READ FULL STORY HEREWhen it comes to the world of sports the Garden is classic battleground territory. A recent poll from Quinnipiac of 1,650 New Jersey residents finds a state high on the Yankees and positively wild for the Super Bowl.
Without a team to call their own the millions of baseball fans in New Jersey typically split their allegiance between the two clubs in New York City and the Philadelphia Phillies. 55% of the state claims to be at least somewhat interested in the sport and 47% of that group list the Yankees as their favorite MLB team. That’s over twice as many as those who root hardest for the Mets (21%) and Phillies (20%). Nearly nine in ten (88%) New Jersey baseball fans rank at least one of the three teams from large markets bordering their state to the northeast and southwest as their favorite.
Without a team to call their own the millions of baseball fans in New Jersey typically split their allegiance between the two clubs in New York City and the Philadelphia Phillies. 55% of the state claims to be at least somewhat interested in the sport and 47% of that group list the Yankees as their favorite MLB team. That’s over twice as many as those who root hardest for the Mets (21%) and Phillies (20%). Nearly nine in ten (88%) New Jersey baseball fans rank at least one of the three teams from large markets bordering their state to the northeast and southwest as their favorite.
These most recent findings are similar to what Quinnipiac found a year ago when a 2003 Sports Illustrated survey of fans from around the country including New Jersey. That poll found the Yankees attracting 44% of the vote for most popular baseball team in the Garden. The Mets were at 23% and the Phillies at 15%. The Bronx Bombers were in the midst of another run to the World Series that season whereas the Mets were in the midst of a last place finish in the NL East, all the while the Phillies posted a solid 86-76 record.
Despite the overwhelming affection for the Yankees over all other competition passions for baseball in New Jersey are regionally divided. Asked who’d they like to see win the World Series this season the Yankees came out on top of the Phillies by a 55-28% margin. Not surprisingly the Bronx Bombers dominate northern Jersey by 71-12% over the Phillies. In South Jersey however it’s neighboring Philadelphia that gets more love by a margin of 63-25%. Central Jersey meanwhile swings heavily for the Yankees again to the tune of 58-22% over their World Series opponent from 2009.
Baseball is popular in the Garden but more residents (65%) claim to be somewhat or very interested in the National Football League. The Giants and Jets while claiming “New York” in their title will christen a brand new stadium in East Rutherford this upcoming 2010 season. 80% of pro-football fans in New Jersey like the idea of the Meadowlands hosting the Super Bowl in 2014. Nine in ten (90%) meanwhile consider having the NFL’s championship game at the home of the Giants and Jets to be a “good thing” for the state of New Jersey.
PHOTO CREDIT: ASSOCIATED PRESS / Seth Wenig
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