The 5 Most Popular Sports In New York

June 28, 2022

New York is one of the most popular places on the planet. It’s a pretty diverse location and is considered a melting pot of folks from all different walks of life. You could find a few aspects of many cultures from around the world when in New York. The residents are pretty big on their sports but, given the diversity, tastes vary. There have been polls conducted to determine which sports resonate the most with New Yorkers and the top five can be found right below.

Football

This shouldn’t be surprising at all. Football is the most popular sport in the United States. It’s also the biggest in NY, which has three NFL teams in the New York Jets, New York Giants, and Buffalo Bills. That makes it the biggest football state, with the rivalries making for great entertainment.

Football is, by far, the most cherished sporting discipline in NY so football betting is widely practiced, especially given that Caesars Sportsbook is available in New York. The Bills have the more successful team of the three, with the Jets and Giants floundering for the last several years. There’s hope they could be much improved in 2022/23, however.

Buffalo is actually the betting favorite for the Super Bowl at the moment, with bookmakers attaching odds of 13/1 to their name. The Jets are a very long 150/1 while the Giants are 80/1.

Baseball

Next up is baseball. The New York Yankees are one of the most recognizable teams in all of sport and you’ll be sure to spot Yankees merchandise just about anywhere in the world, even in countries that know very little about baseball. 

Baseball is treated like religion in NY, especially considering its team’s success. The Yankees are one of the biggest organizations in U.S sports and hold the record for the most World Series wins. 

The Los Angeles Dodgers are the strongest team in the MLB nowadays and are tipped to win the World Series this term. Bookmakers also fancy their chances and have them at 9/2 for World Series glory. The Yankees, though, are right behind at 21/4.

Soccer

Soccer is the most popular sport in the world and outranks the second-most popular by a whole lot. The U.S, however, is one of the few countries on the planet where it isn’t King. That appears to be changing as several top international stars have been playing in the MLS after illustrious careers in Europe. David Beckham was one of the biggest and has since become the owner of an expansion team in Miami. The likes of Didier Drogba, Kaka, Wayne Rooney, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Thierry Henry, Frank Lampard, and David Villa have graced North American football as well.

Lots of American soccer fans watch the major European and South American leagues but the MLS is also growing pretty rapidly. New York City FC and New York Red Bulls have been instrumental in this shift. Both of these teams have had some of the biggest names under their employ. Henry, for one, scored 51 goals for Red Bulls after successful stints in France, England, and Spain.

Golf

Golf is also pretty popular in New York. It’s a sport for people of all ages so NY’s courses are always filled. There are many impressive courses therein and you’d be embarrassed with options when in NY if that’s your thing.

Professionally, golf is still increasing its audience as TV coverage is getting better and better.

Basketball

New York has two NBA teams. The Knicks are one of the worst teams in the league and it’s been that way for a long time, yet they remain a favorite around the world and make the most profit of all the teams in pro basketball. The Knickerbockers, their real name, can still boast having won two championships, though not since the early 70s.

The Brooklyn Nets, formerly the New Jersey Nets, are yet to win an NBA title but that might change pretty soon as they have three All-Stars on their roster in Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, and Ben Simmons. They were the outright favorites to win the championship for most of this season but ended up getting swept in the first round of the playoffs.

Despite the lack of success of its teams, people are passionate about basketball in New York, which is the NBA’s largest market too.