NFL Fandom Map
September 5, 2014 11:46 AM   Subscribe

 
Southwest CT is full of heretics.
posted by TWinbrook8 at 11:51 AM on September 5, 2014 [3 favorites]


It'd be interesting to see the map skewed for population density.
posted by codacorolla at 11:55 AM on September 5, 2014 [1 favorite]


I would also like to see how a 2nd place map would compare.
posted by Blisterlips at 11:56 AM on September 5, 2014


Here's last year's fandom map, for comparison. It looks like the Ohio franchises have expanded their fandom, for one thing.
posted by Small Dollar at 11:58 AM on September 5, 2014


What's the story with the spotty green crescent of Packers fans in the Great Plains?
posted by Iridic at 12:00 PM on September 5, 2014


WOOOOOOO COWBOYS WOO
posted by resurrexit at 12:01 PM on September 5, 2014 [1 favorite]


Direct link to a bigger version.

I always knew Flagler County, Florida was a goddammed garbage pit, and now I have proof.
posted by saladin at 12:03 PM on September 5, 2014 [2 favorites]


I consider myself a tiny, cold, and lonely blip of Honolulu Blue and Silver just to the north of that vast swath of Vikings purple. This is our year.

I hope... Please?
posted by WinnipegDragon at 12:13 PM on September 5, 2014 [2 favorites]


What's the story with the spotty green crescent of Packers fans in the Great Plains?

Holdover of historical success (or at least popularity) from the days when there were fewer teams, combined with "We're not Minnesotans here in Iowa/Nebraska/Montana, so we're going to root for the Vikings' rivals." Same reason for those microbursts of Cowboys fandom all over the place and the Steelers arc from Florida to Ohio.
posted by Etrigan at 12:17 PM on September 5, 2014 [2 favorites]


I don't think there are random counties where everyone is suddenly a Cowboys fan. Instead, there appears to be a small but somewhat constant underlying percentage of Cowboys (and in the Midwest, Packers) fans across the country that only makes up a plurality when nobody cares enough about any other team to overwhelm it.
posted by theodolite at 12:21 PM on September 5, 2014 [3 favorites]


Interesting in that all my south Louisiana friends say the northern Louisianans are Cowboys fans (technically worse than them being Baptist, at least in the eyes of the southern Catholics)--not according to these maps. Maybe historically they were, at least prior to the Saints' recent successes?
posted by resurrexit at 12:21 PM on September 5, 2014 [1 favorite]


Looks like only the Cardinals, Broncos, Seahawks, Vikings, Patriots, and Saints (WHO DAT) have their home states on lock. I am especially grateful to those Jags fans that keep the Falcons from owning all of Georgia.

I too would like to see this as some sort of cartogram with the population of each county being taken into account.
posted by komara at 12:22 PM on September 5, 2014


I would be say this is your year WinnipegDragon, but I'd be Lion.
posted by resurrexit at 12:22 PM on September 5, 2014 [2 favorites]


I'm wondering about that single block of Raiders fans in Modoc (MODOK? Is AIM full of Raiders fans?) County admidst all that Niners red. The singletons in the middle of an otherwise solid mass are the most intriguing to me, I think.
posted by Tknophobia at 12:25 PM on September 5, 2014 [1 favorite]


resurrexit: I hear that Cowboys fans are still up there in northern Louisiana, and even in some of the westernmost parishes, but apparently the Saints have the plurality. Or, let's be honest - the majority, because I can't imagine anyone in this state rooting for any other teams at all.

(though deep down in my heart I too have a soft spot for the Lions. C'mon, buddies! You can do it! Just ... think big, or something.)
posted by komara at 12:26 PM on September 5, 2014


I don't think there are random counties where everyone is suddenly a Cowboys fan. Instead, there appears to be a small but somewhat constant underlying percentage of Cowboys (and in the Midwest, Packers) fans across the country that only makes up a plurality when nobody cares enough about any other team to overwhelm it.

