It can be difficult to discern the most popular sports teams in states that do not house their own. For the most part, fandom and general interest depend on geographical factors. That’s why many assume the most popular NFL team in Vermont is the New England Patriots.
Yet, as it turns out, this is not the case. At least, it is not the case anymore. And it comes much to the surprise of top sports betting sites who have used targeted promos and wagering lines to emphasize the most popular NFL squads across entire states and regions.
Naturally, this raises a question: If not the Patriots, then which NFL team is most commonly rooted for by those who live in The Green Mountain State?
It’s the New York Giants.
The New York Giants are Kings of Vermont
This information comes to use courtesy of the Burlington Free Press’ Rin Velasco, who pored over a study conducted by BetMGM. Here is what Velasco writes about the findings, and the process by which they are obtained:
“A report by the sports betting company BetMGM studying states’ most popular NFL teams found that both Connecticut and Vermont’s search data show that the Giants are more popular than the Patriots. ‘For the most part, states show the strongest support for their home teams, but there are two notable exceptions where this isn’t the case. Ironically, the New England Patriots have some turncoats,’ the report said. BetMGM came to this conclusion by analyzing Google Trends data. So, if the findings of this report are accurate, why would the Giants be more popular in Vermont and Connecticut than the Patriots? Well, one reason may be geography. Vermont and Connecticut both border New York, so it makes sense that people in those states would gravitate toward a New York team.”
While Velasco’s point about Vermont and Connecticut bordering New York is salient, the Patriots’ home state of Massachusetts is close enough for football fans in The Green Mountain State to glom onto them as well. In fact, given recent history, most probably expect Vermont residents to follow New England more closely.
Relevance has a lot to do with how people follow sports teams when they don’t live in-market. For their part, the Patriots have been way more relevant than the Giants over the past couple of decades. New England built a dynasty under quarterback Tom Brady and former head coach Bill Belichick. Though the Pats are currently in the rebuilding doldrums, Brady was the QB1 as recently as 2019. And they won their last Super Bowl in 2018—less than a decade ago.
These results are slightly more staggering when you look at the Giants’ own performance. New York has finished above .500 just once since 2017. And it has not won at least 10 games since 2016.
This is all to say: The Giants gaining an advantage over the Patriots despite not being nearly as successful in recent vintage is pretty impressive.
Why Vermont Favors the Giants Over Other NFL Teams in New York
So if we operate under the assumption that Vermontians will gravitate toward a New York sports team before any other market, we have to ask another question, specifically with regards to the NFL: Why aren’t the Buffalo Bills or New York Jets the state’s team of choice?
As we mentioned before, relevance can play a part in piquing interest. But while this might explain picking the Giants over the Jets, it does not adequately clarify why the Bills wouldn’t be the state’s favorite. Buffalo has won at least 10 games in every season since 2019, and there are parts of Vermont that are fairly close to where the Bills play. Let us also not forget that both the Jets and Giants share MetLife Stadium, which is located in East Rutherford, New Jersey. That is not even New York.
To be quite honest, we will not pretend to have the answer. Especially because, at times, it has seemed like Vermont residents are inclined to show plenty of support for the Bills.
With that said, one potential explanation stands out above the rest: The Giants used to hold training camp in Vermont.
Granted, the G-Men have not held training camp in The Green Mountain State for decades. As noted by the Burlington Free Press’ Elizabeth Murray, they “trained at St. Michael’s College in Colchester during the summers from 1956 to 1960. They would stay in dormitories on the campus and practice on turf behind what are now the Alumni Hall and Lyons Hall dorm buildings.” That feels like a lifetime ago at this point.
Then again, historical significance absolutely plays a role in shaping pro-sports allegiances. Just look at what happens in plenty of families. If an earlier generation is predominantly made up of Dallas Cowboys fans, this interest will often spill over into future generations—no matter where they live.
Perhaps it works the same way for Vermont. Sure, the Giants are close. At one time, though, they were closer—a franchise tied to a state that didn’t have one. If Vermont viewed the G-Men as their adopted franchise because they used to train there, that is definitely a feeling that could be ingrained into societal fabric interest.
To that end, we cannot know for sure why Vermont’s NFL loyalties are distributed the way they are. What we do know is that, when it comes to rooting for a pro football team, the Giants rank a cut above the organization everyone expects to capture Vermont’s interest.
