Sports Team Fandoms that Reach Beyond City Lines

[walby2]

Interesting map. It seems that Canadian NFL allegiances are driven in part by geography, but the bandwagon is a huge factor.

For instance, in Winnipeg, there are a lot of Vikings fans partly due to the proximity of Minneapolis-St. Paul. Many people go down there regularly, and we get their US network feeds up here, so logically they are the "regional" team. There are even a fair number of Vikings season ticket holders in Manitoba who routinely make the drive down to the Metrodome to watch Vikings games (including this well-known Vikings booster: )

Of course, there are tons of bandwagon fans of the Steelers, Packers, Patriots or whomever. But the Vikings are the only team with a true, natural, regional connection to Winnipeg, reinforced by the fact that arguably the greatest coach in franchise history of the Vikings and Winnipeg Blue Bombers is the same guy - Bud Grant.

I'm actually a little surprised that the Bills rank #3 in Toronto given that they are about 1/4 of the way to becoming Toronto's actual home team.

[Billy B]

Big Blue Nation (Kentucky Wildcats) are an easy choice.

Besides your normal spread you have from alumni moving around, I wouldn't say Kentucky is anything special. There are a lot of schools with much bigger alumni bases even.

If you want a college example, you have to go with Notre Dame football.

[wildwing64]

Do fans that live over 5,000 miles away from their favourite teams and in completely different countries count?

For the North American Sports fandom here in the UK, it's very much an individual thing, I've not seen any collections of team fans outside of the English Football fanbases that already exist here, although you do get a lot of Manchester United and Liverpool fans in my area despite West Ham and Arsenal being the more local-ish and prominent teams - although West Ham is by far the most popular team where I live. Weirdly, the city of Chelmsford has a Tottenham Hotspur team store despite being over 30 miles away from where the team is located, and I rarely see any fans of that team about.

Back onto the North American teams and leagues, like I said it's more of an individual thing. You like the sport, pick your favourite team for whatever the reason, and that's that. Some are hardcore fans who follow their chosen teams on a regular basis while a lot more are casual and don't follow their favourite teams much if at all. But no collections or even pockets of particular team fanbases from what I can tell, for example while there are a few of us dotted around, I'm probably the only Ducks fan you'll see in my area for miles around. The Packers, Patriots, Giants and Cowboys seem to be popular picks for the NFL, while the Devils, Lightning, Leafs, Wings and Flyers are the more popular NHL teams.

I'd say in order of league fandom for the big four, it probably goes NFL, NHL, NBA, and MLB. I don't think I've ever met a Major League Baseball fan in this country. You'd think people here were fans of the Yankees based on their logo being on every other person's cap or cheap looking tracksuit, but they exist here as nothing more than a fashion brand. Same applies to the White Sox and Braves, and to the Lakers and Bulls, and now it applies to every other team in every league because of the recent snapback fad that emerged here.

[tBBP]

Theres a pretty big group of Buc fans here in Portland, but I have no idea why.

I have a group of fans in Portland???

[Untytled]

Theres a pretty big group of Buc fans here in Portland, but I have no idea why.

I have a group of fans in Portland???

Yup. Here in Portland, people love the Creamsicles.

[IceCap]

Ah. So it's a hipster thing

[GO2HELL]