Basically the same as the background noise of Yankees/Red Sox fandom in the New York Times baseball map.
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 12:27 PM on September 5, 2014


Franklin County, Ohio should be either scarlet or grey for the Ohio State Buckeyes, the professional football team of Columbus.
posted by me3dia at 12:33 PM on September 5, 2014 [6 favorites]


I don't give a fig about football, but if I did, I would be a Jets fan, just like I'm a Mets fan, just like I'm an Islanders fan. We are a sad, bedraggled people.
posted by uncleozzy at 12:34 PM on September 5, 2014 [4 favorites]


I cannot WAIT until that burgundy area in the Mid-Atlantic just says "DC's NFL team" or something.
posted by argonauta at 12:34 PM on September 5, 2014 [5 favorites]


I'd love to see that broken down by population. And also to see the breakdowns by county. What team has the fewest fans?
posted by leotrotsky at 12:34 PM on September 5, 2014


some sort of cartogram with the population of each county being taken into account

I think that given a total number of individuals queried for the project, then compared by county would give a more accurate depiction of the fan population. Ostensibly, there are people within those areas who either express no interest in football or are closet rivals in fear of being outed.
posted by jsavimbi at 12:35 PM on September 5, 2014


There were a lot of Cowboys fans in Phoenix until the Arizona Cardinals came around. And for quite a while after, too. They were on TV all the time, America's Team, and all.

komara: Looks like only the Cardinals, Broncos, Seahawks, Vikings, Patriots, and Saints (WHO DAT) have their home states on lock.

Packers, too.

I also find it interesting that only the Broncos, 49ers, Cowboys, Patriots and maybe the Seahawks (if the light grey in the islands of Alaska means "no data" rather than some other team) have a non-home state, and that two of those teams are not on the above list.
posted by mountmccabe at 12:38 PM on September 5, 2014


More generally, I really wish the mapmakers had used silver for the Cowboys so it was easier to tell them apart from the Giants and Colts. Hard to tell for sure what's going on in Virginia and Kentucky.
posted by me3dia at 12:40 PM on September 5, 2014 [1 favorite]


jsavimbi: I think that given a total number of individuals queried for the project,

I thought no one was specifically queried? It looks like this is just based on Facebook likes per county. As in if you "like" an NFL team's page on Facebook that like was counted. Is there something I missed?
posted by mountmccabe at 12:42 PM on September 5, 2014


Looks like only the Cardinals, Broncos, Seahawks, Vikings, Patriots, and Saints (WHO DAT) have their home states on lock.

Considering that each of the teams above are the only team in their state, I would say that the Cowboys do have Texas on lock since the only counties that aren't Cowboys fans are the Texans fans near Houston.
posted by LizBoBiz at 12:43 PM on September 5, 2014


What team has the fewest fans?

I don't have the true answer but I can tell you that a few months ago I checked all 32 teams' twitter accounts and the Cardinals have the fewest followers by far. What that says about them and their fans, I can't tell you.
posted by komara at 12:44 PM on September 5, 2014


"Considering that each of the teams above are the only team in their state"

So what does that mean for teams like the Falcons and Panthers that can't even capture their entire state?


(It means that they are Saints division rivals and I take whatever opportunities are handed to me to rag on them, I guess. Also, I'm pretty sure there's another team in our division but I just can't remember who it is ...)
posted by komara at 12:48 PM on September 5, 2014 [1 favorite]


All five boroughs for Big Blue! Boo-yeah!
posted by jonmc at 12:53 PM on September 5, 2014


Seventeen years of mediocrity have done a hell of a lot of damage to the Cowboys. There was probably a point where they would've been much better represented on this map. (And no person in the world deserves it more than Jerrah.)
posted by graymouser at 12:53 PM on September 5, 2014


SAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAIIIIIIINTSSSSSSSS
posted by echocollate at 12:54 PM on September 5, 2014 [2 favorites]


Hard to tell for sure what's going on in Virginia and Kentucky.

