101 replies to this topic

[Mark Carver]

Q: What is your favorite professional sports league?

 

MLB: 30%
NFL: 25%
NBA: 10%
NHL: 8%
MLS: 2%
Other: 13%
Not sure: 12%

 

http://www.remingtonresearchgroup.com/

[bnickle]

Baseball is back to being my favorite sport. Was my favorite growing up but football and even college basketball passed it for awhile.

[SportsGuy]

It has stayed my favorite...but my love of football and CBB hasn’t diminished.

[Mike in STL]

Baseball has always been my favorite.

[mweb08]

What were the numbers from prior years?

Regardless, the headline is not actually true. Baseball has been chosen by the most people as their favorite in this survey, but that isn't the same as it being the most popular sport.

[mweb08]

MLB is hard for me to rank because there is such a gulf between my fandom of the O's and the rest of the league.

In terms of following and watching my favorite team, baseball might be #1 for me. However, in terms of watching regular season games that don't involve the O's, baseball is nowhere close to being first.

The NBA is my favorite overall.

[MDtransplant757]

Baseball always has been, and probably will continue to be my favorite sport. 

[Mackus]

I am more passionate and care more about the Orioles than any other team or sport I follow. 

 

But like Weber said, I'm more likely to sit and watch a random football or basketball game than I am a random baseball game.

[BSLChrisStoner]

What were the numbers from prior years?

Regardless, the headline is not actually true. Baseball has been chosen by the most people as their favorite in this survey, but that isn't the same as it being the most popular sport.

 

Don't know the overall numbers... but I saw this headline several days ago somewhere else.  That article pointed to a significant drop in the NFL year-over-year, pointing to the protests as the primary reason.

 

 

Guess my take is that people might currently be angered by the NFL, or down on the NFL (their ratings overall are down 7%... with only Monday Night doing better than last year) for multiple reasons (the protests, the current level of play, watchbility, how games are called, CTE, etc)... but I think the NFL will remain the premier sport in the country....

 

They definitely are taking it on the chin a bit now though.  If you go back 5-7 years ago, to think of the NFL being questioned at all in-terms of supremacy would've been completely nuts. Now there is at-least a discussion to be had.

[mweb08]

I'm not as big of a fan as I used to be, but the primary reasons for that are CTE first and over-saturation a distant second. It's hard for me to fathom not liking the NFL because of some guys kneeling during the anthem. Anyway, I'd bet that some of the people that are upset about the protests would change their answer to this survey question even if their sports viewing habits and interest levels haven't really changed just based on which league they have a warmer opinion of at the moment. 

[RShack]

Regardless, the headline is not actually true. Baseball has been chosen by the most people as their favorite in this survey, but that isn't the same as it being the most popular sport.

 

???

 

Whatcha mean?

[mweb08]

???

 

Whatcha mean?

 

IMO, how many people watch and attend games is way more important than whatever sample size is used in this survey to respond to this question.

 

Plus, how many people list a sport second, third, etc is important too. For instance, the MVP or the top spot in the college football rankings is not simply decided by who gets the most #1 votes. 

[BobPhelan]

MMA passed baseball for me a few years back but not because of anything baseball did wrong, my appreciation for MMA has just exponentially increased. Baseball is and always will be great. My interest in football and basketball have waned but I still enjoy them.

[bnickle]

I'll still watch a random reg season football game over a random regular season baseball game but that's mostly for two reasons. Fantasy football purposes and it's 1/16 vs 1/162. The love of the sport is easily baseball. It's the purest Big 4 sport out there and if they go to Robo K zone it can be completely pure.

[Russ]

Baseball is a regional sport. Local TV ratings are really good, across pretty much the entire league.

That's changed, I think. I imagine guys like Mickey Mantle and Willie Mays were like what LeBron James and Aaron Rodgers are now (I'm not a big football fan).

[RShack]

IMO, how many people watch and attend games is way more important than whatever sample size is used in this survey to respond to this question.

 

Well, way more people go to MLB games than go to NFL games ...  it's something like 80 million for MLB vs. 17 million for NFL...

[mweb08]

The amount of games may have a little something to do with it.

[mweb08]

Baseball is a regional sport. Local TV ratings are really good, across pretty much the entire league.

That's changed, I think. I imagine guys like Mickey Mantle and Willie Mays were like what LeBron James and Aaron Rodgers are now (I'm not a big football fan).

 

Yep, it is more of a regional sport now. 

 

Another component to consider in what is the most popular sport nationwide is how much national coverage to the respective sports get. This is of course related to the regional aspect of baseball as local sports TV, radio, and print media focus on baseball quite a bit, but we don't have nearly the same level of national coverage as we do for the NFL, NBA, or college football.

 

Also, how many people really know who Mike Trout is compared to the top stars in the NFL and NBA? Mike Trout is probably the best player since Bonds and his national profile is not that a strong sign that MLB is the most popular sport nationwide. 

 

BTW, this strengthens the argument for expansion because this is a great way to get people to care about MLB that otherwise probably don't a great deal because they don't have a local team. 

[SportsGuy]

I don't get why anyone would stop watching the NFL because of CTE.

 

Its the players choice to be out there and take the punishment.  What difference does it make for you?

[Mackus]

I agree with you now.  Players know there are grave risks and are choosing to go forward or not based on the full picture.

 

But the past generation of players, not even generation really, guys up until 5 or so years ago, were deliberately misinformed by the NFL about the dramatic effects of head injuries.  Similar to the tobacco companies, which I know is the go-to comparison, but I think it's an apt one.  They knew it was a major problem, and not only did they not come forward with that information, they actively misled people about it.  I hope the NFL gets taken for every possible cent of that concussion lawsuit.