Almost all of the "popular" kids who went to my school always picked premier league teams to bandwagon on when they were doing well late in the season. You'll never see someone wearing a Newcastle jersey or a Tottenham Hotspur jersey but you'll see groups of 5-7 people each wearing Man City/Utd, Chelsea, and Arsenal gear. They would be total snobs about it too, I remember one exchange student came here wearing a Hannover 96 jersey and he used to get bitched out by those snobby "fans" who only "support" those teams whenever they would be in the later rounds of the campions league. Hell, last year I wore my Celtic FC jersey the day after my grandad died (Celtic was his life, he bled green and white) and this one jackass Chelsea fan comes up to me and says "Wow Tennents (the sponsor on the front) sucks ass why would you support such an unknown team like that, come support Chelsea, were so much better and you'll look cooler by rooting for a team that people know." The guy actually thought the team name was Tennents just because that's what it says on the front. The Shamrock that has "Celtic football club/1888" on the left of my chest didn't give you any hints? And hey, I know Celtic plays in a league that's considered a joke by some, but I actually make the effort to get up early every Saturday morning (and PVR midweek games at noon) to make sure I catch every, single, game, regardless if its against Barcelona in the Champions League or Ross County in the SPL. Not only that, but I've been doing that for all 18 years I've been alive. That is what being a fan is all about. You don't chose your team, your team chooses you.

[KDubK414]

In the NFL it is definitely the Packers and Cowboys, not just in the states, but the world over. MLB would be Yankees, Cubs, and Dodgers/Giants. In NBA talk, would probably be Lakers, Celtics, Bulls, and Heat. Because they are the only teams that get national exposure, and with the Bulls one word Jordan. In hockey, I don't know that much, but probably the Red Wings.

[DustDevil61]

I'm surprised that no one has yet mentioned the Atlanta Braves from their coverage on TBS (ala the Cubs from WGN). At least guessing from the hats I see here in Utah, I notice quite a few Braves fans (from hats/memorabilia/etc.), along with Dodgers and Angels with some Rockies, Mariners, and Diamondbacks fans. There are a small bunch of St. Louis Cardinals fans (like myself) as well.

For the NFL, the 49ers and Broncos get primary coverage in Utah, though you have some Raiders, Chargers, and Seahawks fans; you'll almost always have a 49ers or Broncos game televised (if it's not primetime). The Colts and Eagles also have their fair share of fans here as well.

Outside the Jazz, NBA fans tend to be bandwagoners for the Lakers, Heat, and Celtics, though there are some actual Trail Blazers fans here. To be fair, transplants also make up a lot of the Lakers and Blazers contingencies, as well.

The NHL isn't big here, but I'd bet that the Kings get (or have gotten) a lot of support because of Salt Lake native Trevor Lewis, with the Avalanche and Bruins also getting some support.

In short, if a Utahn's favorite pro team isn't from Utah, it's likely based in California, Denver, or Seattle.

[officeglenn]

Interesting map. It seems that Canadian NFL allegiances are driven in part by geography, but the bandwagon is a huge factor.

I honestly think that, in Edmonton, the love for Green Bay might also have something to do with the Eskimos also being green and gold. But don't quote me on that.

[illwauk]

This is a screen grab from the Edmonton Sun last month. I had meant to post it in the general NFL thread for :censored:s and giggles, but never got around to it. This seems like a more appropriate place, anyway.

Can't say I'm surprised at Edmonton... they did yank the Packers uniforms, after all.

I'm curious about Regina-Saskatoon though. Roughriders fans are the ones who always seem to get compared to Cheeseheads.

[Raysfan12]

People really root for Kentucky outside of Kentucky? Okay, then...

As much as we like to lambast them, the St. Louis Cardinals are an example of this. Their signal on KMOX carried throughout the midwest and is part of why Cardinals fans can be found throughout the midwest.

Big Blue Nation has a huge following and if I remember one year, they brought a sizable horde to Japan when UK played an exhibition game. St.Louis is another great example when KMOX was throughout the Midwest and in Denver, there are many people who wear St.Louis gear even when there is the Rockies are from.

[KDubK414]

Interesting map. It seems that Canadian NFL allegiances are driven in part by geography, but the bandwagon is a huge factor.

I honestly think that, in Edmonton, the love for Green Bay might also have something to do with the Eskimos also being green and gold. But don't quote me on that.

