New Siena/St. Bonaventure Survey: 70% of Americans Say They Are Sports Fans

Dallas Cowboys – America’s Most Liked and Hated NFL Team; Tom Brady, Joe Montana Most Popular ‘Current,’ Past NFL Players

LOUDONVILLE, N.Y., Feb. 3, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — Seventy percent of Americans say they’re sports fans, according to a national survey of 3,201 American residents released today by the Siena College Research Institute and St. Bonaventure University’s Jandoli School of Communication.

• 72% say they’re football fans, even if not sports fan
• 83% watch football to bond with family and friends
• 81% "because it’s fun"
• 65% "because it is exciting"
• 82% say that they learn about teamwork by watching football
• 79% learn about strategy
• 72% learn about leadership
• 27% say football is too violent

• America’s most like and most hated team: Dallas Cowboys.
• Most popular ‘active’ NFL player: Tom Brady (followed by Patrick Mahomes, Aaron Rodgers)
• Most popular former player: Joe Montana (followed by Brett Favre, Peyton Manning, Walter Payton)

"Sports in general and football specifically are central to who we are and what we do as a nation and as individuals," said Aaron Chimbel, St. Bonaventure’s Jandoli School of Communication dean. "It connects communities, families and friends in ways that no other sport does, and it is important to understand why and how football is part of our social fabric."

The survey identified four categories of fanship – Avid, Involved, Casual and Non-Fan – based on people’s sports fan activities.

"For Avid fans, sports is woven into their lives every day. They constantly watch, listen, check scores, and banter about sports. Involved fans love the games but don’t engage daily, while casual fans likely check in on the weekends. The remaining 27% may watch a game infrequently, but sports is not front and center," said Don Levy, Siena College Research Institute Director.

Siena/St. Bonaventure created an exclusive "fanship quiz," allowing anyone to determine their fan status.

Part II Everything Super Bowl – Monday, February 6.
Part III Societal & Cultural Sports Issues – Wednesday, February 8.

American Sports Fanship Survey: conducted January 3 – 8, 2023; 3201 responses from a proprietary online panel of US Residents. Data: statistically adjusted by age, region, race/ethnicity, education, and gender to ensure representativeness. Overall margin of error: +/- 1.8 percentage points including the design effects from weighting.

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SOURCE Siena Research Institute

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