As someone who's lived in both states now, I concur, it's hard to tell what's going on in either state.

Go Browns!! Go!! It's our year!!! Johnny Football!!!!
posted by The Almighty Mommy Goddess at 12:55 PM on September 5, 2014


Also, the places where my Eagles win out explains a great deal about both New Jersey and Pennsylvania.
posted by graymouser at 12:56 PM on September 5, 2014 [1 favorite]


Also, I'm pretty sure there's another team in our division but I just can't remember who it is ...

Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Or were you being saucy? You were being saucy weren't you.
posted by echocollate at 12:56 PM on September 5, 2014 [1 favorite]


Now that I look, every team west of the Mississippi that has no other NFL teams in its state owns its state. There are five more single team states in the west. The only teams east of the Mississippi that have their own state are the Packers - Wisconsin is just east - and the Patriots - who have a lock on all of New England.

The West is newer, the boundaries mean something still. The East is old and a mess; state boundaries don't mean as much.


Though maybe I am just overstating and it is better explained by team density.
posted by mountmccabe at 1:04 PM on September 5, 2014 [1 favorite]


"The massive Broncos amoeba is extending its reach" is a sentence I like to read.
posted by scody at 1:12 PM on September 5, 2014 [2 favorites]


The only teams east of the Mississippi that have their own state are the Packers - Wisconsin is just east - and the Patriots - who have a lock on all of New England.

The Ravens also look to have a lock on Maryland - you'd think they'd be more popular in Virginia or West Virginia, or steal a little of southern Jersey from da Iggles, considering their no-longer-new tradition of being one of the teams in it every year.
posted by Slap*Happy at 1:33 PM on September 5, 2014 [1 favorite]


I'm impressed that the Cardinals have Arizona and only Arizona.
posted by ckape at 1:40 PM on September 5, 2014


The Ravens also look to have a lock on Maryland - you'd think they'd be more popular in Virginia or West Virginia, or steal a little of southern Jersey from da Iggles, considering their no-longer-new tradition of being one of the teams in it every year.

They certainly don't. MoCo and PG County are all Redskins fans.
posted by leotrotsky at 1:41 PM on September 5, 2014


I don't think there are random counties where everyone is suddenly a Cowboys fan. Instead, there appears to be a small but somewhat constant underlying percentage of Cowboys (and in the Midwest, Packers) fans across the country that only makes up a plurality when nobody cares enough about any other team to overwhelm it.

Actually, most of those counties that appear as isolated Cowboys zones contain a military base.
posted by zeugitai_guy at 1:47 PM on September 5, 2014 [2 favorites]


The Ravens win a few hearts in Jersey because Flacco is from Audubon (a few towns out from Philly), but South Jersey is strongly oriented toward Philadelphia. I think we're considered a secondary market for the Giants, which means we get any Giants game, but other than that it's just whoever happens to be on the West Coast (4:30 PM EST) and prime time games. You'd probably have an easier time following the Broncos from here than the Ravens.
posted by graymouser at 1:48 PM on September 5, 2014 [1 favorite]


I'm pretty sure southern virginia likes the redskins more now because it's the racist thing to do this year.
posted by empath at 1:50 PM on September 5, 2014 [2 favorites]


Yeah, the TV maps play a big role, especially back in the day. You tend to be a fan of the team you can watch every week.
posted by Drinky Die at 1:51 PM on September 5, 2014 [3 favorites]


Seems rather skewed since it's based on how many FB "likes" a team receives.
posted by CancerMan at 1:53 PM on September 5, 2014


Comparing the 2013 and 2014 data, Alaska has really jumped on the Seahawks bandwagon.

