NEW YORK, N.Y. – This is a conflicting time for football fans. On the one hand, with “The Big Game” (#50, no less) fast approaching, it’s a time of excitement, especially now that we know which teams (the Denver Broncos and Carolina Panthers, in case you hadn’t heard) will face off in Santa Clara on February seventh. On the other hand, discussions continue in regards to the sport’s long term impact onplayers’ health. But concussion controversies don’t appear to have diminished fan ardor, as pro football continues its long reign as America’s Favorite Sport.
In 1985, pro baseball was only marginally behind football, with 23% of sports fans naming baseball as their favorite sport (to pro football’s 24%). Today, football leads baseball by 18 percentage points, with 33% choosing pro football as their favorite sport and 15% selecting baseball. Neither sport has seen noteworthy change since last year, with selections of football trending up a single percentage point while baseball selections have decreased a single point.
These are some of the results of The Harris Poll® of 2,252 U.S. adults (of whom 1,510 follow at least one sport) surveyed online between December 9 and 14, 2015.
For more information about this story: go to http://www.theharrispoll.com/sports/Americas_Fav_Sport_2016.html
