Lots of people have some sort of allegiance to a sports team. In fact, according to an article by Jeffrey M. Jones, “59% of Americans say they are sports fans,” (Jones). Among students at Rocky, what are the most popular sports teams in each of the most popular leagues?

A survey was sent out to random students. They were asked about their favorite NCAA, NFL, NBA, and MLB teams. 1 or 2 teams were presented, along with an “other” category.

For the college football teams, the options presented were BYU, Boise State, and Idaho. 3% of respondents said Idaho, 26% said Boise State, 57% said BYU. Of those who responded with “other,” there was one vote apiece for Utah, Utah State, and Texas.

For the NFL, the only presented option was the Seahawks. 42% of respondents said Seahawks. Other answers included 15% saying the Chiefs, 7% saying Falcons, 7% saying Packers, and 3% saying both 49ers and Dolphins.

The NBA options given were Jazz and Warriors. 45% selected the Utah Jazz, and 40% selected the Warriors. 10% picked the Thunder, and 5% chose the Suns, Lakers, Nets, and Blazers.

In the MLB, the Mariners and the Yankees were offered as options. 8% picked the Mariners, and 21% picked the Yankees. 8% chose the Red Sox and the Dodgers, and the rest was an assortment of Mets, Giants, Angels, Phillies, and Rockies.

Now that the statistics are on the table, what were the biggest surprises? Again, this was a random sample so the percentages would vary if the survey was conducted again. However, having less Boise State fans than BYU fans was a surprise considering how close Rocky Mountain is to Boise State. However, there is certainly a large population of BYU fans in Idaho, so it shouldn’t be that much of a shock.