They go from only majority supporting the Seahawks in a smattering of southern areas, to essentially complete Seahawks support in one year.
posted by striatic at 1:56 PM on September 5, 2014


Americans. They're the Washington Americans. Not that other name.
posted by You Can't Tip a Buick at 1:57 PM on September 5, 2014


Yikes, yeah - TV probably has a lot more to do with it than local culture. (On the other hand, Yankees caps are everywhere in Providence - they may be second only to the Red Sox, but they're not a distant second, despite no local game broadcasts, TV or radio. The Nutmeg Line is not impenetrable.)
posted by Slap*Happy at 1:58 PM on September 5, 2014


Actually, most of those counties that appear as isolated Cowboys zones contain a military base.

zeugitai_guy is right -- Fort Riley, Kansas (the enclave in the middle-right); Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri; Fort Knox, Kentucky; Malmstrom Air Force Base, Montana; Mountain Home Air Force Base, Idaho; Creech and Nellis Air Force Bases, Nevada; Fort Lee, Virginia (middle-bottom) -- those are all pretty well-populated bases (compared to the area, in some cases).
posted by Etrigan at 2:00 PM on September 5, 2014


(Omg I just had an idea: Sooooo, the DC NFL team's colors are burgundy and gold, right? The team's new name could be the Washington Rons. It'd be The Rons Burgundy for those of us with a sense of humor... and we'll let all the other people THINK it's for Ronald Reagan (like the name they foisted upon National Airport, the fokkers). Can't figure out what to do for the new logo, though. Maybe one of those things that looks like a vase one way and two people kissing another way... but this time with a pomade-headed Gipper-ish football player's silhouette that also looks like a lovable lamp. (Or a whale's vagina.) I admit that this proposal might need some additional thinking-through.)
posted by argonauta at 2:15 PM on September 5, 2014


I've occasionally wondered whether the team name makes a difference, specifically the location part, in whether people are fans. I always assumed it would help to be named for the state instead of the city, but looking at the map I don't know that it makes a whole lot of difference.
posted by ckape at 2:17 PM on September 5, 2014


It looks like Florida and Kentucky have the most teams represented at 7 each.

Florida:
Three native teams: Dolphins, Bucs, Jaguars
The Saints in the panhandle
The Cowboys (right?) in 5 scattered counties.
And maybe the Steelers in Liberty and the Packers in Dixie? I'm not sure about those team IDs.

Kentucky:
Four neighboring teams: Bengals, Colts, Titans, Bears
The Steelers with a patch in the east plus other scattered counties.
The Cowboys in 14 scattered counties.
And Green Co. (in the center) may be the Packers?

Next appears to be Iowa with 5 teams.
posted by mountmccabe at 2:26 PM on September 5, 2014


Go Browns!! Go!! It's our year!!! Johnny Football!!!!
posted by The Almighty Mommy Goddess at 12:55 PM on September 5


God bless you, you poor woman.

On the multiple states issue, they are in fairness the New England Patriots; since they claim all states they're merely meeting expectations there. Also, Drew Magery is doing an amusing "why your team sucks" series on deadspin at the mo, he's about halfway through so you favorite is likely to already be represented.
posted by Diablevert at 2:54 PM on September 5, 2014 [1 favorite]


Looks like only the Cardinals, Broncos, Seahawks, Vikings, Patriots, and Saints (WHO DAT) have their home states on lock

It's touch and go in Minnesota. There's a strong minority of Packer fans and goddamn, are they loud and annoying. It's bad enough being a Viking fan without having to put up with some of the most self-righteous sanctimonious assholes this side of Cubs fans (we love being a lovable loser - oh fuck you!). I respect the Pack as a well-run organization but their transplanted fans can go off a cliff.
posted by Ber at 2:56 PM on September 5, 2014


Oh come on, you know the majority of respondents in Oklahoma answered "Sooners."
posted by Navelgazer at 2:57 PM on September 5, 2014


I always assumed it would help to be named for the state instead of the city, but looking at the map I don't know that it makes a whole lot of difference.

And for your confounding variable, may I present the Houston Texans?

