Illinois' favorite NFL team? Many divided loyalties
CHICAGO – Illinois is home to one of the original NFL franchises in the Chicago Bears, but not everyone in the state calls them their favorite football team.
VividSeats.com released an in-depth report last year naming the most popular NFL team in each county of the United States of America. Findings show that the Bears are loved up north, but there are divided loyalties otherwise in the Land of Lincoln.
Perhaps a bit surprisingly, the Bears aren’t considered the most popular team in Illinois when broken down county-by-county. The Indianapolis Colts have slightly outnumbered the Bears in Illinois counties in which they have claimed the most fan support, 24-22.
According to Vivid Seats, in Illinois’ 102 counties…
- 24 are most likely to root for the Indianapolis Colts
- 22 are most likely to root for the Chicago Bears
- 15 are most likely to root for the Kansas City Chiefs
- 12 are most likely to root for the Tennessee Titans
- 11 are most likely to root for the Green Bay Packers
- Less than 5 are most likely to root for each of the Minnesota Vikings, Detroit Lions, Cincinnati Bengals and Carolina Panthers
Generally speaking, the Bears and Packers cover most of the northern Illinois counties. The Colts cover a large portion of central Illinois counties that are east of the state capitol Springfield, especially ones near the Illinois-Indiana state line. The Chiefs are favorites in the Metro East and share loyalty in several southern Illinois counties with the Titans.
Vivid Seats says the findings are based on data from 2021-22 ticket sales. The Bears also had some support in northern Iowa and northern Indiana.
ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7sMHRqqyanJOewaqx0meaqKVfo7K4v46sq5qslWK7psPSaKClpJmjvKq%2FjKecsKtfnrmttc2ooKxllpbDsL7IrZxmppaherWxwKZkm52Rp8Buwc9mpaiqpJ16o8HTZqOorKNivKd5w6KtopyVmXqtu9iao62hlah8