Seen this Facebook MLB fan-dom map?

[_sturt_]

Wondering if what strikes you about this is what strikes me about this (?)...

[comish4lif]

VA and Eastern NC are Yankee territory?

[_sturt_]

*ding ding ding*

...and that, once this team gets a tradition of winning going, there's seemingly a whole lot more opportunity than most teams could expect to grow the fan base... right?

[Baseball is Life]

Here's a link to higher resolution version:
http://deadspin.com/facebook-data-provide-the-most-accurate-mlb-fandom-map-1555222593

[dracnal]

I wish they'd include Canada in the survey.  It'd be interesting to see if Montreal quit caring completely, followed the team, or moved on to Toronto.  Given the regional differences, I'd be kinda surprised by that last one.

[_sturt_]

yep

[Displaced Bucco]

I really like the asterisk...there are no U.S. counties where a pluarlity of fans like the New York Mets!

[Baseball is Life]

*ding ding ding*

...and that, once this team gets a tradition of winning going, there's seemingly a whole lot more opportunity than most teams could expect to grow the fan base... right?

Virginia will be Nats Country.

[Copecwby20]

Virginia IS Nats territory. "Yankee fans" in this area are just douchebags that like to be trendy and wear the hat. Not fans.

[Squab]

Virginia IS Nats territory. "Yankee fans" in this area are just douchebags that like to be trendy and wear the hat. Not fans.

Like the sort of people who like a team on Facebook in droves.

[HalfSmokes]

Mets have no fans?

[PebbleBall]

Virginia will be Nats Country.

Look at the map and think per capita.

[Galah]

It tells me I am much more color blind than I originally suspected.

[welch]

I think the Mets are popular in Queens County, NY. Large population, but small territory compared to Montana.

[Dave301]

Redskins country stretched all the way to the Carolinas before they got the expansion Panthers. I don't see why the Nats can't eventually become dominant in the same areas.

[dracnal]

Redskins country stretched all the way to the Carolinas before they got the expansion Panthers. I don't see why the Nats can't eventually become dominant in the same areas.

Honestly, I don't give a rodent's backside how many fans the team has except inasmuch as it affects the bottom line available for signing talent.  Ask Boston how much they like the pink hatters.  But I don't disagree - if the team creates a winning tradition, they'll hold down a pretty good chunk of the mid-Atlantic region. 

[tomterp]

Mets have no fans?

Fewer than the Yankees in every place.

[JCA-CrystalCity]

VA and Eastern NC are Yankee territory?

NYY are the default in terms of fan following around the country.  That's why Utah has black.

This team seems to have NoVa, while the Os seem to have most of MD.  Getting an AAA team into Richmond I think would be a key move.  Maybe moving hagerstown to Fredericksburg will be a good step.

As for the phrase "pink hat," I'm pretty sure it was first used as a derisive reference up in Boston by older traditional fans and then spread more generically to front runners who really did not care about baseball but showed for the event once it became an event.  Style over substance, thus pink rather than team colors. 

[Bermygreen]

I don't see Bermuda on that map.  Big Nats territory.  At least two of us.  Oh yeah.

[DPMOmaha]

Also, Nebraska isn't full of Yankee fans. It's full of Royals, Cards, and Cubs fans. But non-Yankee fans far outweigh Yankee fans.

[KnorrForYourMoney]

Also, Nebraska isn't full of Yankee fans. It's full of Royals, Cards, and Cubs fans. But non-Yankee fans far outweigh Yankee fans.

It seems to include pluralities too, not just majorities.

Also, it looks like that county with Omaha is Royals territory.

[HalfSmokes]

It's based on Facebook likes, so it'll skew to the kind of people who like a team on Facebook

[DPMOmaha]

It seems to include pluralities too, not just majorities.

Also, it looks like that county with Omaha is Royals territory.

It's based on Facebook likes, so it'll skew to the kind of people who like a team on Facebook

I get that. I had a nice laugh, though, when I saw how many counties came back as "Yankee" counties.

[Kevrock]

Virginia IS Nats territory. "Yankee fans" in this area are just douchebags that like to be trendy and wear the hat. Not fans.

I have known plenty of Yankees fans in this area that are quality baseball fans, have been Yankee fans for decades, etc.

[Count Walewski]

If you are from nowhere near NY, and you became a Yankees fan in the 90's, and you are still a Yankees fan, you're probably a decent person. The truly heinous frontrunners all became Red Sox fans in 2002/2003 when the media decided that the Red Sox were cool. Red Sox have been the more successful team since then too.