You are probably right about that. I don't recall, but I think whoever founded the team or owns them now modeled there colors and logo after the Packers to drum up interest. Beat by illwauk

[wildwing64]

Almost all of the "popular" kids who went to my school always picked premier league teams to bandwagon on when they were doing well late in the season. You'll never see someone wearing a Newcastle jersey or a Tottenham Hotspur jersey but you'll see groups of 5-7 people each wearing Man City/Utd, Chelsea, and Arsenal gear.

I must admit, it weirds me out when I see a UK Football team's shirt referred to as a jersey.

I actually make the effort to get up early every Saturday morning (and PVR midweek games at noon) to make sure I catch every, single, game, regardless if its against Barcelona in the Champions League or Ross County in the SPL. Not only that, but I've been doing that for all 18 years I've been alive. That is what being a fan is all about. You don't chose your team, your team chooses you.

Likewise, only it's the other way around as I've stayed up as late as 3am to catch the end of a Ducks game. Messes up my body clock in the process but is totally worth it

[dfwabel]

People really root for Kentucky outside of Kentucky? Okay, then...

As much as we like to lambast them, the St. Louis Cardinals are an example of this. Their signal on KMOX carried throughout the midwest and is part of why Cardinals fans can be found throughout the midwest.

+1. It was not cable tv, it was first radio which created such fanbases specifically in the south. In the 60s there were basically two choices to hear games KMOX (St Louis) or WSB (Atlanta).

[walby2]

Interesting map. It seems that Canadian NFL allegiances are driven in part by geography, but the bandwagon is a huge factor.

I honestly think that, in Edmonton, the love for Green Bay might also have something to do with the Eskimos also being green and gold. But don't quote me on that.

You are probably right about that. I don't recall, but I think whoever founded the team or owns them now modeled there colors and logo after the Packers to drum up interest. Beat by illwauk

Not bloody likely. The Eskimos have had green and gold colours since 1949. The Packers adopted green and gold full time around 1950. I doubt anyone in Edmonton knew who the hell the Green Bay Packers were in those days before football was on television.

+1. It was not cable tv, it was first radio which created such fanbases specifically in the south. In the 60s there were basically two choices to hear games KMOX (St Louis) or WBS (Atlanta).

Agree completely. Those old radio allegiances run deep... my late uncle was North Carolina born and raised, but he always considered himself a Braves fan which surprised me a bit considering the distance. But the Braves were basically regarded as the team of the south.

[GriffinM6]

Easily the biggest out of state boundary fans here for college are Alabama and Miami fans. I've met so many of both, I can't even count. There's also a lot of Yankees fans, but it's the Yankees y'know (the same can be said for the Lakers).

[bucknut40]

I live in Dayton which is 65 miles from Cincinnati compared to 165 from Cleveland. It is mostly dominated by Bengals fans but there is a very good number of Browns fans here, but the Bengals fan base doesn't go much more then Dayton because once I go to Columbus it is completely dominated by Browns fans.

The Reds and Indians is pretty much 50-50

As for Ohio State they dominate the state. You'll go to different parts of the state with MAC teams and those fans will always tell you Ohio State is still there favorite team

[tigerslionspistonshabs]

CBC "Maple Leafed" me here in metro Detroit.

I actually live in Windsor and I can literally see Joe Louis from my living room window, but I'd say it's a 40-40-20 split in town between Wings-Leafs-Habs. Despite being a stonesthrow from Detroit, people must feel they have to be patriotic and cheer for the Canadian team. (Says the Habs fan living in metro Detroit)

[tigerslionspistonshabs]

I've been meaning to ask this for a while, and since it's a related question here goes:

Do fans who live in areas with no pro team who have cheered for a certain team, switch allegiances if a team does come to town? For example, I assume 80% of B-ball fans in Brooklyn were Knicks fans. When the Nets came to town, what happened? (I do realize Brooklyn is in New York City but you get my point).

Also related, do fans of teams keep being fans if a team moves? eg. Supersonics to OKC? Whalers to Carolina? Or do they just wait it out until a team returns if they know one will.