Where Braves rank among America’s favorite baseball teams
Good morning. This is LEADOFF, the early buzz in Atlanta sports.
Despite back-to-back losing seasons and the passing of a decade since their games were last nationally televised on TBS, the Braves still rank high among America's favorite baseball teams.
A new poll, commissioned by FiveThirtyEight.com and released Thursday, asked self-described baseball fans across the U.S. to name their favorite MLB team. Ten percent selected the Yankees, more than picked any other team. The Braves, Cubs and Red Sox were in close pursuit, each named as the favorite by 8 percent of respondents nationwide.
The Braves’ enduring national popularity might be surprising to some, given that the franchise hasn’t won a playoff series in 15 years and has lost 90-plus games in each of the past two seasons.
But it might not be surprising to those who remember how the Braves attracted a nationwide following and became known as “America’s Team” during their three decades (1977-2007) as national programming on Ted Turner’s Superstation.
TBS dropped Braves telecasts after the 2007 season, relegating them to regional cable networks.
The new poll shows the Braves to be the favorite team of 22 percent of fans in the South, defined as a 16-state region from Texas to Florida to Maryland. The Texas Rangers are next, favored by 12 percent of fans across that region. Interestingly, within Florida, the Braves are the favorite team of 17 percent of fans, making them more popular in that state than the Tampa Bay Rays (favored by 15 percent) or Miami Marlins (8 percent), according to the poll.
The poll shows extremely mixed results for the Yankees. While named the favorite team of 10 percent of baseball fans, the Yankees were named as the least favorite team by 27 percent, far more than singled out anyone else for that dubious distinction.
Only 3 percent called the Braves their least favorite team.
READ ON ...
* One Atlanta team is currently in serious playoff contention. Hint: That team plays soccer. Read Jeff Schultz's column here.
* See Matt Ryan's reaction in his first look inside the nearly completed Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
* Terrell Davis, who had a checkered career as a University of Georgia running back before going on to stardom with the Denver Broncos, is counting down the days until his induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Read D. Orlando Ledbetter's story here.
* Before leaving town for the rest of the month, the Braves drew 240,000 fans in six days. See story here.
About the Author
Tim Tucker, a long-time AJC sports reporter, often writes about the business side of the games. He also had stints as the AJC's Braves beat writer, UGA beat writer, sports notes columnist and executive sports editor. He was deputy managing editor of America's first all-sports newspaper, The National Sports Daily.
