by BILL REESE

Before we get into the results of the EoS New York Soccer Census, let me pause to thank the 1,385 readers who took time out of their busy schedules, jobs, kids, and a million other things they could have been doing to take our survey. I would have been thrilled to get 300 responses. To get four times that amount was unbelievable. THANK YOU!

Introduction

The EoS New York Soccer Census was conducted via a Google Forms poll from October 5-6 and collected a total of 1,385 responses. Of those polled, 609 fans identified as supporters of the New York Red Bulls, 574 for New York City FC, 179 for the New York Cosmos, and 23 did not list a favorite club.

In two instances, entries were slightly modified after the poll closed to clarify and more accurately answer a specific question. Both instances are explained in this article.

Quick Takeaways from the EoS NY Soccer Census

1. New York is Mostly Blue

Our survey showed that NYCFC fans made up a majority of fans in both New York State and the five boroughs of New York City. 82% of NYCFC fans hailed from the Empire State compared to 40% of Red Bulls fans.

2. New Jersey is Dark Red

While NYCFC held a majority of fans in both New York City and State, across the Hudson in New Jersey, Red Bulls fans overwhelm those of the Cosmos and NYCFC, accounting for 86% of all Garden State fans.

3. NYCFC Fans Are Very New Fans of MLS

Even though MLS has been in operation for 21 years, our survey found that a staggering 81% of NYCFC fans have become fans of MLS specifically within the last five years. Though 56% of NYCFC fans have been fans of soccer for more than 10 years, only 10% have been fans of MLS.

4. Season Ticket Holder Renewal Rates Are Through the Roof

Season ticket holders made up a significant portion of our survey participants, and we found that more than 90% of season ticket holders across all three teams plan to renew their season tickets, and fans planning to buy season tickets for the first time outnumbered those dropping their season tickets.

5. More Fans of the MLS/NASL teams in New York Support Colombia than Mexico



We expected that Mexico would be the second most popular national team behind the United States, but our survey found that more fans of the Red Bulls, NYCFC, and Cosmos support Los Cafeteros of Colombia than they do El Tri of Mexico.

6. Lukewarm Support for Pro Women’s Soccer

Our survey found that a large majority of fans of the professional men’s soccer teams in the New York area do not support the local women’s professional team, Sky Blue FC. Nor were fans overly enthusiastic for a their teams to partner with a new or existing NWSL franchise, a la Portland Thorns or Orlando Pride.

7. The vast majority of readers do not find a bias in EoS coverage. However …



While more than 77% of readers felt EoS showed no bias against a particular team, nearly a third of NYCFC fans felt that the site is biased against the Bronx Blues.

For more in-depth analysis of every question asked in the survey, click through to the next page.

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