• by Karl Greenberg , February 6, 2008

Some solace for marketers with post-Super Bowl buyer's remorse: football is still the most popular sport in America. Rochester, N.Y.-based Harris Interactive says that despite the intramural drama and scandals, the popularity of major sports is unchanged, at least since last year.

Harris last month polled 2,302 adults--of whom 1,562 follow one or more sport--and found that 30% of the latter say professional football is their favorite. Second place goes to baseball, with 15% saying it is their favorite sport. College football is third, with 12%, and 10% of sports enthusiasts say auto racing is their favorite.

Both men's professional and college basketball have seen an overall 2% drop among respondents since 1985. The new survey pegs pro basketball's popularity at 4% among respondents.

The firm says that professional football has been the most popular sport in the U.S., at least since it started the study. And the game's popularity has actually risen. When Harris started the poll, only 24% of respondents who follow a sport or two said pro football was their favorite sport versus today's 30%.

Baseball, however, has dropped 8 percentage points, from 23% in popularity in the survey; men's tennis has also dropped 4 percentage points, from 5% to 1%.

Not surprising to anyone who has followed Nascar's rise in recent years, auto racing has also increased its popularity by five percentage points, from 5% in 1985. Also up is hockey--by 3 percentage points, to 5%.

When Harris crunched the numbers by income and other demographic variables, the firm found that most people who liked pro football belong to households making $50,000 to under $75,000; the game is most popular among those ages 25-29, and 65 and older; and among people who live on the East Coast.

Per the survey, Hispanics and those with a post graduate education are least likely to call football their favorite sport.

Baseball fans, like those who favor pro football, tend to be East Coasters. The game is also most popular among thirtysomethings. Those ages 65 and older are least likely to say baseball is their favorite sport.

In the Harris survey, college football is particularly popular among those with a college degree and Southerners. Just 3% of Easterners said college football was their favorite sport.

Auto racing skewed favorably toward consumers aged 30-39, Southerners and Conservatives, while it fares worst among Hispanics, and those ages 18-24.