Sports and national pride remain tightly linked for most American fans. A recent survey from CivicScience and SBJ Sports Consumer Insights found that about 70% of fans for the NFL, MLB, and NHL support playing the national anthem before games. The polling took place from April 8 through May 26 and focused on how Americans feel about patriotism in sports as the nation prepares for the 250th anniversary of independence. The group surveyed roughly 2,945 to 4,614 people, all of whom identified as sports fans.
Football leads the pack
Football is widely considered America’s sport. The survey confirmed that perception, placing the NFL at the top of the engagement list. The New York Yankees, however, are the team that fans most associate with the label “America’s team.” This title is usually reserved for the Dallas Cowboys in popular culture, but the data suggests a different favorite among survey respondents.
When ranking cities, Pittsburgh takes the second spot for the best sports city in the country. The Steel City performs better than much larger markets in the survey results. This finding highlights how local fandom can sometimes outweigh the raw population numbers of other areas. The Yankees claim the top spot as America’s team, while the Cowboys do not appear in the top tier of that specific metric.
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The limits of patriotic marketing
Brands and sports properties have heavily promoted the upcoming America 250 celebrations. Sponsors launched ad campaigns and players wore commemorative patches during the playoffs. The MLB even used Tom Petty’s “American Girl” for a new marketing push. Despite these high-profile efforts, the public response has been lukewarm. Fewer than a quarter of U.S. adults say they are very likely to support a brand that adopts them actively.
Historically, sports marketing often relies on broad emotional appeals to the collective identity of the country. This approach has worked for decades, but the current data suggests a shift in consumer sentiment. When a brand pushes patriotism too hard, it can alienate rather than attract customers. The survey indicates that fans are becoming more selective about which brands they support, regardless of the patriotic messaging attached to them.
It is interesting to compare this response to the widespread support for the national anthem. The vast majority of fans want the anthem played before games, yet they hesitate to back commercial products that lean heavily into the same patriotic themes. This distinction reveals a complex relationship between sports and national identity. Fans want the ceremony, but they are wary of the commercial exploitation of those symbols.