How popular are the Stars in Dallas?

[NeelyWasAWarrior]

Just a comment on the US college sports, Texas is like the place for football in the entire USA so it must be even extra important. I was in Oregon five years ago and the impact of the Oregon Ducks and Oregon state beavers was huge. Far more college jerseys there and hats, merchandise than anything to do with the Portland Trailblazers.

In Canada university/college is pure utility. You go to school for better job prospects. when the average Canadian graduates and leave they most likely will never set foot back into that building again. And no-one would ever donate any significant amount of money to an alumni. That would be regarded as odd and a complete waste of money.

Thank you for that insight. Didn't realize there was a stark difference in that alumni/college relationship between the U.S./Canada.

 

[Jack Be Quick]

Stanford and Washington also tend to draw pretty well in Football. It's really only the North East that is fairly indifferent to college football supporting local teams.

Chicago doesn't have a major team in market depending on what people think of Northwestern as a program. But, I'm sure ND is pretty big deal and it's only a 2 hour drive, plus, they likely have alum from all over the Big 10 who are passionate about their teams as Chicago is the major city of the Mid-west.

Stanford is another example of almost exclusively the current student body and some alumni. That and the Sharks have great support in Nor Cal.

Same with Washington, though I won't die on that hill as of today because the Kraken are brand new. Dollars to donuts though the NHL will be more popular in no time.

I left out the Wild as well. There's little chance the state of hockey wouldn't prefer a cup over whatever the golden gophers would get.

 

[AintLifeGrand]

That's funny. I've been to 38 states, and 30+ countries across 4 continents. Unlike most states we actually have passports up here.

If sec football is more popular in Nashville proper then so be it. Not going to argue about that one since I've only spent a week there and the town was painted yellow and it wasn't during the playoffs, but that was the impression I got.

You're out of your mind if you think Philadelphia doesn't bleed orange. It might be the only city in which the NHL is more popular than the NBA.

DC is half transplants so maybe, technically, there are more college football fan, but who exactly is huge amongst the locals? Maryland? VA Tech? UVA? That's just silly given the support the caps have. Or maybe you were talking about Georgetown, lol.

USC vs the Kings might be an interesting one if they're ever any good again for a sustained period again, but I'd still take the Kings overall all day. Not to mention you talk about the passive press fans when more than half the coliseum is full of coeds who are there exclusively to get drunk and will never watch a game again post graduation.

Have you ever been to the last 3 cities I mentioned? I'd guess I have at least two dozen times between them off the top of my head.

Maybe you should hop over the Mason Dixon sometime.

Stanford is another example of almost exclusively the current student body and some alumni. That and the Sharks have great support in Nor Cal.

Same with Washington, though I won't die on that hill as of today because the Kraken are brand new. Dollars to donuts though the NHL will be more popular in no time.

I left out the Wild as well. There's little chance the state of hockey wouldn't prefer a cup over whatever the golden gophers would get.

my mans living in an alternate reality where hockey isnt a niche sport

 

[93LEAFS]

Stanford is another example of almost exclusively the current student body and some alumni. That and the Sharks have great support in Nor Cal.

Same with Washington, though I won't die on that hill as of today because the Kraken are brand new. Dollars to donuts though the NHL will be more popular in no time.

I left out the Wild as well. There's little chance the state of hockey wouldn't prefer a cup over whatever the golden gophers would get.

Buffalo is pretty obvious, Since there is no powerhouse team in state, and the SUNY system largely ignores college football. I went to a Leafs/Sabres game a few years ago, and then after went to a big sports bar next to the arena during the first Thursday night of March Madness. Only gear I really remember seeing was St. Bonaventure.

Thank you for that insight. Didn't realize there was a stark difference in that alumni/college relationship between the U.S./Canada.

Donor culture in the United States for Universities relative to Canada is nuts. My dad had a colleague who went to one of the elite North-Eastern schoosl, and basically, it was expected at some event for the people there to shell 5 figures and the number didn't being with a 1. Since all of Canada's universities are primarily public (even high-ranking ones like UofT), the alumni relations tends to be different.

 

[KillerMillerTime]

As a Jets fan in a neck and neck race for first in the central with Dallas I have been watching their game highlights more regularly and I got to thinking just how much they matter in their market. It's certainly large enough and the Stars are usually competitive. Their arena tonight had a lot of energy to it. Would be really interesting to hear from Texans where the Stars rank in the area's sports pecking order. Thanks

Behind all 3 other pro sports teams and TCU Football.

