Sports and Politics

[nclib]

It seems that a lot of people on this forum, me included, are big sports fans. I've also noticed in real life that a lot of people who follow sports follow politics and visa versa.

Does anyone know why this is? Perhaps it's the competitiveness??

Also, anyone have a guess as to which sports liberal/conservatives are likely to follow? My guess would be that the vast majority of NASCAR fans are conservative Republicans.

[??????????]

College football fans are conservatives IMHO because most are southerners and the best teams are from the south.

[Nym90]

Well, sports fans in general probably lean somewhat to the right, since they are disproportionately male.

I'd agree that NASCAR fans lean more to the right, since it's more popular in the South.

College football is pretty big in the Midwest, too. I certainly wouldn't say all the good teams are in the South. In general college football fans might lean to the right though since it isn't all that big for the most part in the Northeast (at least relative to the rest of the country).

[??????????]

Well, sports fans in general probably lean somewhat to the right, since they are disproportionately male.

I'd agree that NASCAR fans lean more to the right, since it's more popular in the South.

College football is pretty big in the Midwest, too. I certainly wouldn't say all the good teams are in the South. In general college football fans might lean to the right though since it isn't all that big for the most part in the Northeast (at least relative to the rest of the country).

What good midwest teams to you have...

[Nym90]

My alma mater!

(That's Michigan for those who don't know)

Hey, we won the national title my freshmen year.

[zachman]

I used to be a pretty big sports fan, but I turned to politics instead early this year (with the exception of watching the Patriots in the playoffs).

[nclib]

College sports probably lean less to the right than pro sports.

[dazzleman]

Politics is sports pursued by other means.  Even the metaphors used in politics are often the same as in sports.  The same is true for business, come to think of it.  I use sports metaphors and sports talk every day at work.

Basically, sports, politics, business and war are all based upon the same principles, though they have different goals and are pursued by different means.

Sports fans in general tend to be more conservative, in my opinion, than the overall population for several reasons.  

First is that males are overrepresented among sports fans, and males are naturally more conservative, in general, than females.  Second, the women who are sports fans tend to be more conservative women, in general, who are more favorable toward men and less disposed toward the doctrines and dogma of feminism that are subscribed to by liberal women.  Third is that of the male population, males who are not sports fans are much more likely to be liberal than males who are sports fans.

The classic sports nut guy is more often than not conservative in his political leanings.

[nclib]

Dazzleman, I agree with your analysis, but why would men who aren't sports fans be more liberal than the general male population?

[Nym90]

Well, they probably have less testosterone, I suppose.

But, I'm a liberal and a sports nut, so I don't fit the profile.

[Akno21]

So many people follow so many sports that is hard to identify them as Liberal or Conservative, with the exception of NASCAR and College Football.

[Starbucks Union Thug HokeyPuck]

I'm a liberal that likes hockey and baseball, and that seems to be in line with the rest of the fans, especially hockey.  

[dazzleman]

Dazzleman, I agree with your analysis, but why would men who aren't sports fans be more liberal than the general male population?

I can't say for sure, but I think that men who are not sports fans tend to have more of an affinity for the arts and academic pursuits, while men who are sports fans are more associated with profit-making businesses.  People engaged in profit-making businesses lean more to the conservative side, while those associated with academia and the arts are more liberal.

I don't know how big a factor this is numerically, but I would guess that among men who are not sports fan, the percentage who are gay is much higher than it is among men who are sports fans.  And gay men in general are much more liberal than heterosexual men.

Not everybody fits this profile; there are wide variations, but it is generally true.  It is, of course possible, to have a liberal gay man who is a sports fan, a liberal hetero man who is a sports fan, and a conservative hetero man who is not a sports fan.  But there is a lot of truth in these generalizations.

[Fmr. Gov. NickG]

I would rank the sports, liberal to conservative, like this:

1. Soccer -  popular with immigrants, internationlist, elitist; some support among women
2. Basketball - most popular in urban areas, and w/ minorities; some support among women
3. Hockey - popular in Northeast and Midwest
4. Baseball - Slightly more popular in Northeast and California, but pretty universal
5. Football - Popular nationwide, but overwhelmingly male
6. NASCAR - Really only popular in Republican areas

I am mostly a fan of baseball, the NFL, and the NCAA Basketball tournament.

[Nym90]

Yes, I would agree with your analysis.

I am a liberal hetero sports fan, one of my best friends is a liberal gay sports fan, and then you have people like Htmldon who are conservative (well, moderately conservative) and who hates sports.

Of all the major team sports, soccer fans are probably the most liberal overall, followed by hockey, I'd guess.

[7,052,770]

College football fans are conservatives IMHO because most are southerners and the best teams are from the south.

not all of them
Go Mississippi State Bulldogs!!!
<we'll be better this year for sure!>

[Gabu]

Well, I'm quite liberal and am not really a fan of any sport, so I fit into that description.

[Nym90]

Oh yes, forgot about basketball, that's probably more liberal too.

If you are talking worldwide, then soccer and hockey would probably be more liberal, since soccer is huge in Europe, while hockey is huge in Canada. Though even in those countries, the more conservative people might be more likely to be sports fans, they are still probably a lot more liberal than US sports fans.

[swarch]

<snip>

Of all the major team sports, soccer fans are probably the most liberal overall, followed by hockey, I'd guess.

Probably. Lots of pinkos in Canada, says this ex-pat, donning his asbestos suit.  And even more of them outside North America.  The saying in the UK is

Football (soccer): played by gentlemen, watched by hooligans
Rugby: played by hooligans, watched by gentlemen

High-level rugby is fantastic--truly something to behold.

[Gabu]

We're all commies up here, eh?

[swarch]

We're all commies up here, eh?

By pinkos I mean socialists. I'm Canadian, so I know. Bob Rae (NDP premier of Ontario in the early 90's) was one reason that I left.

[TeePee4Prez]

Ice hockey (NHL, AHL, and college) and NFL Football.  Politics- moderate liberal Democrat.

[NHPolitico]

I used to be a pretty big sports fan, but I turned to politics instead early this year (with the exception of watching the Patriots in the playoffs).

You can do both. I watch every Red Sox game on NESN, watch Hardball and Fox News, catch New England Sports Tonight, etc.  Why aren't you a Red Sox fan?

[Tory]

In Britain football(soccer you moron) is king. It is really the only big sport. Rugby Union is more popular in parts of Wales, but other than that football doesn't have any real competition. Cricket fans are either Indian/Pakistani immigrants and therefore Labourites or they are typically rich whites and therefore usually Conservatives. Rugby isn't very popular in England, but since we won the world cup more people have been paying attention to it. Basically the left wing-right wing divisions occur within football.

Here are the current teams in the Premiership:

  Arsenal- mostly left wing
  Aston Villa- Left wing
  Birmingham- left wing
  Bolton- left wing  
  Charlton- mostly left wing  
  Chelsea- tradionally right wing, but that's changing
  C Palace- either way  
  Everton- left wing, but not as much so as Lpool  
  Fulham- either way
  Liverpool- left wing  
  Man City- left wing  
  Man Utd- like the yankees, can't be described  
  M'brough - slightly left wing
  Newcastle- left wing  
  Norwich- right wing  
  Portsmouth- either way
  Southampton- right wing
  Tottenham- generally left wing
  West Brom- either way

[KEmperor]

I am a baseball and pro football fan primarily.  Don't really see the interest in NASCAR, and I don't care for college football either.