Why Isn’t NASCAR More Popular In Massachusetts?
I never understand why NASCAR isn’t more popular in Massachusetts than it is. If you listen to all of the sports, talk shows in the Boston area, you would not…
I never understand why NASCAR isn’t more popular in Massachusetts than it is. If you listen to all of the sports, talk shows in the Boston area, you would not hear a single thing about the Daytona 500. I have never heard a single talk show host even mention the sport of stock car racing.
People will tell you that Boston sports is made up of the Big Four, and probably in this order, the Patriots, Bruins, Celtics, and now the Red Sox. Which in itself is hard to believe how far the Red Sox have fallen in favor over the past few years. There was a time when everybody in town knew at least one pitcher and perhaps, even as many as half the entire squad of 25. Now very few Bostonians can name more than two or three players.
The rising sports team in Boston these days is the professional soccer team the New England Revolution it might not be long before they overtake the Red Sox and the fan interest. With the influx of people from other parts of the country and even the world, soccer is quickly becoming a fan favorite.
Why not NASCAR?
I have always been a fan of stock car racing going back to my youth in Maine where we had numerous short tracks such as Beech Ridge Speedway and Oxford Plains. Racing in Maine and New Hampshire has always been popular, that is why we have a NASCAR race track of our own in Loudon, New Hampshire.
For some reason, it has always remained a sport that has a hidden popularity in the Massachusetts area. I know, for a fact, a lot of friends and family, who make the trek to the annual NASCAR race held every July.
When I ask some of my friends, who work at 98.5 The Sports Hub down the hall if they are going to mention the Daytona 500, they merely scoff at me and say they would rather talk about the third line for the Bruins. I asked why and they will tell me that if they talked about NASCAR, the phones would light up, but not because people wanted to discuss the race, but rather to ask why they are even mentioning it.
I remember one of the original sports talk hosts in Boston, Eddie Andleman would always make fun of NASCAR and Indy racing by saying that it was nothing but a bunch of rednecks taking left turns, and he always thought he could get from Lynn to Boston faster than any race-car driver.
He would always joke about the start of the race, and how the announcer should say, “ gentlemen start your coffins!”
I for one thoroughly enjoyed this year’s Daytona 500, it had everything from the President of the United States showing up, to a car flipping upside down on its hood for half the speedway, and then watching the driver step out of the car, like nothing happened.
if you haven’t watched a NASCAR race in person, you don’t know what you’re missing. The sights and sounds are amazing and that’s not to mention the speed the cars race at.
Maybe this is the year you grab some friends and get some tickets to the NASCAR race in Loudon this July. If you do, you will see me in the stands loving every minute of it.
Massachusetts Is The Most Expensive State To Watch Live Sports, The Outrageous Cost For Each Major Sport
Massachusetts is the most expensive state to watch live sports. I'm not sure if this will be a shock to anyone but the website remitly.com has revealed the numbers. They determined that 159 million people in the United States watch live sports at least once per month. They also determined that 70% of people in the country consider themselves sports fans. This is all well and good. But when the cost of everything seems to be going up, Americans are shelling out hundreds and thousands to go to live sporting events each year. And here in Massachusetts, we are paying the most in the entire country.
Cost of attending a live game in each of the four major sports
So in addition to ranking all of the states for live games, Remitly broke down each of the four major sports to determine which state cost the most. From basketball, to baseball, hockey and football, we now know where Massachusetts ranks. For football, we're second behind Nevada with the average cost being $516 per ticket to watch The Patriots. Baseball we rank third with the average price to watch the Red Sox being $96. For hockey we rank second with the average price to watch the Bruins being $223. And for basketball we rank second with the average price to watch the Celtics being $280.
Average ticket prices per sport and state
While soccer seems to be the most popular sport in the world, here in America football dominates and it shows in ticket prices. According to Remitly, $297 is the average for a single game ticket is across the 32 professional teams in the NFL. Basketball ranks next then hockey then soccer then baseball. You can see the rankings for each sport by state HERE.
So we know Massachusetts is #1. But how much does it cost to attend each sport and how far ahead of the second most expensive city? Let's take a look.
#8 California
California has 18 teams and 5 sports. The average cost to attend a game in California is $173. There's a bill currently seeking to restore competition in California among ticket agencies. This would bring prices down in the long run.
#7 Tennessee
Tennessee has 4 teams and 4 sports. The average cost to attend a game in Tennessee is $175. The jump of ticket prices for Titans games alone has skyrocketed in the past several years.
#6 Missouri
Missouri has 5 teams and 4 sports. The average cost to attend a game in Missouri is $175. Cost of tickets to see the Chiefs definitely add to the average cost. Having a winning team in your state will drive cost up.
#5 New Jersey
Missouri has 4 teams and 3 sports. The average cost to attend a game in Missouri is $177. This may be a shock to you. But it's the cost to attend soccer games in Harrison, NJ that is driving the average up.
#4 Arizona
Arizona has 4 teams and 4 sports. The average cost to attend a game in Missouri is $178.
#3 Florida
Florida has 11 teams and 5 sports. The average cost to attend a game in Missouri is $182.
#2 New York
New York has 9 teams and 5 sports. The average cost to attend a game in Missouri is $198.
#1 Massachusetts
Massachusetts has 5 teams and 5 sports. The average cost to attend a game in Missouri is $236.
