Yankees, Dodgers and Red Sox are still alive, but have the Rockies won America's heart?
What do the New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox and Los Angeles Dodgers have in common? Well, aside from each having massive payrolls and all still being alive in the postseason?
They’re all taking a backseat to a surprising team when it comes to support from a significant portion of the United States. At least that’s the story to the research done by Sportsbetting.ag. The website put together an infographic that identifies each state’s rooting interest based on geotagged Twitter data.
The team that’s earning the most support from the most states? None other than the Colorado Rockies.
The Rockies are the most tagged team in 17 states, which not surprisingly covers the Rocky Mountain region and extends throughout much of the Midwest. The Yankees follow close behind with 15.
Location, location, location
Why is the Midwest not a surprise? Because that’s largely St. Louis Cardinals territory. We know Cardinals fans are rooting for the Rockies to knock out the Milwaukee Brewers, much like the Rockies knocked out the Chicago Cubs in the NL wild-card game. The Brewers and Cubs are the Cardinals’ biggest rivals.
The Rockies are also drawing support in the northwest, which indicates Seattle Mariners fans have either adopted the Rockies, or are tired of seeing many of the same teams back in the postseason while their team misses its 17th straight October.
The most surprising state in the Rockies corner? Arizona. Granted, they share a spring training facility with the home state Arizona Diamondbacks, but those teams have a healthy rivalry too. Perhaps there’s an even healthier respect.
How do the other teams rate?
As noted, the Yankees are close behind the Rockies with 15 states. That includes Nevada, which happens to be home to Las Vegas, which happens to be Bryce Harper’s hometown. Just saying.
Most will point out that the states supporting the Yankees are more heavily populated than those supporting the Rockies. That might be true, but the Rockies support is pretty impressive. Just look at how large and how proud the Rockies logo sits on that map.
The Atlanta Braves, who were once branded as America’s team, own the south with six states. The Brewers take the north with five states. And no, that’s not a misprint. The Red Sox only have three, and the Dodgers just two.
Come Sunday, those rooting for the Rockies to make a run to the World Series might have to find a new bandwagon to jump. With Friday’s 4-0 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers, the Rockies enter Game 3 of the NLDS one loss away from elimination.
More from Yahoo Sports:
• Passan: Where do Cubs go after embarrassing postseason exit?
• The unlikely hero that saved the Rockies season
• Why Dodgers aren’t starting Kershaw in Game 1
• MLB postseason field is set: Here’s the schedule and how to watch
