{"id":7802,"date":"2024-02-05T10:55:57","date_gmt":"2024-02-05T15:55:57","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2025-05-06T16:40:41","modified_gmt":"2025-05-06T20:40:41","slug":"by-a-wide-margin-americans-say-football-not-baseball-is-americas-sport","status":"publish","type":"short-read","link":"https:\/\/beta.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/short-reads\/2024\/02\/05\/by-a-wide-margin-americans-say-football-not-baseball-is-americas-sport\/","title":{"rendered":"By a wide margin, Americans say football \u2013 not baseball \u2013 is \u2018America\u2019s sport\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-640-wide\"><img data-dominant-color=\"5f2b2f\" data-has-transparency=\"false\" style=\"--dominant-color: #5f2b2f;\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\"  srcset=\"https:\/\/beta.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2024\/01\/SR_24.02.05_Americas-sport_feature-jpg.webp?resize=480,270 480w, https:\/\/beta.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2024\/01\/SR_24.02.05_Americas-sport_feature-jpg.webp?resize=782,440 782w, https:\/\/beta.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2024\/01\/SR_24.02.05_Americas-sport_feature-jpg.webp?resize=960,540 960w, https:\/\/beta.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2024\/01\/SR_24.02.05_Americas-sport_feature-jpg.webp?resize=1200,675 1200w, https:\/\/beta.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2024\/01\/SR_24.02.05_Americas-sport_feature-jpg.webp?resize=1280,720 1280w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 480px) 480px, (max-width: 782px) 782px, 640px\" height=\"360\" width=\"640\" src=\"https:\/\/beta.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/SR_24.02.05_Americas-sport_feature-jpg.webp?w=640\" alt=\"Fans watch the San Francisco 49ers play the Kansas City Chiefs during a Super Bowl LIV watch party in San Francisco on Feb. 2, 2020. The same two teams will meet in this year's Super Bowl on Feb. 11. (Philip Pacheco\/Getty Images)\" class=\"wp-image-8488 not-transparent\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Fans watch the San Francisco 49ers play the Kansas City Chiefs during a Super Bowl LIV watch party in San Francisco on Feb. 2, 2020. The same two teams will meet in this year&#8217;s Super Bowl on Feb. 11. (Philip Pacheco\/Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Baseball is known as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.archives.gov\/news\/topics\/baseball-and-the-archives\">\u201cAmerica\u2019s favorite pastime.\u201d<\/a> But for the largest share of the U.S. public, football is \u201cAmerica\u2019s sport,\u201d according to a recent Pew Research Center survey.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignright size-640-wide is-resized\"><a href=\"https:\/\/beta.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/short-reads\/2024\/02\/05\/by-a-wide-margin-americans-say-football-not-baseball-is-americas-sport\/sr_24-02-05_americas-sport_1-png\/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-8484\"><img data-dominant-color=\"eef0f0\" data-has-transparency=\"false\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\"  srcset=\"https:\/\/beta.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2024\/01\/SR_24.02.05_Americas-sport_1.png?resize=480,567 480w, https:\/\/beta.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2024\/01\/SR_24.02.05_Americas-sport_1.png?resize=782,924 782w, https:\/\/beta.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2024\/01\/SR_24.02.05_Americas-sport_1.png?resize=840,992 840w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 480px) 480px, (max-width: 782px) 782px, 640px\" height=\"756\" width=\"640\" src=\"https:\/\/beta.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2024\/01\/SR_24.02.05_Americas-sport_1.png?w=640\" alt=\"A bar chart showing that far more U.S. adults say football is America's sport than anything else.\" class=\"wp-image-8484 not-transparent\" style=\"--dominant-color: #eef0f0; width:420px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In August 2023, we asked nearly 12,000 U.S. adults the following question: \u201cIf you had to choose one sport as being \u2018America\u2019s sport,\u2019 even if you don\u2019t personally follow it, which sport would it be?\u201d The question was part of a <a href=\"https:\/\/beta.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/short-reads\/2023\/10\/17\/most-americans-dont-closely-follow-professional-or-college-sports\/\">broader survey about sports fandom in the United States<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">More than half of Americans (53%) say America\u2019s sport is football \u2013 about twice the share who say it\u2019s baseball (27%). Much smaller shares choose one of the other four sports we asked about: basketball (8%), soccer (3%), auto racing (3%) or hockey (1%).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">We also included the option for Americans to write in another sport. The most common answers volunteered were golf, boxing, rodeo and ice skating. Other respondents used the opportunity to have some fun: Among the more creative answers we received were \u201ccompetitive eating,\u201d \u201cgrievance politics,\u201d \u201creality TV\u201d and \u201ccow tipping.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n<div style=\"border-width:1px;padding-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--20);padding-left:var(--wp--preset--spacing--30);padding-right:var(--wp--preset--spacing--30);padding-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--20);--block-gap: inherit\" class=\"wp-block-prc-block-collapsible has-background has-ui-beige-very-light-background-color has-border-color has-ui-beige-dark-border-color\" id=\"how-we-did-this\" data-wp-interactive=\"{&quot;namespace&quot;:&quot;prc-block\\\/collapsible&quot;}\" data-wp-context=\"{&quot;collapsibleId&quot;:&quot;how-we-did-this&quot;,&quot;isOpen&quot;:false}\" data-wp-class--is-open=\"context.isOpen\" data-wp-init--scroll-into-view=\"callbacks.onInitScrollIntoView\"><div class=\"wp-block-prc-block-collapsible__title\" data-wp-on--click=\"actions.onClick\"><div>How we did this<\/div><button class=\"wp-block-prc-block-collapsible__icon\"><span data-wp-bind--hidden=\"context.isOpen\"><i class=\"icon icon-library__light icon__circle-plus\"><svg style=\"width: 1em; height: 1em;\"><use xlink:href=\"https:\/\/beta.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/plugins\/prc-icon-library\/build\/icons\/sprites\/light.svg#circle-plus\"><\/use><\/svg><\/i><\/span><span data-wp-bind--hidden=\"!context.isOpen\" hidden><i class=\"icon icon-library__light icon__circle-minus\"><svg style=\"width: 1em; height: 1em;\"><use xlink:href=\"https:\/\/beta.