The New York Yankees reach 1,107 miles from The Bronx to Tallahassee to be the favorite Major League Baseball team of 20 percent of Florida fans, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released today.

The Tampa Bay Rays are Team No. 1 for 18 percent of fans, followed by 15 percent cheering for the Miami Marlins, 8 percent for the Boston Red Sox and 7 percent for the Atlanta Braves, the independent Quinnipiac (KWIN-uh-pe-ack) University poll finds. The New York Mets win the hearts of 4 percent of Floridians, with no other team above 3 percent.

A total of 46 percent of Florida adults are "very interested" or "somewhat interested" in Major League Baseball, including 56 percent of men and 38 percent of women. By comparison, 54 percent of New Jersey adults and 53 percent of Connecticut adults are interested in baseball, Quinnipiac University polls in those states find.

The Yankees are the favorite team for 29 percent of fans 18 to 34 years old. The Marlins win the love of 44 percent of fans in southeast Florida, while the Rays rule with 54 percent of fans in the Tampa Bay area and the Braves are tops with 23 percent of fans in northern Florida and the Panhandle.

"Florida has only a 19-year tradition with Major League Baseball, so there is less fan interest, with the possible exception of those transplanted New Yorkers and their offspring," said Peter A. Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute.

From May 15 - 21, Quinnipiac University surveyed 1,988 Florida adults with a margin of error of +/- 2.2 percentage points. Live interviewers call land lines and cell phones.

The Quinnipiac University Poll, directed by Douglas Schwartz, Ph.D., conducts public opinion surveys in Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Florida, Ohio, Virginia and the nation as a public service and for research.

 

Article provided by Quinnipiac University Polling Institute