Rivalries in sports aren’t just about championships, legendary players, or which team is the greatest of all time.
They can also extend into less obvious territory — like how generous fan bases are beyond the game.
Discussing how well a team is run and how it contributes to its community can also come into the grading of a franchise. In a recent publication that offers research insights from a North American sports fan survey, another point of competition has been added to the log pile. That new addition is fan generosity.
Charting the Most Charitable Sports Fans of North America
The survey, which polled fans in both the US and Canada, first identified the cities with the most charitable sports fans. It then considered both annual charitable donations and everyday acts of generosity to create fan base rankings.
As a result, the analysis produced charitable rankings for the NHL, MLB, and NFL. Using figures calculated by the Betano analytics team, we see that the top six most generous fan bases across these three major leagues, from sixth to first, are: Minnesota Vikings, Los Angeles Rams, Denver Broncos, New York Islanders, Cleveland Guardians, and Jacksonville Jaguars.
Maybe to your surprise, the Jacksonville Jaguars fan base proved to be the most charitable of all NHL, MLB, and NFL franchises. The Jags land a 26.4 percent generosity score. The Cleveland Guardians were marginally behind at 26.2 percent. Then, the Islanders, Rams, Broncos, and Vikings were all tied at 25.0 percent.
Teams with Understandably Charitable Fans
A common thread among the Guardians, Jaguars, and Islanders is a history of tough luck on the field. These poor spells can date back to the team’s inception or since it won its last championship. In terms of performance, the Islanders enjoyed some good postseason runs in the near past. However, its fans also endured an unwelcome stay at the Barclays Center before moving to their new arena. Then, the team lost John Tavares, holding back the team’s progress.
For the Cleveland Guardians, after the Chicago Cubs snapped their World Series drought, the focus came to them. Cleveland’s last title was in 1948. Now, the franchise is closing in on 80 years without an MLB championship. In that time, the fans have endured more than their fair share of tough times and strong runs that ended in heartbreak.
The Guardians and Islanders have both had moments of glory — the Islanders even boast one of the NHL’s greatest dynasties. The Jaguars, founded in 1995, have just four division titles to their name.
Each of these fan bases has endured tough times, which may help explain their generosity. Success on the field might not change that, but it’s clear that a spirit of resilience and community runs through these loyal supporters.