Jared Max: What Do Our Sports Interests Say About Who And What We Are?
By Jared Max
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Earlier this month, Public Policy Polling conducted a national survey that asked 28 questions regarding Americans' interest in sports. The survey revealed data that told many stories. Some were enlightening. Others predictable. Some puzzling.
The PPP survey focused on admiration versus dislikability among particular sports and individual players. Understandably, contrasts are sharp based on age, race and political ideology.
Yellow highlighter in hand, I spent several hours studying the results. I drew attention to numbers that told obvious stories. I looked for disparities between general averages and each demographic. I calculated numbers to better understand the actual sample sizes. I cross-referenced data to help draw conclusions. Still, there were times I was left wondering, "Why is that?"
Compartmentalized survey results by sport or topic are listed below this collection of intriguing nuggets gleaned from the PPP sports survey:
-- Twice as many Hispanics (78%) as African Americans (39%) identified as MLB fans
-- NBA fans are significantly more concentrated among African Americans (66%) and Hispanics (59%) than whites (29%)
-- Nearly twice as many Hispanics (39%) identified themselves as NHL fans over African Americans (21%) and whites (20%)
-- 27% more men identified as NFL fans than women — the greatest disparity in sports interest between genders
-- In one of the survey's greatest landslides, 41% of those who want the New York Rangers to win the Stanley Cup labeled themselves "very liberal"
-- Conversely, 29% of NHL fans rooting for the Chicago Blackhawks to win the Stanley Cup are at the right wing, self-labeled "very conservative"
-- Overall, NHL fans are rooting for the Blackhawks (21%) over the Rangers (17%) to win the Cup
-- 34% of NBA fans said that Michael Jordan — at his present age, 52 — would beat LeBron James today in a game of 1-on-1
-- Slightly more NBA fans declared Stephen Curry (19%) their favorite player over LeBron (18%)
-- Among NBA fans, not one person who identified as "somewhat liberal" picked Dirk Nowitzki as his or her "favorite player"
-- James Harden registered a significantly greater divide over any NBA player in "favorable" ratings between voters of Barack Obama (40%) and Mitt Romney (22%)
-- Hispanic golf fans (30%) selected Rickie Fowler as their favorite player over seven other golfers
-- Among golf fans aged 18-29, not one person selected Tiger Woods as his or her favorite golfer, or, as the world's best golfer
-- While Phil Mickelson was a runaway champ in the "Favorite Golfer" category (35%), he was a distant 4th to Rory McIlroy (38%) in the "Best Golfer" question.
-- Mickelson scored his largest "favorable" rating among African American golf fans (94%); not one African American cited Mickelson "unfavorable"
-- Significantly more MLB fans voted for pitchers (55%) than designated hitters (33%) to bat
-- MLB fans 66+ substantially represent the smallest age group that prefers pitchers to hit instead of designated hitters
-- 68% of all surveyed said they did not care who won the Floyd Mayweather/Manny Pacquiao match
-- Only 17% of all surveyed stated a favorable opinion about Mayweather, compared to 30% for Pacquiao
-- More people identify as NFL fans (56%) than fans of any other league or sport
-- MLB ranks 2nd (46%), NBA 3rd (37%), Golf 4th (23%), NHL and boxing shared 5th (22%)
-- Significantly more Democrats (43%) identify as NBA fans than Republicans (26%) do
-- Not one golf fan who identifies as a Republican voted unfavorably toward Phil Mickelson — opposed to nearly 50 Democrats (12%) who did
-- Only 1% of Hispanic MLB fans said that they are "unsure" about whether to bat designated hitters or pitchers — compared to 13-15% of whites, Africans Americans and "other" races
-- Only 1% of African American NBA fans replied "Unsure" when asked who the best all-time player is: Michael Jordan or LeBron James; Hispanics (14%), whites (10%) and other races (20%) were significantly less decisive.
-- Only 3% of 18-to-29-year-old NBA fans are unsure how they feel about LeBron James; 70% are favorable, 27% unfavorable. Among other NBA player choices, the "Unsure" vote for 18-to-29-year-old NBA fans ranges from 24% to 37%.
-- While 0% of white NBA fans selected Derrick Rose as their favorite player, not one African American NBA fan picked Dirk Nowitzki
-- The NFL has greater appeal among younger generations; While 64% of 18- to 29-year-olds and 62% of 30-45-year-olds identified as NFL fans, only 53% of ages 46-65 and 51% of ages 66-plus did so
-- Nearly three times as many 18- to 29-year-olds (36%) identified as boxing fans as "66-and-overs" did (13%)
-- Twice as many 18- to 29-year-old NBA fans (18%) than over-65ers (9%) picked LeBron James over Michael Jordan as the best all-time player
-- Regarding the topic of favorite current player, Stephen Curry dominated a single age group of NBA fans (41% of 18-to-29-year-olds) more than any other (Kevin Durant / 20% of 30-to-45, LeBron James / 21% of 46-65, None of the Above / 27% of 66+)
SURVEY BREAKDOWN
Between May 7 and 10, 2015, PPP surveyed 1,471 registered voters nationally. Eighty percent of the interviews were conducted on landline phones, while 20% occurred online. In addition to having responded to questions regarding sports, all surveyed were was asked to identify their age, race, gender and political beliefs — including who they voted for in the 2012 Presidential election. The margin of error is +/- 2.6%.
To help translate percentages into actual numbers, I used a calculator. For example, I wanted to know how many people 53% of 1,471 surveyed equates to. Results were not exact; percentage points were rounded up and down. Because some questions about personal ID were unanswered, some percentages do not add up to one hundred.
Gender
-- 780 women (53%)
-- 691 men (47%)
Race
-- 1,059 White (72%)
-- 177 African American (12%)
-- 118 Hispanic (8%)
-- 74 Other (5%)
Age
-- 647 aged 46-65 (44%)
-- 407 aged 30-45 (23%)
-- 294 aged 66+ (20%)
-- 191 aged 18-29 (13%)
Political party
-- 588 Democrat (40%)
-- 602 Republican (34%)
-- 460 Independent/other (26%)
2012 Election
-- 691 Barack Obama (47%)
-- 647 Mitt Romney (44%)
-- 132 Other/Don't remember (9%)
Political ideology
-- 427 Moderate (29%)
-- 309 Somewhat conservative (21%)
-- 265 Somewhat liberal (18%)
-- 265 Very conservative (18%)
-- 191 Very liberal (13%)
Unabridged results to Public Policy Polling's national sports survey can be found here.
Jared Max is a multi-award winning sportscaster. He hosted a No. 1 rated New York City sports talk show, "Maxed Out" — in addition to previously serving as longtime Sports Director at WCBS 880, where he currently anchors weekend sports. Follow and communicate with Jared on Twitter @jared_max.
