When it comes to America’s favorite pastime, sport reigns supreme. Not only playing sports but watching them on television is something people look forward to. We structure our weekend around what time we can catch the game on TV, in person, or in a pinch, follow along with live updates. We all know that hockey is universally loved in Canada and likely the top sport in every province. But what about the United States? We’ve got the top favorite sport in every state, and there’s one clear winner overall.
We know that there are hundreds of different organized sports. Everything from tennis to synchronized swimming, surfing and skiing, are loved, played, and watched by many. Despite this, there are only four top-of-mind for Americans: baseball, basketball, football, and hockey. And out of those, there’s one that takes the lead for America’s most popular sport.
According to MyProtein, about 154 million Americans watch live sports on TV every single month. On top of that, Americans spend $56 billion on tickets each year. Since it’s such a massive industry, the company set to find the favorite sport in every state and the across the country.
Using data collected from Vivid Seats, which showed ticket sales for sports, combined with Wikipedia search volumes, they revealed the nation’s most popular sport overall and broke the data down by state.
The results? There was one very clear and easy winner in football. “Whether it’s NFL or NCAA, football truly is the sport that has Americans rushing for tickets,” they reported. “Looking at the revenue of tickets sold to sporting events in each state, the NFL is the USA’s favorite sporting league, with 19 out of America’s 50 states spending their dollars to attend NFL games.”
A few states that named NFL as its top sport include Alaska, Arizona, Maine, Ohio, Washington, Montana, Florida, and Iowa. The second spot for the most favorite was NCAA football, with 12 states naming this top, including Alabama, Nebraska, Idaho, Oklahoma, Tennessee, and Georgia.
MyProtein
Next up was baseball, specifically the MLB league. There was one surprising state among the 10 that named this sport it’s favorite: Texas. The state that most of us would associate with a huge love of football, the data showed baseball was the top for them.
The fourth spot for favorite sport was a tie with five each for NHL hockey and NBA basketball. Rounding out the list with the fifth spot and one state (Kentucky) was NCAA basketball.
While this year we’ve had to take a huge step back from attending live sporting events, we’re certain that when we get the all-clear green light, they will be just as booming as ever.
For the full results and a breakdown of the favorite sports star in each state, check out MyProtein.