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/plugins\/prc-icon-library\/build\/icons\/sprites\/light.svg#circle-minus\"><\/use><\/svg><\/i><\/span><\/button><\/div><div class=\"wp-block-prc-block-collapsible__content\">\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Ahead of Super Bowl LVIII on Feb. 11, Pew Research Center conducted this analysis to find out which sport Americans see as the country\u2019s sport.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This analysis is based on a survey of 11,945 U.S. adults conducted Aug. 7-27, 2023. Everyone who took part is a member of the Center\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/beta.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/our-methods\/u-s-surveys\/the-american-trends-panel\/\">American Trends Panel<\/a> (ATP), an online survey panel that is recruited through national, random sampling of residential addresses. Address-based sampling ensures that nearly all U.S. adults have a chance of selection. The survey is weighted to be representative of the U.S. adult population by gender, race, ethnicity, partisan affiliation, education and other categories. Read more about the <a href=\"https:\/\/beta.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/our-methods\/u-s-surveys\/the-american-trends-panel\/\">ATP\u2019s methodology<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Here is the <a href=\"https:\/\/beta.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/SR_24.02.05_Americas-sport_topline.pdf\">question used for this analysis<\/a>, along with responses, and the <a href=\"https:\/\/beta.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/SR_23.10.17_SportsFans_methodology.pdf\">survey methodology<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"in-every-demographic-group-football-tops-the-list\"><strong>In every demographic group, football tops the list<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In every major demographic group, football is the most common choice when the public is asked to identify America\u2019s sport. It tops the list for men and women, for older and younger adults, and for White, Black, Hispanic and Asian Americans alike.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Still, some demographic differences emerge for certain sports. For instance, White Americans are more likely than other racial or ethnic groups to say the national sport is baseball, while Hispanic Americans are more likely than other groups to say it\u2019s soccer. Black and Asian Americans, in turn, are more likely than White and Hispanic Americans to say America\u2019s sport is basketball. In each of these racial and ethnic groups, however, by far the largest share of people say the national sport is football.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"most-americans-don-t-closely-follow-sports\"><strong>Most Americans don\u2019t closely follow sports<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Just because Americans see football as the national sport doesn\u2019t mean they\u2019ve been closely following the NFL season leading up to this weekend\u2019s Super Bowl LVIII.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Most U.S. adults (62%) say they follow professional or college sports <a href=\"https:\/\/beta.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/short-reads\/2023\/10\/17\/most-americans-dont-closely-follow-professional-or-college-sports\/\">not too or not at all closely<\/a>, and a similar share (63%) say they talk about sports with other people just a few times a month or less often, according to the Center\u2019s August survey. In fact, only 7% of adults are what might be called <a href=\"https:\/\/beta.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/short-reads\/2023\/10\/17\/most-americans-dont-closely-follow-professional-or-college-sports\/#who-are-sports-superfans\">sports \u201csuperfans\u201d<\/a> \u2013 people who follow sports extremely or very closely <em>and<\/em> talk about sports with other people at least every day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Note: Here is the <a href=\"https:\/\/beta.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/SR_24.02.05_Americas-sport_topline.pdf\">question used for this analysis<\/a>, along with responses, and the <a href=\"https:\/\/beta.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/SR_23.10.17_SportsFans_methodology.pdf\">survey methodology<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>More than half of Americans (53%) say America\u2019s sport is football \u2013 about twice the share who say it\u2019s baseball (27%).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":658,"featured_media":8488,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"sub_headline":"","sub_title":"","_prc_public_revisions":[],"_ppp_expiration_hours":0,"_ppp_enabled":false,"ai_generated_summary":"","apple_news_api_created_at":"2024-02-05T15:56:26Z","apple_news_api_id":"a86cee39-a240-4406-a0e1-1b3cbf4ae523","apple_news_api_modified_at":"2024-02-06T14:21:52Z","apple_news_api_revision":"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAABA==","apple_news_api_share_url":"https:\/\/apple.news\/AqGzuOaJARAag4Rs8v0rlIw","apple_news_cover_media_provider":"image","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_cover_video_id":0,"apple_news_cover_video_url":"","apple_news_cover_embedwebvideo_url":"","apple_news_is_hidden":"","apple_news_is_paid":"","apple_news_is_preview":"","apple_news_is_sponsored":"","apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_metadata":"\"\"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_slug":"","apple_news_sections":[],"apple_news_suppress_video_url":false,"apple_news_use_image_component":false,"relatedPosts":[],"datacite_doi":"","datacite_doi_citation":"","_prc_seo_qr_attachment_id":0,"spoken_article_player_enabled":true,"displayBylines":true,"footnotes":"","prc_watchers":[],"_prc_fork_parent":0,"_prc_fork_status":"","_prc_active_fork":0},"categories":[309,453],"bylines":[593,600,879],"collection":[],"datasets":[2734],"_post_visibility":[],"formats":[467],"_fund_pool":[],"languages":[],"regions-countries":[515],"research-teams":[],"workflow-status":[],"class_list":["post-7802","short-read","type-short-read","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-entertainment","category-leisure","bylines-anna-jackson","bylines-michael-rotolo","bylines-john-gramlich","datasets-american-trends-panel-wave-133","formats-short-read","regions-countries-united-states"],"label":"Short 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