Happy opening day, Boston! We’ve waited on bated breath for our beloved Red Sox to don their classic uniforms and kick off another season that hopefully won’t end until late October. It’s more than safe to say that the faithful New Englanders of Red Sox Nation shares our deep sentiments – unless you’re from Connecticut, that is.
A new data study conducted by Facebook took a stab at trying to figure out the country’s favorite MLB team by county. They went to each team’s Facebook page and sorted their “Likes” by county. By those standards, it turns out, Connecticut’s allegiance is split between the Red Sox and, yup, you guessed it, the dreaded … gah, I can’t bring myself to type it … New York Yankees.
The rest of New England’s loyalty lies with the Fenway faithful, of course, and Red Sox Nation is actually a thing. While in all honesty it comes as no surprise that the southwesterly part of Connecticut is more inclined to root for pinstripes and Goodie Two-Shoes like Derek Jeter – New York City is just a stone’s throw from Litchfield, Fairfield and New Haven counties, after all – Red Sox fans extend as far west as Alaska and Hawaii. As our own sports writer extraordinaire Hayden Bird will attest, Connecticut residents split their favorites due likely to their tough situation being stuck between two major sports hubs. He roots for the Celtics, Red Sox and Revolution, but also the New York football Giants and UConn basketball. He’s a Bruins fan, but only because his Whalers are no longer with us.
Take a look at how Facebook mapped it’s data below:
Suffice to say the Yanks own the hearts of many Americans, despite our deep-seeded hatred for them. Other states like Nebraska, Montana, Louisiana and Nevada are all suffering from identity crises, as their fans are torn between multiple clubs. None of those states boast a major league team of their own.
The only states where dedication lies solely with one team are those in New England (should we just ditch Connecticut?) with the Sox, Arizona with the Diamondbacks, Washington with the Mariners, Minnesota with the Twins, New York with the Yankees, and Alabama and Georgia with the Braves. You’ll notice, though, that the South is generally heavily invested with the Braves.
Keep in mind that Facebook “Likes” aren’t the most scientific way of measuring actual affection for anything, MLB team or otherwise. But they do provide a correlation between a fan’s affinity with his or her local team.
But what do you think, Boston? Is this a pretty accurate depiction of America’s favorite baseball teams? Is Connecticut acting the fool? Are the Yankees paying fans nationwide for Facebook “Likes”? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.
