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Pro Football is Still America’s Favorite Sport
NEW YORK , N.Y. – This is a conflicting time for football fans. On the one hand, with "The Big Game" (#50, no less) fast
approaching, it's a time of excitement, especially now that we know which teams (the Denver Broncos and Carolina Panthers,
in case you hadn't heard) will face off in Santa Clara on February seventh. On the other hand, discussions continue in regards
to the sport's long term impact on players' health. But concussion controversies don't appear to have diminished fan ardor, as
pro football continues its long reign as America's Favorite Sport.
In 1985, pro baseball was only marginally behind football, with 23% of sports fans naming baseball as their favorite sport (to pro
football's 24%). Today, football leads baseball by 18 percentage points, with 33% choosing pro football as their favorite sport
and 15% selecting baseball. Neither sport has seen noteworthy change since last year, with selections of football trending up a
single percentage point while baseball selections have decreased a single point.
These are some of the results of The Harris Poll® of 2,252 U.S. adults (of whom 1,510 follow at least one sport) surveyed
online between December 9 and 14, 2015.
Men's college football makes the third strongest showing, with 10% of sports fans selecting it as their favorite (identical to the
percentage selecting it last year). Continuing down the list, 6% select auto racing as their favorite (down one point from last
year) and 5% each select men's pro basketball and ice hockey (both also down one point).
Who's obsessed and who couldn't care less?
Each of the top sports have groups they resonate with strongly and other demographics who are less likely to show as high a
level of fervor.
• Adults with household incomes of $75,000-<$100,000 (48%) are especially likely to name pro football as their favorite sport,
while love of this particular game is especially low among those in $100,000+ households (21%).
• Pro baseball gets the most love among Easterners (24%) and Post grads (23%) and the least among Millennials, those with
kids in the household and those in homes with sub-$35,000 incomes (9% each).
• Gen Xers (17%) and Post grads (15%) are college football's biggest fans, while it resonates less among Easterners (5%)
and those with household incomes in the $35,000-<$50,000 range (6%).
• Baby Boomers (10%), those in rural areas (also 10%) and those with sub-$35,000 household incomes (9%) are especially
likely to select auto racing as their favorite; Post grads and those with household incomes in the $75,000-<$100,000 range
(1% each) are especially unlikely to say the same, followed by Millennials (3%).
TABLE 1
FAVORITE SPORT
"If you had to choose, which ONE of these sports would you say is your favorite?"
Base: All adults who follow one or more sport
1985
1989
1992
1993
1994
1997
1998
2002
2003
2004
%
%
%
%
%
%
%
%
%
%
Pro
24
26
28
24
24
28
26
27
29
30
Baseball
23
19
21
18
17
17
18
14
13
15
Men's
10
6
7
8
7
10
9
9
9
11
5
4
5
6
5
5
7
10
9
7
Men's pro 6
7
8
12
11
13
13
11
10
7
2
3
3
3
5
4
3
3
3
4
3
2
2
1
3
3
4
3
3
3
6
10
8
8
8
6
4
4
6
6
Men's golf 3
4
4
6
5
6
4
4
5
4
Boxing
NA
NA
NA
NA
NA
NA
NA
NA
NA
2
Swimming NA
NA
NA
NA
NA
NA
NA
NA
NA
NA
Track &
2
2
1
1
2
2
3
1
3
1
4
3
3
2
2
2
2
1
2
1
NA
NA
NA
NA
NA
NA
NA
NA
1
NA
NA
NA
NA
NA
1
1
*
1
NA
NA
NA
NA
NA
*
1
1
*
5
4
4
4
3
3
4
1
2
1
3
5
2
2
1
1
2
2
1
1
NA
NA
NA
NA
NA
NA
3
2
2
NA
NA
NA
NA
NA
NA
NA
1
*
football
college
football
Auto
racing
basketball
Ice
hockey
Men's
soccer
Men's
college
basketball
field
Horse
racing
Women's NA
soccer
Women's NA
college
basketball
Women's NA
pro
basketball
Men's
tennis
Bowling
Women's NA
tennis
Women's NA
golf
Not sure
*
1
4
1
2
2
1
3
1
2
Pro
1
7
7
6
7
11
8
13
16
15
football's
lead over
baseball
Note 1: NA = Not asked in that year. Men and women's sports were not always distinguished
Note 2: Percentages may not add up to 100% due to rounding.
Note 3: "*" indicates less than 0.5%
TABLE 1 (continued)
FAVORITE SPORT
"If you had to choose, which ONE of these sports would you say is your favorite?"
