With a lull in the news and the MLS SuperDraft not being until January 15, I thought I would turn to Facebook fandom numbers for the NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL & MLS. I've been tracking a couple of pages off and on but now I have complied a full list that covers all 5 leagues. I realize that Sports Fan Graph tracks this information but I collected the final information from each Facebook page over the course of an hour or two last evening. I prefer to work in my own Excel with a couple of different statistics included and this will also provide a historical snapshot to compare Facebook fandom in six months, 12 months, or six years down the line.
The full graph would take up almost the entire frontpage of Hot Time In Old Town so I've put it after the break. It's true MLS teams have a long way to go but you might be surprised by how many sports organizations the Fire are ahead of. They just hit 31,000 fans yesterday and that's not too shabby grounds to be on.
|
1 |
Los Angeles Lakers |
4,726,762 |
NBA |
|
2 |
New York Yankees |
2,653,119 |
MLB |
|
3 |
Boston Celtics |
2,403,063 |
NBA |
|
4 |
Dallas Cowboys |
1,816,984 |
NFL |
|
5 |
Boston Red Sox |
1,692,332 |
MLB |
|
6 |
Pittsburgh Steelers |
1,284,704 |
NFL |
|
7 |
New England Patriots |
1,210,883 |
NFL |
|
8 |
New Orleans Saints |
1,029,637 |
NFL |
|
9 |
Chicago Bears |
994,147 |
NFL |
|
10 |
Chicago Cubs |
841,836 |
MLB |
|
11 |
Chicago Bulls |
754,292 |
NBA |
|
12 |
Miami Heat |
709,035 |
NBA |
|
13 |
Philadelphia Phillies |
694,058 |
MLB |
|
14 |
San Francisco Giants |
692,236 |
MLB |
|
15 |
Indianapolis Colts |
687,890 |
NFL |
|
16 |
Minnesota Vikings |
686,029 |
NFL |
|
17 |
Green Bay Pakers |
625,961 |
NFL |
|
18 |
Cleveland Cavaliers |
544,698 |
NBA |
|
19 |
Montreal Canadiens |
530,122 |
NHL |
|
20 |
San Diego Chargers |
519,604 |
NFL |
|
21 |
St. Louis Cardinals |
507,341 |
MLB |
|
22 |
Chicago Blackhawks |
472,791 |
NHL |
|
23 |
Philadelphia Eagles |
456,673 |
NFL |
|
24 |
Miami Dolphins |
454,334 |
NFL |
|
25 |
Atlanta Braves |
450,656 |
MLB |
|
26 |
Minnesota Twins |
450,280 |
MLB |
|
27 |
New York Giants |
449,336 |
NFL |
|
28 |
Detroit Tigers |
449,070 |
MLB |
|
29 |
Washington Redskins |
446,071 |
NFL |
|
30 |
Oakland Raiders |
443,437 |
NFL |
|
31 |
Chicago White Sox |
435,456 |
MLB |
|
32 |
Los Angeles Dodgers |
429,660 |
MLB |
|
33 |
Orlando Magic |
416,813 |
NBA |
|
34 |
Denver Broncos |
395,682 |
NFL |
|
35 |
Texas Rangers |
393,405 |
MLB |
|
36 |
Detroit Red Wings |
389,486 |
NHL |
|
37 |
Pittsburgh Penguins |
388,697 |
NHL |
|
38 |
Philadelphia Flyers |
372,311 |
NHL |
|
39 |
San Francisco 49ers |
366,202 |
NFL |
|
40 |
Boston Bruins |
364,781 |
NHL |
|
41 |
Denver Nuggets |
353,192 |
NBA |
|
42 |
New York Jets |
322,449 |
NFL |
|
43 |
Seattle Seahawks |
301,874 |
NFL |
|
44 |
Cincinnati Bengals |
294,595 |
NFL |
|
45 |
Baltimore Ravens |
