While Gap Narrows, Professional Football Retains Lead over Baseball as Favorite Sport

NEW YORK, Jan. 20, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- It's the eternal debate among sports fans – football or baseball? Most die-hard sports fans will always say both, but, if forced to choose, football wins yet again. Three in ten Americans who follow at least one sport (31%) say professional football is their favorite sport while 17% say baseball. This is a narrowing of the gap from last year when over one-third (35%) of sports fans said professional football was their favorite sport and 16% said it was baseball.

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These are some of the results of The Harris Poll of 2,331 adults surveyed online between December 6 and 13, 2010 by Harris Interactive.

Looking at how other sports fared, just over one in ten sports fans (12%) say college football is their favorite sport while 7% say it is auto racing, 6% say men's professional basketball, 5% say hockey, and 4% each say men's soccer and men's college basketball. Most other sports are favorites for 2% or less of sports fans. Two sports however, women's professional basketball and women's college basketball, are not favorites for any sports fan.

There are some fluctuations in favorites over time. Since this question was first asked in 1985, professional football has gone up 7 points from 24% of sports fans saying it was their favorite sport then to 31% saying so now. Baseball, on the other hand, has gone down 6 points from 23% in 1985 to 17% today.

Who likes football and baseball… and who really doesn't

When it comes to the top sports, different groups are more likely to cite them as favorites. African Americans (45%), Baby Boomers (aged 46-64) (37%), and Easterners (34%) are more likely to say professional football is their favorite sport while Echo Boomers (aged 18-33) (23%), Hispanics (26%), and Midwesterners (26%) are less likely to do so. When it comes to baseball, Matures (those 65 and older) (21%), Hispanics (20%), and those with a high school or less education (20%) are more likely to cite it as their favorite sport.  African Americans (6%), those with some college education (12%) and Echo Boomers (13%) are least likely to say baseball is their favorite.

So What?

While football may be the favorite sport, there is a decline in popularity from last year. And, with the possibility looming of a player's lockout after this season ends, will fans stay loyal? In 1987 there was a strike and the popularity of the sport didn't suffer any lasting damage. And all the major sports have been hit by labor disagreements over the past two decades, including the canceling of the World Series in 1994 and the Stanley Cup in 2005. What if there was no Super Bowl in 2012? Football will most likely survive, but that one day event is so different than both the hockey and baseball championships. Could you imagine no Super Bowl commercials?

Methodology

This Harris Poll was conducted online within the United States between December 6 to 13, 2010 among 2,331 adults (aged 18 and over), 1,647 of whom say they 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, Harris Interactive 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 Interactive 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 the Harris Interactive 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 Harris Interactive.

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The Harris Poll^® #7, January 20, 2011

By Regina A. Corso, SVP, Harris Poll, Public Relations and Youth Research, Harris Interactive

About Harris Interactive

Harris Interactive is one of the world's leading custom market research firms, leveraging research, technology, and business acumen to transform relevant insight into actionable foresight. Known widely for the Harris Poll and for pioneering innovative research methodologies, Harris offers expertise in a wide range of industries including healthcare, technology, public affairs, energy, telecommunications, financial services, insurance, media, retail, restaurant, and consumer package goods. Serving clients in over 215 countries and territories through our North American, European, and Asian offices and a network of independent market research firms, Harris specializes in delivering research solutions that help us – and our clients – stay ahead of what's next. For more information, please visit www.harrisinteractive.com.

SOURCE Harris Interactive