Sports Fans in the Detroit Metropolitan Area
Within the Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI (Detroit) metro area, 58.9% of respondents noted that they are sports fans. Sports fans are individuals who watch professional and/or college sports at least several times a month and/or follow athletes or coaches on social media. Within the Detroit metro area 12.1% of respondents connect with and/or follow athletes or coaches on social media.
The top five athletes or coaches’ respondents living in the Detroit metro area follow on social media include:
- LeBron James
- Tom Brady
- Steph Curry
- Lionel Messi
- Tom Izzo
College Sports
With regard to college sports, 70.4% of respondents in the Detroit metro area watched college sports on television or attended a college sports event in the last year. While nearly two-thirds (64.1%) of women watched or attended a college sports event in the last year, this percentage is significantly higher among men (81.8%). The most frequently watched college team is the University of Michigan (54.0%).
Professional Sports
Similar to other metro areas, there are higher shares of respondents in the Detroit metro area who watch professional sports (79.8%) compared to college sports. Among women, the most frequently watched sport team is the Detroit Tigers. For men, they were more likely to watch the Detroit Lions.
When examining sports viewership and race, respondents who were white were three times more likely to watch the Detroit Tigers compared to all other respondents. Respondents who identify as Black had higher shares of watching the Detroit Lions and Detroit Pistons and respondents who identify as another race were more likely to watch the Detroit Red Wings compared to all other respondents.
Lastly, as a proportion of their age group, respondents between the ages of 35 and 54 years old were more likely to follow the Detroit Pistons and Detroit Red Wings compared to all other age groups. Additionally, respondents who were 55+ years old, followed the Detroit Tigers and Detroit Lions at significantly higher rates compared to respondents who were between the ages of 18 to 54 years old. For example, 27.1% of respondents who were 55+ years old watched the Detroit Tigers compared to just 9.9% of respondents between the ages of 35 to 54 years old and 7.9% of respondents between the ages of 18 to 34 years old.
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