Raleigh, N.C. – Even as their Bruins play in the Stanley Cup finals, and shortly after their Celtics were defeated in the NBA quarterfinals, Massachusetts is still the heart of Red Sox Nation. Between the state’s four major professional sports teams, the Sox are the favorite team of 45%, with the Patriots next at 24%, followed by the Celtics at 11%, and the Bruins at only 8%. 12% say their favorite team is someone else.
The Sox are far and away the choice of women, 51% of whom pick Boston’s baseball team, to 19% who choose the Foxborough-based Patriots. For men, the split is only 37-30. There are slight differences for the other two franchises. Men are a little more likely than women to pick the NHL club as their favorite (10% versus 6%), while women are a little more likely to root most heavily for the NBA outfit (12% versus 9%).
But while they adore the boys on Yawkey Way, Bay Staters are fonder of the Patriots’ head coach Bill Belichick than they are of the Sox’s manager Terry Francona. 37% say Belichick is their favorite field general. 26% choose Francona, 18% the Celts’ Doc Rivers, and 5% the Bruins’ Claude Julien.
As with team choice, there is a huge gender gap on the coaching question. Men, who were more likely to say their primary rooting interest lies with the football squad, pick Belichick by more than a 2:1 margin (45-22) over Francona, while women are split, 30-29, just barely in favor of Belichick.
On both questions, there are political differences that somewhat correlate with gender. Women are more likely than men to be Democrats, and men more likely to be Republicans. Democrats are more likely than Republicans or independents to like the Celts and Rivers, and actually prefer Francona to Belichick, 30-28, while Republicans and independents prefer Belichick by at least 20 points. Democrats also like the Sox by 29 points over the Pats, versus 22 for Republicans and 11 for independents.
PPP surveyed 957 Massachusetts voters from June 2nd to 5th. The margin of error for the survey is +/-3.2%. This poll was not paid for or authorized by any campaign or political organization. PPP surveys are conducted through automated telephone interviews. PPP is a Democratic polling company, but polling expert Nate Silver of the New York Times found that its surveys in 2010 actually exhibited a slight bias toward Republican candidates.
Topline results are below. Full results, including crosstabs, can be found here.
Q1 Is your favorite sports team the Red Sox, the
Bruins, the Celtics, the Patriots, or someone
else?
Red Sox…………………………………………………. 45%
Bruins ……………………………………………………. 8%
Celtics……………………………………………………. 11%
Patriots ………………………………………………….. 24%
Someone else…………………………………………. 12%
Q2 Is your favorite coach Terry Francona, Claude
Julien, Doc Rivers, Bill Belichick, or someone
else?
Terry Francona………………………………………… 26%
Claude Julien ………………………………………….. 5%
Doc Rivers ……………………………………………… 18%
Bill Belichick……………………………………………. 37%
Someone else…………………………………………. 15%
Q3 Who did you vote for President in 2008?
John McCain…………………………………………… 34%
Barack Obama………………………………………… 60%
Someone else/Don’t remember …………………. 6%
Q4 Would you describe yourself as very liberal,
somewhat liberal, moderate, somewhat
conservative, or very conservative?
Very liberal ……………………………………………… 16%
Somewhat liberal …………………………………….. 24%
Moderate………………………………………………… 33%
Somewhat conservative……………………………. 19%
Very conservative ……………………………………. 8%
Q5 If you are a woman, press 1. If a man, press 2.
Woman ………………………………………………….. 54%
Man……………………………………………………….. 46%
Q6 If you are a Democrat, press 1. If a Republican,
press 2. If you are an independent or identify
with another party, press 3.
Democrat ……………………………………………….. 46%
Republican……………………………………………… 15%
Independent/Other…………………………………… 40%
Q7 If you are white, press 1. If other, press 2.
White …………………………………………………….. 89%
Other……………………………………………………… 11%
Q8 If you are 18 to 29 years old, press 1. If 30 to
45, press 2. If 46 to 65, press 3. If you are
older than 65, press 4.
18 to 29………………………………………………….. 12%
30 to 45………………………………………………….. 26%
46 to 65………………………………………………….. 42%
Older than 65………………………………………….. 20%
