Wilkes Bare-Scranton/NE PA Fan/City Loyalty (Philadelphia, Pittsburgh: home, neighborhood)

[bluecountry]

I’m curious about the sports and city affiliations of Wilkes Bare-Scranton.
It seems to me this town is in an odd region of PA, it’s not that far from Philly but its closer to NY. Not only that it has nearby the AAA team of the Yankees and AHL Penguins.
I’m curious about what the fan loyalty is for Wilkes Bare-Scranton and NE PA region.

1) First, which sports are followed most loyally and in what order?
-NFL, MLB, NHL, NCAA FBALL, Basketball, NBA?

2) Who do people in NE PA tend to go by?
-Are they loyal to NY teams, Philly teams, PIT teams, or a broad mix between all three?
-How is it determined and is there a lot of criss crossing….people who like the Yankees/Eagles/Penguins?

3) A word about criss crossers, I personally despise that notion, I can’t see how somebody can root for a NY then a Philly team then PIT team, it makes a lot more sense to go by cities all or none given the dislike between all three, or competitiveness.

4) Which teams games do you get on TV and are covered in the papers for the NFL, MLB, NHL, and NBA?

5) Is the region pretty consistent with the dominant sports and teams followed or does it vary considerably based on how good each team is during the last couple of seasons?

Thanks.

[CHS89]

MLB: The area is overwhelmingly Yankee loyal. It has a lot to do with the fact that our fathers and grandfathers grew up as Yankee fans, and the Yankees haven't exactly been slouches in the win department over the years. NEPA has it's share of Phillies and Mets fans, based on proximity, and I've been a Sox fan for years who's noticed an increase of fair-weather fans, but this is definately Yankee country.

NFL: Iggles and Jints fans, probably most often, again because of proximity and parental loyalties carrying over. Growing up, the neighborhood kids liked either the Cowboys or Steelers, never both. That had a lot to do with who was in the Super Bowl most often. I'm sure many 40-ish year olds like the Packers, and the 20-something crowd has a soft spot for the 49ers for similar reasons.

NCAAFB: Probably a pretty even split between PSU and ND.

I'll let others touch on the other sports.

As for "criss-crossers", in the age of free agency, it's very hard to be loyal to a particular city's team nowadays. The Brooklyn Dodgers and NY Yankees of the 50s had the same teams year after year. In recent years, you rarely have the same basic personell one year to the next. NY did, and they were successful (when younger), and Atlanta ruled the NL East with basically the same team for over 10 years.

[bluecountry]

About the NHL?

Are there many people who like NY in one sport, PHI and PIT in another do most go for one city?

[CHS89]

The NHL isn't terribly popular in the region. That's not to say that there aren't fans locally, but in the US as a whole, it's just not followed as closely as the NFL, MLB, or even the NBA. That said, I'd guess most people would claim a loyalty to the Pittsburgh Penguins, because of the minor league team in Wilkes Barre.

And again, the days of loyalty to all the teams from one city are probably long gone. Sure, you'll find Yankee and Giant fans, but is anyone really going to admit to being a fan of the Knicks? Unless they're all winning in a particular year, or at least all competetive, it's one city for baseball, one city for football, one city for basketball, etc. I've yet to meat a die hard Cowboys/Rangers/Mavericks/Stars fan, for example. I've never been to Texas, though.

[NYRangers 2008]

The NHL isn't as popular in this region as the AHL because of the WB/Scranton Penguins. There are so many diehard Baby Pens fans in NEPA, not all of them are fans of the NHL or Pittsburgh Penguins. As for myself I'm a fan of the New York Rangers and the New York Mets, because I'm originally from New York. I also enjoy going to Baby Pens games mostly because I'm a huge hockey fan. I have friends around here who like the Philadelphia Flyers, Pittsburgh Penguins, New Jersey Devils and Rangers. The same in baseball and football. I know a lot of Steelers fans, Eagles fans and Giant and Jets fans. They are a lot of Yankee fans up here. But a lot of people like the Phillies and Mets also. I guess it comes down to personal preference. I know a guy from work who likes the Steelers and Yankees and he's originally from right here in NEPA. So I guess in an area like this, where there's so many major league teams nearby, it's ok to like teams from multiple markets.

[FightinPhils]

Originally Posted by bluecountry

I’m curious about the sports and city affiliations of Wilkes Bare-Scranton.
It seems to me this town is in an odd region of PA, it’s not that far from Philly but its closer to NY. Not only that it has nearby the AAA team of the Yankees and AHL Penguins.
I’m curious about what the fan loyalty is for Wilkes Bare-Scranton and NE PA region.

1) First, which sports are followed most loyally and in what order?
-NFL, MLB, NHL, NCAA FBALL, Basketball, NBA?

2) Who do people in NE PA tend to go by?
-Are they loyal to NY teams, Philly teams, PIT teams, or a broad mix between all three?
-How is it determined and is there a lot of criss crossing….people who like the Yankees/Eagles/Penguins?

3) A word about criss crossers, I personally despise that notion, I can’t see how somebody can root for a NY then a Philly team then PIT team, it makes a lot more sense to go by cities all or none given the dislike between all three, or competitiveness.

4) Which teams games do you get on TV and are covered in the papers for the NFL, MLB, NHL, and NBA?

5) Is the region pretty consistent with the dominant sports and teams followed or does it vary considerably based on how good each team is during the last couple of seasons?

Thanks.

NEPA is strange when it comes to sports. For baseball, the area is pretty much Yankees and Phillies, and some Red Sox fans here and there. This pretty much comes from the fact that we're about 120 miles west of NYC, 120 miles north of Philly. The Red Sox connection is the fact that until the 1950s or 60s, Scranton was the home of the Boston Red Sox Eastern League minor league affiliate. Their stadium was on the site of the current Price Chopper on Monroe Ave in Dunmore. As far as football, the area is pretty much a split between the Eagles and the Steelers. The New York football teams don't have a big following in Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. Maybe they do in the Poconos. College football around here is pretty much Penn State and Notre Dame (Irish is the predominant ethnic background, at least in Scranton). This area was never much of a hockey town until the Penguins came to town, and because of the minor league team here, many became Pittsburgh fans. You will find some Flyers fans here as well. Most of the area's Flyers fans were hockey fans before we had a hockey team here.

Personally, I am Eagles and Phillies fan. I never felt much of a connection to New York, and combined with the fact that I have relatives in Philly, and the company my father worked for when I was growing up had season tickets to the Eagles and Phillies, pretty much made me into a Philly fan....although I don't really get much into basketball or hockey. I grew up a Notre Dame fan (I'm Irish Catholic), but I went to Penn State, so I'm pretty much split between the two.