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It's not that simple, however. As lammius noted, most the professional football franchises in the South are much newer compared to those in the North. They are much more embedded in the culture compared to those in the South.
The Patriots played their first season in 1960...not 1910. The Falcons played their first season in 1967. Saints also began in 1967...Tampa in 1976...Dolphins in 1966...Cowboys and Titans (Oilers) in 1960...Redskins in 1932...there are some fairly older southern NFL teams too. Not buying it.
Longevity of a franchise doesn't translate to more fans...depends on the city and the team.
I think it's because the Northeast, historically, has always had a large number of pro teams. Most of the NFL teams in existence in the Northeast have been there since the 1910s, '20s and '30s. For a long time, the Washington Redskins were "the only pro football team in the South." In fact, the Redskins fight song used to end with the line, "Fight for old Dixie!" (It now ends, "Fight for old DC"). It wasn't til the 1960s that other teams started popping up in the South (Dallas, Miami, Atlanta). And only recently that teams have arrived to cities like Charlotte, Jacksonville, Nashville. So while many kids today in the South are growing up with pro teams in their cities, their parents didn't have pro teams around. I believe that's a major reason college and even high school football are "more important" in places like the South than in the Northeast.
I think college football is slowly, very slowly, becoming of more interest in the Northeast. Syracuse (though lousy lately) has always been a big draw. Penn State and Pitt are big. Rutgers (the birthplace of college football) has put a lot into building up its football program in recent years.
Believe it or not, those cities that didn't have pro football had TELEVISIONS. A football fan will latch onto some team and become a fan, even if there isn't a team in that particular city. I grew up in a Redskins household, and lived nowhere near D.C.
College football is huge in Pennsylvania, expecially anything to do with Penn State.
Very true -- that is one notable exception for the Northeast. Still, even then you're going to have a lot of Eagles and Steelers fans that practically divide the state in half.
I feel certain there are A LOT of people out there just like me - a true sports fan - and we can be totally into pro football/basketball/etc and still be a huge college fan too.
The Patriots played their first season in 1960...not 1910. The Falcons played their first season in 1967. Saints also began in 1967...Tampa in 1976...Dolphins in 1966...Cowboys and Titans (Oilers) in 1960...Redskins in 1932...there are some fairly older southern NFL teams too. Not buying it.
Longevity of a franchise doesn't translate to more fans...depends on the city and the team.
I don't agree. You also left out:
Philadelphia Eagles - circa. 1933
New York Giants - circa. 1925
Pittsburgh Steelers - circa. 1933
The longevity of the franchise most certainly does have something to do with the identity of the team in their respective regions. It becomes a tradition, in a sense.
I really don't see what the big debate about this is. It is pretty apparent that pro. football is generally bigger in the North while college football generally rules in the South. Of course there are individual people who are exceptions, but it's nothing to get worked up about -- just a simple cultural difference.
It has a lot to do with where the talent is. The northeast is completely bare when it comes to football talent. Even the midwest, where football is popular, schools choose to come south to Florida and Texas for many of their college players.
This is from 2008, and for just a few examples of how many Division 1 football players were recruited from each state:
New Jersey high schools produced 50
New York high schools produced 24
Massachussetts high schools produced 7
Ohio high schools produced 146
Pennsylvania high schools produced 79
Illinois high schools produced 63
Florida high schools produced 358
Georgia high schools produced 158
Alabama high schools produced 95
Louisiana high schools produced 82
Mississippi high schools produced 74
you get the picture. It is hard for the northeastern schools to compete with their local talent. Boston College has 7 potential in-state prospects to choose from, LSU has 82. You can add up the entire northeast and it is about as talent-rich as the state of Georgia.
Philadelphia Eagles - circa. 1933
New York Giants - circa. 1925
Pittsburgh Steelers - circa. 1933
The longevity of the franchise most certainly does have something to do with the identity of the team in their respective regions. It becomes a tradition, in a sense.
I really don't see what the big debate about this is. It is pretty apparent that pro. football is generally bigger in the North while college football generally rules in the South. Of course there are individual people who are exceptions, but it's nothing to get worked up about -- just a simple cultural difference.
It's just as big in the South...we love our teams just as much. What makes you think pro football is bigger there? If it wasn't popular, the Georgia Dome wouldn't be sold out every Sunday...
Ohio does get some players from Florida, but most of our talent stays in Ohio.
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The Falcons played their first season in 1967. Saints also began in 1967...Tampa in 1976...Dolphins in 1966...Cowboys and Titans (Oilers) in 1960...Redskins in 1932...there are some fairly older southern NFL teams too. Not buying it.
