Politics Actually More Partisan Than Team Sport, Albeit Less So For Men

The current divisive state of partisan American politics is often compared to "team sport." Turns out, most Americans care far more about their favorite candidate than their favorite team, at least where the Super Bowl is concerned. By a margin of more than three to one, Americans say they would prefer to see their favorite candidate win the Presidential election than see their favorite NFL team win the Super Bowl.

Before you say "phew," keep in mind that 19% of Americans responding to the poll -- conducted by Seton Hall University's Stillman School of Business -- would rather see their favorite team win the Big Game, and that percentage shoots up to 28% among men responding to the poll.

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Among women, only 11% said they would prefer their team to win, with 84% preferring their candidate to win the presidential election.

“In the last two presidential elections voter turnout has been between 58% and 60%,” notes Rick Gentile, director of the Seton Hall Sports Poll, which is sponsored by the Sharkey Institute within the Stillman School of Business. “It shouldn’t be a surprise that that many men care more about the outcome of a baseball or a football season than the political future of the country – but it is alarming."

The are the findings are based on a poll conducted this week among 712 adults on landlines and cellphones across the country.  The poll has a margin of error of +/- 3.7%.

However, the poll found Americans are spending more time watching sports events than the televised presidential impeachment hearings during the past week.

Twenty-one percent of Americans said they spent more time watching the hearings, while 28% percent said they watched more sports events, and 40% said they watched more entertainment shows.
Ten percent said “none,” while 2% said they did not know or had no opinion.

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