REVEALED: According to Data, These Are Favorite Sports in New York

A new study by EmpireStakes.com uses search and social media data to rank the top 5 favorite sports in New York.

Football is revealed as New York’s favorite sport, shortly followed by baseball and soccer.

Home to major leagues such as The New York Yankees, New York Jets, New York Rangers, and many more, there is no doubt that NYC is beaming with sporting super-fans. But, have you ever caught yourself wondering which sport is most popular in the area?

A new study by EmpireStakes.com has uncovered the public’s favorite sports in the Empire State.

To determine the favorite, EmpireStakes.com analyzed Google search data and the number of positive social media sentiments for all top sports, and the results are in!

Taking the trophy is Football as New York crowds prove to be super fans, totaling more search data and positive social media activity than any other game! However, hot on its tail is baseball, making it a super close call. Soccer takes third place, sitting comfortably above golf and basketball.

The full top 5 list can be found below:

1) Football

Boasting not one, not two, but three NFL teams (New York Giants, Buffalo Bills, New York Jets), New York is a haven for football fans, so it’s no surprise that it’s the state’s favorite sport. In fact, the Giants is among the most successful franchises in NFL history, with four Super Bowl titles across the last four decades.

2) Baseball

There aren’t many sports teams more globally recognized than the 27-time World Series champions (an MLB record), the New York Yankees.

Whether it’s the famous Yankee Stadium or legends of past and present, the club oozes icon status and rightfully earns baseball second spot in New York fans’ favorite sports.

3) Soccer

While the MLS is only 25 seasons old, soccer has always played a part in New York’s sporting heritage. In the 70s, New York Cosmos was a national powerhouse, with World Cup icons Pele and Franz Beckenbauer among the ranks.

More recently, New York Red Bulls and New York City FC have each featured legendary European stars Thierry Henry and David Villa, respectively.

4) Golf

Home to some of the nation’s most popular courses, including Winged Foot and Shinnecock Hills, it’s no wonder that the people of New York love golf so much – enough to rank it their fourth favorite sport, in fact!

Fit for professionals and amateurs alike, there’s something for every level of golfer in New York.

5) Basketball

With two NBA teams calling New York home, it’s hardly shocking that basketball places in the state’s top five sports. The oldest of the two, the New York Knicks has been competing since 1946, and hold two Championship titles, while the Brooklyn Nets relocated to the city in 2012 after a 35-year hiatus in New Jersey.

Methodology

To bring you New York’s five favorite sports, it was first important to consider both Google search volume data and social media sentiment data for each sport. Giving each of 10 different sports a value for each of these two factors, EmpireStakes.com ranked them accordingly.

From here, each New York sport was assigned an index score between 0-1, relative to their ranked position, for each of the two factors.