Base: All adults who follow one or more sport
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
CHANGE
1985–
2015
%
%
%
%
%
%
%
%
%
%
%
33
29
30
31
35
31
36
34
35
32
33
+9
Baseball 14
14
15
16
16
17
13
16
14
16
15
-8
Men's
13
13
12
12
12
12
13
11
11
10
10
=
11
9
10
8
9
7
8
8
7
7
6
+1
4
7
4
6
5
6
5
7
6
6
5
-1
5
4
5
5
4
5
5
5
5
6
5
+3
2
2
2
3
2
4
1
2
2
6
4
+1
5
5
4
5
3
4
5
3
3
3
4
-2
4
4
4
4
4
2
2
2
2
2
3
=
Boxing 2
1
1
2
2
1
2
1
2
2
3
NA
Swimming
NA
NA
NA
2
1
1
2
2
2
1
2
NA
Track & *
2
1
1
1
2
1
1
1
2
2
=
Pro
%
football
college
football
Auto
racing
Men's
pro
basketball
Ice
hockey
Men's
soccer
Men's
college
basketball
Men's
golf
field
Horse
2
1
2
1
2
1
2
1
1
1
1
-3
Women's*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
1
1
NA
1
1
*
*
-
*
1
1
*
1
NA
*
*
*
*
-
*
*
*
*
1
NA
1
2
1
1
1
2
2
2
2
1
1
-4
Bowling 1
1
2
1
1
2
1
1
1
1
*
-3
Women's1
1
*
1
1
1
1
1
1
2
*
NA
1
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
NA
2
3
2
1
2
3
1
2
3
2
3
+3
19
15
15
15
19
14
23
18
21
16
18
racing
soccer
Women's*
college
basketball
Women's*
pro
basketball
Men's
tennis
tennis
Women's*
golf
Not
sure
Pro
football's
lead
over
baseball
Note 1: NA = Not asked in that year. Men and women's sports were not always distinguished
Note 2: Percentages may not add up to 100% due to rounding.
Note 3: "*" indicates less than 0.5%
TABLE 2
DEMOGRAPHIC VARIATIONS IN FAVORITE SPORTS
"If you had to choose, which ONE of these sports would you say is your favorite?"
Base: All adults who follow more than one sport
Sport
All Adults
Highest
%
Pro football
33
Lowest
%
Adults with
48
%
Adults with
household incomes
household incomes
of $75,000-<
of $100,000+
$100,000
21
Baseball
15
Easterners
24
Millennials, Adults
9
with household
incomes under
$35,000, Adults in
households with
children
Post graduates
23
Midwesterners,
10
Adults wo have
completed some
college
College Football
10
Gen Xers
17
Easterners
5
Post graduates
15
Adults with
6
household incomes
of $35,000-<
$50,000
Auto Racing
6
Baby Boomers,
10
Rural Americans
Post grads, Adults
1
with household
incomes of
$75,000-<$100,000
Adults with
9
Millennials
3
household incomes
under $35,000
Methodology
This Harris Poll was conducted online, in English, within the United States between December 9 and 14, 2015 among 2,252
adults (aged 18 and over), of whom 1,510 follow at least one sport. Figures for age, sex, race/ethnicity, education, region
and household income were weighted where necessary to bring them into line with their actual proportions in the population.
Propensity score weighting was also used to adjust for respondents' propensity to be online.
All sample surveys and polls, whether or not they use probability sampling, are subject to multiple sources of error which are
most often not possible to quantify or estimate, including sampling error, coverage error, error associated with nonresponse,
error associated with question wording and response options, and post-survey weighting and adjustments. Therefore, The
Harris Poll avoids the words "margin of error" as they are misleading. All that can be calculated are different possible sampling
errors with different probabilities for pure, unweighted, random samples with 100% response rates. These are only theoretical
because no published polls come close to this ideal.
Respondents for this survey were selected from among those who have agreed to participate in Harris Poll surveys. The data
have been weighted to reflect the composition of the adult population. Because the sample is based on those who agreed to
participate in our panel, no estimates of theoretical sampling error can be calculated.
These statements conform to the principles of disclosure of the National Council on Public Polls.
The results of this Harris Poll may not be used in advertising, marketing or promotion without the prior written permission of The
Harris Poll.
Product and brand names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners.
The Harris Poll
®
#7, January 26, 2016
By Larry Shannon-Missal, Managing Editor, The Harris Poll
About The Harris Poll®
Begun in 1963, The Harris Poll is one of the longest running surveys measuring public opinion in the U.S. and is highly
regarded throughout the world. The nationally representative polls, conducted primarily online, measure the knowledge,
opinions, behaviors and motivations of the general public. New and trended polls on a wide variety of subjects including politics,
the economy, healthcare, foreign affairs, science and technology, sports and entertainment, and lifestyles are published
weekly.
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