The absence of professional sports is surely taking its toll on Americans. Many fans love to watch these larger-than-life athletes and personalities perform at the highest level of their respective sports.
So many people love sports, and just as many people have a preferred sport to follow. While for many years baseball lived up to its name of “America’s Favorite Pastime”, the NFL surpassed the MLB a long time ago (the 1960s!) and continues to reign supreme. There are various reasons for this, with perhaps the biggest factor being its better suitability for television.
However, it appears that in the coming years both of these leagues are on pace to be overtaken by the NBA. A survey of 6,599 US adults conducted in July 2019 by Statista shows that among Gen Z (18 to 22-year-olds, the youngest age range in the survey), only 23 percent picked the NFL as their favorite league with the NBA only 4 percent behind.
While there are likely various factors behind this, I hypothesize the overwhelming factor is the advent of social media. The NBA simply produces far more highlights and has more outlandish personalities who are allowed to express themselves on social media.
Overall, it is quite interesting to see how people’s perceptions of various sports have evolved as generations pass. If you want to know more about the league that seems to be overtaking all others in popularity, be sure to check out this infographic about how the NBA draft has changed over time!