Survey of Fan Loyalties: Are You a Displaced Fan?

[Ruhskins]

Interesting article. I don't remember where I heard this, but I believe one of the reasons that there are Cowboy fans within the DC area is because the Redskins were one of the last teams to integrate. So back in the days when the Redskins would not integrate black players into their teams, many fans who opposed this would root for the Cowboys. Another reason could be that there are a lot of bandwagon Cowboy fans and DC has a transient population. A lot of those bandwagon fans end up in DC for one reason or another.

In regards to other teams, cities that suffer some type of population exodus could result in fans moving to other areas of the country. For instance Pittsburgh comes to mind. I believe the city experienced a population exodus as the steel industry declined in that city. Many people moved to other areas of the country. Being the hardcore fans they are, these fans continued to follow the Steeler in their new homes.

I'm not surprised that the Redskins have a following in the Carolinas. I think the team had a southern fanbase for the longest time, especially in states that did not have teams of their own (i.e. Tennessee and the Carolinas). I'm sure there have been a decline with the coming of teams like the Tenn. Titans and the Carolina Panthers.