290,095 |
NFL |
|
46 |
New York Mets |
287,499 |
MLB |
|
47 |
Kansas City Chiefs |
286,403 |
NFL |
|
48 |
New York Knicks |
284,018 |
NBA |
|
49 |
Milwaukee Brewers |
277,919 |
MLB |
|
50 |
Vancouver Cancuks |
272,580 |
NHL |
|
51 |
San Antonio Spurs |
268,335 |
NBA |
|
52 |
Toronto Maple Leafs |
255,408 |
NHL |
|
53 |
Cincinnati Reds |
247,643 |
MLB |
|
54 |
Dallas Mavericks |
246,384 |
NBA |
|
55 |
Cleveland Indians |
241,141 |
MLB |
|
56 |
Phoenix Suns |
239,588 |
NBA |
|
57 |
Cleveland Browns |
224,534 |
NFL |
|
58 |
Seattle Mariners |
220,034 |
MLB |
|
59 |
Oakland Athletics |
215,665 |
MLB |
|
60 |
Tampa Bay Rays |
210,047 |
MLB |
|
61 |
Washington Capitals |
209,304 |
NHL |
|
62 |
Colorado Rockies |
201,601 |
MLB |
|
63 |
Oklahoma City Thunder |
196,782 |
NBA |
|
64 |
Houston Astros |
196,346 |
MLB |
|
65 |
Detroit Lions |
192,795 |
NFL |
|
66 |
Houston Rockets |
182,887 |
NBA |
|
67 |
Houston Texans |
178,911 |
NFL |
|
68 |
Portland Trail Blazers |
178,621 |
NBA |
|
69 |
Toronto Blue Jays |
176,943 |
MLB |
|
70 |
Buffalo Bills |
162,882 |
NFL |
|
71 |
San Diego Padres |
161,095 |
MLB |
|
72 |
Kansas City Royals |
158,864 |
MLB |
|
73 |
Los Angeles Angels |
158,033 |
MLB |
|
74 |
Tennessee Titans |
156,672 |
NFL |
|
75 |
Baltimore Orioles |
155,022 |
MLB |
|
76 |
Arizona Cardinals |
153,669 |
NFL |
|
77 |
Colorado Avalanche |
152,095 |
NHL |
|
78 |
Utah Jazz |
151,792 |
NBA |
|
79 |
Tampa Bay Buccaneers |
144,556 |
NFL |
|
80 |
Buffalo Sabres |
141,343 |
NHL |
|
81 |
New York Rangers |
140,818 |
NHL |
|
82 |
Seattle Sounders |
138,021 |
MLS |
|
83 |
San Jose Sharks |
135,894 |
NHL |
|
84 |
Toronto Raptors |
133,240 |
NBA |
|
85 |
Detroit Pistons |
128,670 |
NBA |
|
86 |
Atlanta Falcons |
126,206 |
NFL |
|
87 |
Golden State Warriors |
124,782 |
NBA |
|
88 |
Florida Marlins |
117,279 |
MLB |
|
89 |
Pittsburgh Pirates |
113,918 |
MLB |
|
90 |
Carolina Panthers |
113,716 |
NFL |
|
91 |
Jacksonville Jaguars |
111,823 |
NFL |
|
92 |
Minnesota Wild |
109,812 |
NHL |
|
93 |
New Jersey Devils |
104,498 |
NHL |
|
94 |
St. Louis Blues |
95,152 |
NHL |
|
95 |
Edmonton Oilers |
94,425 |
NHL |
|
96 |
Milwaukee Bucks |
91,243 |
NBA |
|
97 |
Carolina Hurricanes |
85,792 |
NHL |
|
98 |
Arizona Diamondbacks |
83,459 |
MLB |
|
99 |
Sacramento Kings |
69,265 |
NBA |
|
100 |
Anaheim Ducks |
67,556 |
NHL |
|
101 |
St. Louis Rams |
67,535 |
NFL |
|
102 |
Ottawa Senators |
63,879 |
NHL |
|
103 |
Philadelphia 76ers |
59,263 |
NBA |
|
104 |
Washington Nationals |
58,052 |
MLB |
|
105 |
Dallas Stars |
53,047 |
NHL |
|
106 |
Tampa Bay Lightning |
51,753 |
NHL |
|
107 |
Philadelphia Union |
51,052 |
MLS |
|
108 |
Calgary Flames |
50,038 |
NHL |
|
109 |
Atlanta Hawks |
49,443 |
NBA |
|
110 |
New York Red Bulls |
46,280 |
MLS |
|
111 |
Indiana Pacers |
44,894 |
NBA |
|
112 |
New Jersey Nets |
42,226 |
NBA |
|
113 |
Real Salt Lake |
41,051 |
MLS |
