Three in ten Americans who follow at least one sport (31%) say professional football is their favorite sport while 17% say baseball, according to a Harris Interactive.

 

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.


The company surveyed some 2,331 adults online between Dec. 6 and Dec. 13, 2010.


Just over one in ten sports fans (12%) said college football is their favorite sport while 7% said it is auto racing, 6% said men's professional basketball, 5% said hockey, and 4% each said 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 six points from 23% in 1985 to 17% today.


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.


While football may be the favorite sport, there is a decline in popularity from last year. With the possibility looming of a player's lock-out after this season, will fans stay loyal? In 1987 there was a strike and the popularity of the sport didn't suffer any lasting damage. All the major sports have been hit by labor disagreements over the past two decades, including the cancellation 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 the hockey and baseball championships, according to the report.