Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
The Southeast (with the notable exception of SEC football) and the Southwest are less sport-centric, at least in my opinion. Could have something to do with the weather honestly.
Why would you exclude that? That's like excluding football from the Northeast. Baseball is very popular around here as well, LSU lost their first championship out of 7.
Why would you exclude that? That's like excluding football from the Northeast. Baseball is very popular around here as well, LSU lost their first championship out of 7.
Plus, the whole SE becomes golf fans every year when the Masters comes around.
The Southeast also has the ACC. North Carolina is basketball country. South Carolina has Clemson football. Georgia Tech has their own unique fan base. Florida State has a rabid fan base.
And LSU also has a very intense fan base throughout Louisiana, and the Saints are also very popular throughout the state and are a big deal. I think Louisiana, Alabama and especially Texas are some of the most sports-obsessed places in the nation.
Sports seem to be not too big in Las Vegas given there are no pro teams there. WIth the exception of the Redskins the Washington DC area also doesn't seem to really be into sports. The University of Maryland is in the DC area but nobody who is not an alumni ever talks about those teams the way people in Baton Rouge who are not associated with LSU or West Virginians not associated with WVU follow the Tigers and Mountaineers very closely.
Also, LSU has a very passionate fan base among non-students and non-alumni DESPITE Louisiana having professional sports. People in West Virginia and Alabama are crazy about college sports because those states do not have pro sports team at all.
For one short glorious week when I was at UCLA, our football team was ranked #1. It was not difficult to get tickets to that week's game and there was no overall excitement in the city. But then again, L.A. is too big to be a "college town".
Also, L.A. is so spread out, and much of the population is so transient, there isn't a cohesive fan base with a love passed on from one generation to the next.
Atlanta still has a lot of college sports fans (football, mostly) and the Braves get love.
Well the only major American city that I have spent much time in is Los Angeles so take what I have to say with that prejudice. As someone more linked to UCLA than to USC, UCLA football is definitely second banana to USC. UCLA at the top is much like watching the Lakers make the playoffs compared to the Clippers, or the Dodgers compared to the Angels.
Raider fan remained Raider fan for decades after they returned to the Bay Area. Who knows if they did not come to town the Rams might have had a following while they were in St Louis.
I'm a native Floridian and what it does have to do with is the massive transplant population that maintains allegiance to their hometown sports teams in NY, NJ, PA etc. versus adopting and/or supporting their new teams despite living in the area for several years or more. I cannot tell you how infuriating it is for example to attend a home game in Miami or Tampa and be actually outnumbered by locals wearing the visiting teams jerseys and cheering against the local team. It's truly rude to friends/neighbors and pathetic they're unable to support the local team.
I suspect you need to be more understanding of the transplants. If you've passionately followed a sports team for decades, you are certainly NOT going to just give up that team and start following another team in a city where you've moved to. If so, you weren't really much of a fan to begin with. Perhaps you don't follow the local teams with the same passion that the transplants follow their teams. That's okay, but don't expect people to change their allegiances at the drop of a hat (and for some, several years is peanuts compared to their life-long allegiance to the team they follow).
I been there from the 90s to 2010s lol. I went to my first Heat Game in the early 2000s. I'm sure there's been lots of bandwagon fans, but as far as I always remembered, the Heat and Marlins have been popular. The Dolphins have their fans too, but I wouldn't be surprised if the Hurricanes are bigger.
Gators (and Seminoles) fans are all throughout the state, and you'll find plenty in Miami too.
The Twin Cities are in the middle. They are a bandwagon market for the Twins and Timberwolves while the Wild and Vikings have diehard support. Most people only follow Gophers football and basketball when they are competitive but college hockey is big. When I moved here I was really surprised to see college hockey on broadcast TV.
I been there from the 90s to 2010s lol. I went to my first Heat Game in the early 2000s. I'm sure there's been lots of bandwagon fans, but as far as I always remembered, the Heat and Marlins have been popular. The Dolphins have their fans too, but I wouldn't be surprised if the Hurricanes are bigger.
Gators (and Seminoles) fans are all throughout the state, and you'll find plenty in Miami too.
The Hurricanes are maybe more popular in Dade. But for the entire South Florida area, the Dolphins are likely more popular. There is simply more history. Though success is mostly Hurricanes since the 80s.
I suspect you need to be more understanding of the transplants. If you've passionately followed a sports team for decades, you are certainly NOT going to just give up that team and start following another team in a city where you've moved to. If so, you weren't really much of a fan to begin with. Perhaps you don't follow the local teams with the same passion that the transplants follow their teams. That's okay, but don't expect people to change their allegiances at the drop of a hat (and for some, several years is peanuts compared to their life-long allegiance to the team they follow).
That's one perspective, consider the expectations/reception on the reverse of those moving from FL to say NYC or Boston. It's definitely not a two way street.
I suspect you need to be more understanding of the transplants. If you've passionately followed a sports team for decades, you are certainly NOT going to just give up that team and start following another team in a city where you've moved to. If so, you weren't really much of a fan to begin with. Perhaps you don't follow the local teams with the same passion that the transplants follow their teams. That's okay, but don't expect people to change their allegiances at the drop of a hat (and for some, several years is peanuts compared to their life-long allegiance to the team they follow).
I am completely the opposite as a transplant who moved to a new State and City and started to root for the hometown team. Although, I will admit I wasn't really into the Cleveland teams that I grew up around. To me it seems silly to root for the team of the city you moved from. It seems to me that transplants who stay so attached to the place they came from don't last long and boomerang back to their hometowns or States. At least here in Kentucky, where we don't get a lot of transplants, walking around in your former town's team apparel, etc is not looked upon kindly and that person will have a hard time fitting in.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