Also, my poor Chargers. They really just barely have a lock on San Diego County (Imperial hardly counts). San Diego: where the fans are less reliable than the weather by far.
posted by librarylis at 3:11 PM on September 5, 2014 [3 favorites]


Oh come on, you know the majority of respondents in Oklahoma answered "Sooners."

Totally. I also can't help but imagine that any given Alabama county would take about 10 likes maximum to put a pro team over the edge, because if it's not Auburn or the Crimson Tide then it ain't football.
posted by saladin at 3:12 PM on September 5, 2014 [1 favorite]


It's interesting, because if I had to pick a single team that would be likely to disband and move to LA or London, it definitely wouldn't be the Jets. Instead I'd probably go with the Jaguars, who actually have a little foothold around Jacksonville.
posted by codacorolla at 3:34 PM on September 5, 2014


I feel like a lot of Louisiana is the same re: college football and LSU. Certainly the Saints are IT in New Orleans, but I'm pretty sure the more rural areas are all about LSU.
posted by Night_owl at 3:48 PM on September 5, 2014


It's lonely being a Giants fan in Bills country. But at least I'm not a Jets fan.
posted by tommasz at 3:51 PM on September 5, 2014


Bah, I say. BAH!

Statistically speaking, no one who is both 1) south of Paducah, KY -and- 2) east of the Mississippi River gives two shakes of a rat's tail about the NFL unless they're transplants (and may God bless their hearts...). Make this a county by county map about college football and then it'll be interesting to me, until then: Bah.

In summation: Humbug! *shakes fist*
posted by 1f2frfbf at 4:27 PM on September 5, 2014


On the multiple states issue, they are in fairness the New England Patriots; since they claim all states they're merely meeting expectations there.

Every state in New England has its own, distinct culture, and they are united in only three things:

1) Every other New England state besides ours is filled with criminals, the criminally insane, dullards, bumpkins, fools and people of only the most contemptible and low sort.

2) New York is worse.

3) Everything south of Connecticut and west of Vermont is New York.
posted by Slap*Happy at 4:53 PM on September 5, 2014 [2 favorites]


Also, Drew Magery is doing an amusing "why your team sucks" series on deadspin at the mo, he's about halfway through so you favorite is likely to already be represented.
posted by Diablevert


He finished yesterday before the first game actually. They capped it off with a "Why Deadspin Sucks" article by Chris Kluwe the old vikings punter.
posted by Carillon at 4:59 PM on September 5, 2014



Go Browns!! Go!! It's our year!!! Johnny Football!!!!


Oh, I wish, but I refuse to to hope anymore, I remember caring about such things back in the 80s. However, if I have to hear Johnny Football every 5 minutes during what Browns games I'm allowed to get here in Titans territory I may have to so on a smackdown tour of NFL announcers. Maybe I'll look and see if I have my old "dawg" tags to mightly smite down the scourge of over-nickname-itis.
posted by dawg-proud at 5:45 PM on September 5, 2014


Also, Drew Magery is doing an amusing "why your team sucks" series on deadspin at the mo, he's about halfway through so you favorite is likely to already be represented.

His Colts article was dead on, unfortunately.
posted by Pope Guilty at 7:49 PM on September 5, 2014


From the aforementioned Deadspin "Why Your Team Sucks" article -

Some people are fans of the New England Patriots. But many, many more people are NOT fans of the New England Patriots. This 2014 Deadspin NFL team preview is for those in the latter group.

Chicken! If I have to march into the sports bar in my wife's hometown on Thanksgiving weekend to catch the Pats game, with the Brewski jersey and the '04 Superb Owl cap, and force myself not to choke the scrawny neck of the first "Cheatriots" asshole I come across, he can aim the article right at me. I can take it, bro.

