Each professional sports league is vastly different from the others, not only in how they play the sport, but their fans. Especially on the road.
Major league baseball is tough to get a handle on because they play so many games, 81 of them away from home. What team's fans show up the most for road games? Maybe it's the Bronx Bombers. You see those caps with the "NY" on them here and there, even at games involving a different sport. The Bosox? I don't think so. The LA Dodgers might have been a contender until the McCourts ran that once proud franchise into the dirt. Philly, or Detroit? Nah. Many have long said the Cardinal fans in St. Louis are the most loyal, knowledgeable, and even politest in the game, when it comes to opposing teams and players. But you don't see too many StL caps or redbirds on shirts at away games. While tight-knit indeed, they always seemed to be a local bunch. Besides, since their mega-slugger Albert Pujols bailed for California, and future Hall of Fame manager Tony LaRussa went out on top with a World Series championship, who knows what kind of effect that will have on them?
The NBA is different, as well. Which team has the greatest fan road presence? In the "Bad Boy" era over 20 years ago, it was probably the Pistons. Nowadays, they can't come anywhere close to filling their OWN arena for home games. It's like they built a moat around the Palace. For a lot of stretches it might have been the Celtics, but they're in a slow decline these days. Could it be now be the Lakers or what Miami brings with the "Big 3"? Maybe. Here's a weird thought --- in a couple years it might well be the Okla City Thunder and, yes, gasp, the LA Clippers. The Thunder is the only pro team in ANY sport in Oklahoma and don't look now, but those guys are really good, and will get better. The Clips have been the Rodney Dangerfield of LA since forever, but with Blake Griffin, newly acquired Chris Paul, who's probably the best point guard in the league not named Derek Rose, and a strong supporting cast, they're a force to be reckoned with. If they somehow swing a deal for Dwight Howard -- look out. Yours truly admits he hasn't seen their gear shown much in other arenas to date, but if things keep progressing on the current path, chances are those logos will show up in a LOT of places. Time will tell. And aren't a lot of people just a little bit sick and tired of Kobe this, and Lakers that? At least the "Zen Master" has finally faded away to go meditate with the owner's daughter somewhere. Thank you, God, for small favors. The Mavs are the defending champs, but nobody's paying attention to them, much less wearing their gear. Go figure.
The NFL is an animal unlike any other. They're the Godzilla in the room of North American professional sports, and anybody who thinks otherwise is only kidding themselves. From popularity, TV ratings and revenue, advertisements, jerseys and other gear sold, and even money bet on games -- from Vegas books to football squares at a million bars, in one way or another -- they rule. It's not even a close call. But who are the most die-hard fans that will accompany their team when it goes on the road?
Could it be the Cowboys? Not so sure about that. I've never seen a lot of fans in Cowboy gear at opposing stadiums. They may have proclaimed themselves to be "America's Team" a while back, but it seems like for every Cowboy fan outside a 100 mile radius of Big D, there's about a 1000 who hate them. How 'bout dem Cowboys indeed. The giant TV screen in Jerry Jones' $1,500,000,000 apparent shrine to himself is great. Some might even say getting cheerleaders with IQs higher than their bust measurements would be even better. Even others have suggested the same applies to their quarterback, but that's only heresy.
Yet, it doesn't appear like fans from any one team in the NFL stand out from the others when it comes to travelling nationally. For the most part, the "road warriors" travel within their own "division" for games. That probably makes sense for a few reasons.
While every home team is obligated to offer a few thousand tickets for the visiting team's fans to purchase, not too many people can afford the air fare, motels, cabs, rent-a-cars, etc., that would be involved in going to each and every away game.
With a couple exceptions, notably the Cowboys above, whose divisional opponents are Washington, Philly, and the NY Giants, all over a thousand miles away, most divisional opponents are within reasonable driving distance for a 3 day weekend.
More importantly, inter-division rivalries normally attract more fan interest. Consider a couple of them. Steeler fans will show up in Cleveland, Cincinnati, and Baltimore waving their "terrible towels". Oakland's "Raider Nation" will don their black and silver Darth Vader stuff and go to San Diego and Denver; even Luke Skywalker and an army of Yodas couldn't keep them from a game in Kansas City.
In the NFL, "bad blood" has been around for a long time regarding certain teams. Probably nowhere is this more prevalent than in the NFC North. Green Bay, Minnesota, Chicago, and Detroit. In the "black and blue" division, everybody hates everybody else.
But fan loyalty for road games? Again, it's not even a close call. They not only rule the division, but I'll crown them champs in the entire NFL when it comes to following their team away from home.
The Cheeseheads are everywhere.
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