|
114 |
Los Angeles Kings |
40,871 |
NHL |
|
115 |
Minnesota Timberwolves |
39,283 |
NBA |
|
116 |
Nashville Predators |
35,738 |
NHL |
|
117 |
Los Angeles Galaxy |
34,761 |
MLS |
|
118 |
Charlotte Bobcats |
34,339 |
NBA |
|
119 |
New Orleans Hornets |
31,890 |
NBA |
|
120 |
Washington Wizards |
31,228 |
NBA |
|
121 |
31,038 |
MLS |
|
|
122 |
Phoenix Coyotes |
30,484 |
NHL |
|
123 |
Memphis Grizzlies |
29,833 |
NBA |
|
124 |
Toronto FC |
26,708 |
MLS |
|
125 |
New York Islanders |
25,038 |
NHL |
|
126 |
Los Angeles Clippers |
24,474 |
NBA |
|
127 |
Sporting KC |
24,088 |
MLS |
|
128 |
D.C. United |
23,621 |
MLS |
|
129 |
New England Revolution |
23,363 |
MLS |
|
130 |
Columbus Blue Jackets |
22,931 |
NHL |
|
131 |
Florida Panthers |
20,859 |
NHL |
|
132 |
Portland Timbers |
19,321 |
MLS |
|
133 |
Houston Dynamo |
14,879 |
MLS |
|
134 |
Atlanta Thrashers |
14,580 |
NHL |
|
135 |
Columbus Crew |
13,890 |
MLS |
|
136 |
San Jose Earthquakes |
12,506 |
MLS |
|
137 |
Colorado Rapids |
11,791 |
MLS |
|
138 |
FC Dallas |
11,634 |
MLS |
|
139 |
Chivas USA |
6,846 |
MLS |
|
140 |
Vancouver Whitecaps |
5,267 |
MLS |
I'll have a couple of different parts to this that spread over the next couple of days but I think it helps to look at the raw data from top to bottom. Clearly the Los Angeles Lakers are an institution of their own. They have almost 8 times as many fans as the entire MLS and almost as many fans as the entire NHL.
A couple of other random things that strike out at me. There's only 1 NFL team in the top 5 but 10 NFL teams in the top 10 and 14 NFL teams in the top 30. The lowest ranked MLB team is the Washington Nationals at No. 104 and the lowest NFL team is the St. Louis Rams at No. 101. Starting from the bottom MLS team up, it takes the 5,000 or so Sporting KC fan to get the same amount of fans that the Seattle Sounders do. Major props to the Seattle Sounder organization for that accomplishment. Speaking of the bottom though, are we sure Vancouver is going to cover their own in this Cascadia Cup thing? Facebook fans aren't everything but it's a pretty good gauge of fan support. Who's asleep at the wheel in Vancouver? Shouldn't they be taking advantage of the expansion feeling?
In terms of where the Fire are, it is decent compared to other MLS clubs but the sky is the limit. The Cubs, Bears, Bulls, White Sox and Blackhawks all rank near the top of their respective sports. I do know that the Fire facebook page was at 8,000 fans or so at the beginning of the season so perhaps we are finally seeing the power of Chicago harnessed. Oh, and yes 'Chicago Fire' is hyperlinked to the Fire facebook page. Can you give them a 'like' for the Holidays and if are already a fan, how about a 'suggest to all your friends'? The Bulls beat the Washington Wizards last night, perhaps we can beat the Washington Wizards on Facebook before the end of today.