(Reads article)

Umm. Well. I wouldn't say he's exactly a blue, white and silver homer, but, y'know... if you're fantasizing about Tom Brady being a supermodel's sex slave immediately after breezing right past the Tuck Rule with a single sentence, you may not be as much of a Pats-hater as you think you are. Trust me. I've had Discussions on the topic. Involving bar stools put to ill use.
posted by Slap*Happy at 8:21 PM on September 5, 2014


Wow, you really do love the Patriots. How's your side-job as an NFL ref, Slap*Happy?
posted by codacorolla at 8:23 PM on September 5, 2014 [9 favorites]


Now that's how it's done!
posted by Slap*Happy at 8:24 PM on September 5, 2014 [1 favorite]


Does Northern Alabama just hate the Titans or what? It's like a freaking redneck Gandalf all up in that part of the country with the Titans as the Balrog and my fellow Alabamainites being pretty much "Thou shall not pass!" up in this state.

Wut.
posted by RolandOfEld at 8:33 PM on September 5, 2014


Also, maybe things have changed, but I feel like more of northern Indiana should be Bears territory- I grew up there and the Colts were basically friendless. Might've changed in the last decade.
posted by Pope Guilty at 8:44 PM on September 5, 2014


Peyton certainly would have helped build up that fanbase.
posted by Drinky Die at 9:04 PM on September 5, 2014


I imagine Andrew Luck's driving a good portion of it, too.
posted by Pope Guilty at 10:11 PM on September 5, 2014


"Statistically speaking, no one who is both 1) south of Paducah, KY -and- 2) east of the Mississippi River gives two shakes of a rat's tail about the NFL unless they're transplants..."

Heh, New Orleans is south of Paducah and east of the Misissippi and has the highest percentage of televisions tuned to The Game of any NFL city.

Fuck the Falcons.
posted by vapidave at 11:39 PM on September 5, 2014 [4 favorites]


I'm surprised the northern retirees don't seem to have any impact in Florida. On the baseball map, they push the native teams out along the coast.
posted by smackfu at 4:17 AM on September 6, 2014


Also, Drew Magery is doing an amusing "why your team sucks" series on deadspin at the mo, he's about halfway through so you favorite is likely to already be represented.

Oh god, that takedown of my Saints was hilariously accurate. I love this man.
posted by echocollate at 7:47 AM on September 6, 2014 [1 favorite]


It's crazy that the Raiders don't even take Alameda county. There are members of my family in the East Bay that do not speak to members of my family in Frisco during football season.
posted by Slarty Bartfast at 8:13 AM on September 6, 2014 [1 favorite]


...nowhere is home for a Jets fan.

We are everywhere. We live in the shadows, we shun the light. We give blood sacrifice to the god Namath. We wait. We have all the time in the world. We are Legion.
posted by Splunge at 10:24 AM on September 6, 2014 [2 favorites]


"Heh, New Orleans is south of Paducah and east of the Misissippi and has the highest percentage of televisions tuned to The Game of any NFL city."

C'mon, you know that The South stops about 20 miles north of New Orleans. I don't think half the people here could spell SEC but they can sure spell WHO DAT.
posted by komara at 11:40 AM on September 6, 2014 [1 favorite]


I wish they'd not used the name of the Washington team. We need to get rid of that. Then the Cleveland baseball mascot.
posted by persona au gratin at 6:34 PM on September 6, 2014


We are everywhere. We live in the shadows, we shun the light. We give blood sacrifice to the god Namath. We wait. We have all the time in the world. We are Legion.

Is that you George RR Martin?
posted by echocollate at 7:08 AM on September 7, 2014


Idaho and Montana must have been awkward places to be during the last Super Bowl.
posted by spinifex23 at 9:29 AM on September 7, 2014


echocollate: "We are everywhere. We live in the shadows, we shun the light. We give blood sacrifice to the god Namath. We wait. We have all the time in the world. We are Legion.

Is that you George RR Martin?
"

In my dreams.
posted by Splunge at 1:51 PM on September 7, 2014


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