 

[Jack Be Quick]

my mans living in an alternate reality where hockey isnt a niche sport

My man has reading comprehension issues while simultaneously deflecting.

 

[KillerMillerTime]

College sports are huge all across the US and probably ahead of the NHL in all cities. I'm not a college fan so I don't get it but that's the reality.

Absolutely not in Boston.

 

[Jack Be Quick]

Buffalo is pretty obvious, Since there is no powerhouse team in state, and the SUNY system largely ignores college football. I went to a Leafs/Sabres game a few years ago, and then after went to a big sports bar next to the arena during the first Thursday night of March Madness. Only gear I really remember seeing was St. Bonaventure.

Good point about Buffalo.

Syracuse is really the only one in state, and they're only ever occasionally good at basketball. Maybe you'll find a few random Rutgers football or St Johns and Seton Hall b-ball fans in the city.

 

[Jack Be Quick]

Delete

 

[Jack Be Quick]

Philly does have its old college basketball culture, but I feel like it's waned a little bit in the last 15 years for various reasons. As for Pitt football...lol no one cares. There are more PSU fans in the Pittsburgh area than Pitt ones.

Source: from Philly burbs, went to Pitt.

I completely forgot about the Pens. They must be more popular than Penn State in the metro area, no?

Happy to be corrected as I've only spent a few days there.

 

[93LEAFS]

Good point about Buffalo.

Syracuse is really the only one in state, and they're only ever occasionally good at basketball. Maybe you'll find a few random Rutgers football or St Johns and Seton Hall b-ball fans in the city.

They used to be pretty good at football (Jim Brown, Ernie Davis) and had patches in the 90s, but haven't been relevant in football in 2 decades (last relevant team was probably the McNabb/Marvin Harrison teams).

 

[yada]

Not a stars fan but living in dallas

Stars are definitely last in pro sports popularity and behind the major local college teams in the area. One thing the stars do have is a dedicated fan base and one thing hockey does as well or better then every other sport is having die hards vs the amount of casuals.

American airlines is also priced decently and is a great experience. I probably have had the best fan experience here vs other arenas (including mlb/nfl/nba/nhl) ive been too.

This is not even close to being true outside of PARTS of the South.

No one in Chicago, NYC, th Bay Area, Boston, LA, Philly, DC, or Seattle gives one single shit about college football.

When cal or stanford are good ncaa is certainly popular. Problem is theyve been irrelevant for years

 

[ElGuapo]

Makes sense i guess. I mentioned Texas Tech, among others...forgot about Baylor too, which seems to have a pretty dedicated following, but pretty specific to certain types of people?

But it makes sense that they'd be more the "rural" sort of team. Dallas Fort Worth as a city area has different rooting interests i guess?


Anyway. Boomer Sooner is a GOAT fight song. So i can understand being a fan even if you're in Texas.



I guess that makes sense. Dallas certainly seems like a bit of a "magnet" for grads and stuff. In a way that none of the cities in Oklahoma really are.

Baylor's fan base is pretty small. I'd say the top three college fanbases in Texas are Texas, A&M, and Tech. Baylor, TCU, and the rest of the D1 schools have relatively small fanbases.

Boomer Sooner is the most annoying song ever, LOL. I like most fight songs but not that one.

Yes the 'Plex is because it's a huge metro area. A lot bigger than any in OK.

 

[ElGuapo]

Shots like this just blow my mind......college sports never really took off in Canada the way they clearly did in the US.

We don't even have any stadiums in the entire country that are as big as this one, except for Alberta's Commonwealth Stadium):

View attachment 646938


.......meanwhile, the US probably has multiple venues just like that, in every single state, packed to capacity. For televised college football.

Eight of the top 10 largest stadiums in the world are college football stadiums.

Never really understood the college pride thing, think it's one of the silliest aspects of being American. Also hate college sports too, would much prefer regional D-leagues and stop the facade of "education" and fiscal waste at those institutions. But it's never going to change until college evolves to become something else.

Do you understand pro sports pride?

Even SMU probably attracts more fans to football and basketball than the Stars to any hockey game. Truth is, hockey is just a niche sport in all but a few NHL cities, and Dallas is no different in this regard. Doesn't mean hockey is bad, but it doesn't come close to dominating fan bases. Dallas could get to the WCF and probably less than 0.1% of the population would care. Contrast Canadian cities.

SMU draws 20k per game for football... Barely more. Basketball about 6,000 per game. And both play a lot less home games so not even comparable.

