Are You Ready For Some (Maps About) Football?
Americans have a lot to consider when choosing where to buy a home, and that goes double for football fans. There may be a great job offer in another state, but is it worth leaving your favorite hometown team to live amongst rival fans in a media market that doesn’t show your team each week? Here at Estately, we want home buyers to have all the information they need to buy the perfect home, so we’ve included ten maps that shed light on where people can find fellow fans of their team, and which states are hostile territory. We crunched Facebook user data to measure interest in each college and NFL team in each state.
Here are some takeaways from the map above of each state’s favorite NFL team…
- Either all the snowbirds who fly south for the winter bring their football allegiances with them, or else Florida football fans just don’t root for the home team. These are the most popular NFL teams in Florida: 1st—Patriots, 2nd—Dolphins, 3rd—Buccaneers, 4th—Broncos, 5th—Eagles, … … 11th—Jaguars.
- Perhaps the state of Missouri has never let go of the long departed Arizona Cardinals, or else Facebook algorithms have a glitch that miscounts MLB’s St. Louis Cardinals as the NFL’s Arizona Cardinals. Either way, the state doesn’t have much love for the Rams, and the Chiefs fans are split between Missouri and Kansas.
- Nebraska can’t decide between the New England Patriots and the Green Bay Packers, but they have decided not to root for NFL teams that don’t make frequent appearances in the playoffs.
- Sorry, Rex Ryan. Residents of New York and New Jersey both prefer the Giants over the Jets.
- Broncos fans inhabit high elevations, even beyond Colorado.
When it comes to bragging rights, Texas is still Longhorns country, Alabama leans heavily to the Crimson Tide, and Florida State is still short on fans compared to rival Florida. Regardless of who your favorite team is, the most upsetting aspect of this map is that Alaska doesn’t have a college football team. Sure, it’s a perpetual frozen tundra, but it’s still America.
Ten Most Popular College Football Teams
- Florida Gators
- Alabama Crimson Tide
- Texas Longhorns
- L.S.U. Tigers
- Pittsburgh Panthers
- Maryland Terrapins
- Auburn Tigers
- Wisconsin Badgers
- Ohio State Buckeyes
- Tennessee Volunteers
There were some interesting takeaways from this…
- There is a Cowboy Belt that spans from coast to coast.
- Buffalo Bills fans have migrated in large numbers to Washington state, or perhaps large numbers of Seahawks fans switched allegiances a few years back in what amounts to a tragic miscalculation.
- Oddly, the Broncos are a popular in Massachusetts and the Patriots are popular in Denver.
- The dirty bird dance is popular in Minnesota.
- The second favorite Manning in Louisiana must be Eli Manning, not Peyton Manning.
- The Miami Dolphins should move to Alabama because there are a higher percentage of fans there than in Florida.
- In the battle between the Seattle Seahawks and San Francisco 49ers for the hearts of Oregon residents, the Seattle Seahawks are definitely winning.
Despite an improved defense, actual hope in rookie quarterback Blake Bortles, and stadium hot tubs, almost nobody likes the Jacksonville Jaguars. They have the fewest fans of any team and are at the bottom in all but 11 states. Even worse, they’re the 11th most popular team in Florida, their home state.
Other noteworthy takeaways from this…
- North Carolina loathes the San Francisco 49ers, the favorite team of their neighbor South Carolina.
- Seahawks fans in Washington State have not let go of their old AFC West rivalries. The Evergreen State is remains inhospitable to Raiders fans, and locals still wear their Raiders busters shirts with pride.
- Were it not for America’s disdain for the Jacksonville Jaguars this map would be filled with Houston Texans and St. Louis Rams logos.
Despite Jerry Jones’ earnest attempts to torpedo the Dallas Cowboys year after year, the Dallas Cowboys remain “America’s Team” thanks to the largest fan base in the country. However, can this popularity continue after three consecutive 8-8 seasons? If the team’s mediocrity continues they may lose their title to the rival Philadelphia Eagles. Chip Kelly’s offense is winning fans around the country. The only way to stop the Eagles’ rise is to start winning championships again, or else draft Troy Aikmen again in 2015.
The 8 Most Popular NFL Teams In America
- Dallas Cowboys
- Philadelphia Eagles
- Pittsburgh Steelers
- New England Patriots
- Denver Broncos
- New Orleans Saints
- Chicago Bears
- San Francisco 49ers
While the Raiders haven’t enjoyed success on the field lately, the silver and black remains popular around the country, and not just in state penitentiaries. Surprisingly, there are a higher percentage of Raiders fans in Wisconsin than in California. Perhaps this is how kids in Wisconsin rebel against their parents?
The feud between Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman and 49ers wide receiver Michael Crabtree is well documented, but Sherman is definitely the more popular player. Don’t you ever talk about him being unpopular.
Some people spend hours tromping through marshes in hopes of catching a glimpse of a blue-footed booby. Others spend hours assembling an imaginary football team in their basement? Ask yourself, which type of people do you want to live next door to?
It seems the Tim Tebow experiment in the N.F.L. has come to an end, but that doesn’t mean the Heisman Trophy winner isn’t loved in certain pockets of America. He remains popular in the South, but not in the Northeast, or in California and Nevada.
A low level of interest in the NFL is understandable in states lacking an NFL team, but Florida (3 teams), California (3 teams), and Missouri (2 teams) have absolutely no excuse.
HERE’S WHAT AMERICA GOOGLES ABOUT THE NFL’S BIGGEST STARS
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Estately is a national online real estate search site whose articles have been featured in the The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, CNET, San Francisco Chronicle, Time, GeekWire, The Denver Post, and more.
