Football Friday: America's Most Fanatical Cities

With college bowl season well underway (and reaching its climax on Monday) and the NFL playoffs starting this weekend, football fever is sweeping America. Richard Florida looks at which cities can boast the most rabid fan bases.

2 minute read

January 4, 2013, 2:00 PM PST

By Jonathan Nettler @nettsj


Washington Redskins Fans

Keith Allison / Flickr

The most popular sport in America doesn't cater to a niche audience. Florida reports that, "[a] 2010 survey found that roughly two-thirds of Americans watch professional football, compared to just over half for college." And with last Sunday's Cowboys-Redskins broadcast on NBC earning the highest television ratings of the year for any program since the Academy Awards telecast (not including the London Olympics), it's clear that football means big business and big audiences.

To delve into the dynamics of football fandom, Florida and Patrick Adler, a doctoral student in urban planning at UCLA, investigated which teams and cities have the most fanatical fans, and "how pro fans stack up against those who favor the college game on a city by city basis."

For overall average attendance, pro and college combined, the big metros come out on top (New York leads, followed by San Francisco and Dallas). In metros where only college football is played, Los Angeles, Ann Arbor, and Columbus top the list. When considering football attendance as a share of a metro's population, "much smaller metros rise to the top. Oxford and Starkville, Mississippi rank first and second. Both have attendance that exceeds 100 percent of their population — a figure that is bolstered by students and out of area commuters."

What accounts for the overwhelming popularity of football in smaller versus larger metros? Says Florida, "It makes sense, actually, that small towns would have a stronger support base for their college teams. Folks in bigger cities and metros have a lot of options for entertainment, but the options in smaller metros and college tons [sic] are more limited — making football the biggest game in town."

portrait of professional woman

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

Cover CM Credits, Earn Certificates, Push Your Career Forward

Aerial view of town of Wailuku in Maui, Hawaii with mountains in background against cloudy sunset sky.

Maui's Vacation Rental Debate Turns Ugly

Verbal attacks, misinformation campaigns and fistfights plague a high-stakes debate to convert thousands of vacation rentals into long-term housing.

July 1, 2025 - Honolulu Civil Beat

Logo for Planetizen Federal Action Tracker with black and white image of U.S. Capitol with water ripple overlay.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker

A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

July 2, 2025 - Diana Ionescu

Map of Haussmann's redesign of Paris in the 1850s through 1870s under Napoleon III.

In Urban Planning, AI Prompting Could be the New Design Thinking

Creativity has long been key to great urban design. What if we see AI as our new creative partner?

June 30, 2025 - Tom Sanchez

Street with parking protected bike lane and parked cars in downtown Portland, Oregon.

Portland Raises Parking Fees to Pay for Street Maintenance

The city is struggling to bridge a massive budget gap at the Bureau of Transportation, which largely depleted its reserves during the Civd-19 pandemic.

July 8 - Willamette Week

Aerial view of Spokane, Washington with river in foreground.

Spokane Mayor Introduces Housing Reforms Package

Mayor Lisa Brown’s proposals include deferring or waiving some development fees to encourage more affordable housing development.

July 8 - The Spokesman-Review

Close-up on black and white "Bike Lane Ends" sign with bike logo.

Houston Mayor Kills Another Bike Lane

The mayor rejected a proposed bike lane in the Montrose district in keeping with his pledge to maintain car lanes.

July 8 - Houston Public Media

Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools

This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.

Planning for Universal Design

Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.

Associate/Senior Planner

Gallatin County Department of Planning & Community Development

Senior Planner

Heyer Gruel & Associates PA