont base their allegiance to who actually plays where anyway. Its New York (state), thus still Giants and Jets. Theyre NY teams, and they played in NY stadiums before it was more feasible and cost-effective playing 6 miles away in NJ. You can at least see the city from the stadium. Cant say so much for the "Orchard Park" Bills, if you wanna get technical.


I still gladly display my "welcome to NY" sign when they play here. The bills moved from War Memorial Stadium in buffalo 15 minutes to the ralph in OP but REMAINED in NY and that is the point, they are the only NY team (if you wanna get technical). Also I have friends in albany that are more then happy to watch the sabres games on TV.

[Neuman]

Just curious, what team is most popular there? Cardinals? Dbacks or Arizona basketball? i know its not the coyotes.

The Cubs.... Between all the transplants from Chicago and that William Wrigley Jr. pretty much pioneered the Cactus league I would say the Cubs have an even stronger following there than the Diamondbacks.

[Neuman]

I can tell you right now that when it comes to sports, South Bend might as well be a part of Chicago. This is without a doubt, Chicago Bears country. There is very little identification with Indianapolis here.

I would agree, that map doesn't do justice to how much of Indiana is actually Bears Country. When the Bears and Indy meet in the Superbowl, their was much discussion on where the dividing line stood, considering that the Colts are a transplant team and prior to their mid-night move all of Indiana was Bears territory. I would think that line should be a lot closer to Indianapolis...

[NYRY85]

I still gladly display my "welcome to NY" sign when they play here. The bills moved from War Memorial Stadium in buffalo 15 minutes to the ralph in OP but REMAINED in NY and that is the point, they are the only NY team (if you wanna get technical). Also I have friends in albany that are more then happy to watch the sabres games on TV.


Which doesn't mean theyre the majority, per the map obviously.

Sabre fans in Albany being happy theyre on tv (recently) is no different than Senators fans being happy if they were on in Albany. Even if its one fan, theyre happy. The majority fanbase isnt happy with the abrupt change, which really, makes no sense unless youre coming from a Sabres POV. Its all dollars and cents, and trying to expand the small fanbase, when really, theyre just pissing people off.

If Hamilton gets a team, there goes a good portion of the fanbase as well. Almost 30% of Canadians across the border account for Sabres fans. Naturally, if the Coyotes or Panthers bordered Canada they wouldnt have attendance issues.

[NYRY85]

I still gladly display my "welcome to NY" sign when they play here. The bills moved from War Memorial Stadium in buffalo 15 minutes to the ralph in OP but REMAINED in NY and that is the point, they are the only NY team (if you wanna get technical).


You find space in one of the boroughs to build an NFL stadium for two teams, and cheap. One stadium housing two teams should speak for itself how cost effective it is.

An NFL fan in NY doesnt check to make sure the team plays in NY. The teams are the NY Giants and NY Jets and represent NY.

Giants and Jets training camp is in Albany and Cortland. If theyre a NJ team why arent they somewhere in Jersey?

Its a moot debate, and pretty soon, instead of one or two Bills games in Toronto, theyll move and with that move go from one of the smallest markets to one of the biggest in the NFL (provided an entire country is behind them) and goodbye financial issues previously had.

[JManc]

haha. the buffalo bills, new york's only NFL team.

[hokiehigh]

And Roanoke, Virginia being divided for the Pittsburgh Steelers? That's some news to me!! I have never heard that - I went to college near there. Honestly in that region of VA people are more bonkers for VA Tech football. But maybe you're right, I dunno.

I think I know this one. Since the teams are in the AFC/NFC, the local stations commited to the Steelers and the Redskins. Back in the day I think CBS had the NFC while NBC had the AFC. The closer you get to WV, the more Steelers fans and the interior of VA would be 99% Redskins.