Fandom in America by the Numbers 

Justin Lotito
Staff Writer

Rigorous polling conducted by the on-campus Seton Hall Sports Poll estimates that an average 58-percent of Americans are sports fans. 

Spanning three years, from 2020 to 2023, the Seton Hall Sports Poll polled 23,056 random Americans. The poll was conducted 15 times. Numbers from the poll estimate that 42-percent of Americans are casual fans, while 18-percent of fans are avid fanatics.  

A high number of fans in America correlates to the rapid rise in the sporting industry. The sports industry has grown by over five percent in the past year according to PlayToday.com.

Other findings conducted by the Seton Hall Sports Poll include a percentage of fans by age. According to the data, 64 percent of individuals who are in the range of 18-34 consider themselves sports fans. While 58 percent of individuals 35-54 consider themselves sports fans; and 54 percent of ages of 55+ considered themselves fans. 

These numbers could potentially be explained by the emergence of the digital age. Fanatics now take to social media to discuss their favorite sports teams and upcoming sporting events. Since social media is more prevalent in younger generations, this could be an explanation of why the range 18-34 has the largest average fanbase. 

Also, The Seton Hall Sports Poll asked about the gender of a fan. According to the polling, an estimated 70 percent of men consider themselves sports fans, while a 47 percent of females consider themselves fans.  

Nearly half of females considering themselves sports fans can, correlate to recent events in women sports. The National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) signed a massive four-year media deal with CBS, ESPN, Prime Video, and Scripps sports, CNBS reported. An increase in the NWSL is not the only leaps women’s sports have taken in recent years. Nearly 10 million viewers tuned into the NCAA women’s national championship, according to ESPN. 

The final poll found the percentage of sports fans by the regions of America. According to the rigorous study, sixty percent of Northeastern and Westerners are sports fans. While fifty-five percent of Midwestern’s and 57 percent of Southerners are sports fans. 

The northeast and west having the greatest percentage of sports fans can be explained by the value of the franchises in the area. Northeastern teams with great value are the New England Patriots, New York Yankees, and the New York Knicks. While for the Western area, the valuable teams consist of the Los Angeles Rams, Los Angeles Lakers, and San Fransico 49ers.  

As the numbers reported by the Seton Hall Sports Poll suggest, a large portion of Americans call themselves sports fans. Regardless, sports leagues have taken actions to continue the growth of fans in their leagues. Just this year the NBA created an in-season tournament in hopes of keeping fans engaged throughout the regular season. Regardless of the sport, fandom remains a crucial part of sports in America. 

Justin Lotito is a sophomore Communications major and Business Administration minor. Justin is the lead writer of this article. Contact Justin at justin.lotito@student.shu.edu.

Abhijay Edavalapati is a Senior at Bridgewater-Raritan Regional High School. During a summer project with the Seton Hall Sports Poll, Abhijay summarized the data and created the graphs shown in this article.

Moyin Sekoni is a senior Graphic Design and Advertising major.  Moyin is the editor and reviewer of the graphics shown in this article.