 

[KovalchukFistPump]

I also don’t get the college sports obsession. I loved going to games when I was in college but stopped caring a couple years after graduating. It’s just not nearly as interesting to me watching amateur kids play instead of professionals.

There’s also a bizarre phenomenon of people who didn’t even attend these schools being some of the most diehard fans. Like I get there aren’t any pro teams in alabama but still some folks get real weird about it. So much of it is just a pageant anyways.

In response to Houston adding a team I think that would actually boost ratings because a lot of Dallas fans in general care a ton about their rivalries. Partially because of being scuttled around different divisions and having nobody in the area I think many Dallas fans would still think of Colorado as their biggest rival because of the late 90s teams and maybe most would say they dislike the Blues the most also because of playoff history. The league has tried to make Nashville the new rival but meh.

States like Alabama, Mississippi, Nebraska, South Carolina, Kentucky, Idaho, etc that don't have enough centered population and thus don't have a chance to ever get a pro sports teams are the ones that largely become the biggest fans of college sports. It makes sense.

That being said, if you have a pro option close by I don't get it. I used to hate when ESPN would devote such a large amount of time to covering college sports, back when they were the only sports TV option. And I turn off sports radio any time they discuss it.

Personally, I would have trouble living in a place where college ruled. Maybe if I work at one.

 

[seafoam]

The population of the Dallas Metro is so large that the Stars can be towards the bottom of popularity in the area and still sell more tickets than most markets on any given night.

 

[Jack Be Quick]

When cal or stanford are good ncaa is certainly popular. Problem is theyve been irrelevant for years

I'm sure, and probably shouldn't have put the California teams in the "no one gives a shit" category.

I still think the Sharks are more popular with actual sports fans in the area. Similar to how Americans only give a shit about soccer if the US is doing well at the world cup.

 

[Jack Be Quick]

States like Alabama, Mississippi, Nebraska, Kansas, Indiana, Idaho, etc that don't have enough centered population and thus don't have a chance to ever get a pro sports teams are the ones that largely become the biggest fans of college sports. It makes sense.

That being said, if you have a pro option close by I don't get it. I used to hate when ESPN would devote such a large amount of time to covering college sports, back when they were the only sports TV option. And I turn off sports radio any time they discuss it.

Personally, I would have trouble living in a place where college ruled. Maybe if I work at one.

Why drink skim milk unless you hold stock in the company or have an issue with your cholesterol?

 

[Fulmination]

States like Alabama, Mississippi, Nebraska, Kansas, Indiana, Idaho, etc that don't have enough centered population and thus don't have a chance to ever get a pro sports teams are the ones that largely become the biggest fans of college sports. It makes sense.

That being said, if you have a pro option close by I don't get it. I used to hate when ESPN would devote such a large amount of time to covering college sports, back when they were the only sports TV option. And I turn off sports radio any time they discuss it.

Personally, I would have trouble living in a place where college ruled. Maybe if I work at one.

Kansas City has Royals and Chiefs. Technically MO side of the city line, but still there team.

 

[KovalchukFistPump]

Kansas City has Royals and Chiefs. Technically MO side of the city line, but still there team.

I replaced Kansas and Indiana with South Carolina and Kentucky - as they are a better example.

Kansas and Indiana are in that middle ground where they each have a pair of teams, but probably won't be getting all 4 sports anytime soon.

 

[Matty Sundin]

They don’t too bad considering a lot of sports teams are ahead of them and they been kinda mediocre for a lot seasons the last 20 years or so.

 

[BrockLobster]

College sports are huge all across the US and probably ahead of the NHL in all cities. I'm not a college fan so I don't get it but that's the reality.

Not in the NYC metropolitan area. No one cares about college sports.

 

[Jack Be Quick]

Eight of the top 10 largest stadiums in the world are college football stadiums.

I like your style. Because lord knows I take pride in being on par with North Korea, India, and a random cricket venue.

Who knows? Maybe someday the NFL will finally get their shit together and do away with mezzanines, luxury boxes, and individual seats with trash cupholders, armrests, and occasionally even cushions.

I for one get erect at the thought of sitting in between blackout frat boys - who spent $6 to be there - on a bleacher and it's always nice to find similarly minded individuals, topic be damned.

 

[koyvoo]

What about the size of some of those nascar stadiums. If that’s what they’re called.

And that’s to watch cars going around in a circle. Lol.

 

[Power Surge]

Not in the NYC metropolitan area. No one cares about college sports.

Yeah, I already acknowledged the correction.