The votes have been tallied, and I can reveal the results of this year’s Spotlight Sports Survey (conveniently conducted online only for the first time).
How often do you attend a high school sporting event?
1-3 times per year – 25 percent
4-6 times per year – 6 percent
7-10 times per year – 13 percent
More than 10 times per year – 56 percent
Our readers love high school sports. Quite possibly because their children play high school sports, or because they play high school sports themselves.
How often do you attend a local collegiate sporting event?
1-3 times per year – 75 percent
4-6 times per year – 6 percent
7-10 times per year – 0 percent
More than 10 times per year – 19 percent
I’ll chalk that up to the typical scheduling conflicts between high school and college games in the area. When confronted with the question of going to a child’s high school game or seeing the Siena College men’s basketball team, the child’s high school game comes first.
How often do you attend a local pro/semi-pro sporting event?
1-3 times per year – 75 percent
4-6 times per year – 13 percent
7-10 times per year – 6 percent
More than 10 times per year – 6 percent
This is disappointing news for the Albany Devils, Tri-City ValleyCats, Albany Legends and Albany Metro Mallers. Predictable given the size of the crowds at most of these teams’ games (the ValleyCats are the exception), but disappointing.
How often do you travel out of the Capital District to attend a game?
1-3 times per year – 47 percent
4-6 times per year – 20 percent
7-10 times per year – 20 percent
More than 10 times per year – 13 percent
With New York City, Syracuse and Boston all nearby, it’s hard for our readers to resist the temptation of seeing major collegiate and professional teams – as evidenced by the number of people who leave the region at least four times per year to go to a game.
What is your spending limit for a game ticket?
$10 or less – 6 percent
$20 – 31 percent
$50 – 38 percent
$100 or more – 25 percent
Despite the weak economy, the majority of responders are willing to plunk down $50 or more to see a game. Providing, of course, that the game is worth $50 or more to see.
When do you try to arrive at the venue to attend a game?
30-60 minutes before the start – 56 percent
Less than 30 minutes before the start – 25 percent
The start of the game – 19 percent
Doesn’t matter if you’re late – 0 percent
Our readers are early birds when it comes to attending games.
What is the best part about attending a sporting event?
The game itself – 63 percent
The sideline entertainment – 0 percent
Socializing with other sports fans – 6 percent
Spending quality time with family/friends – 31 percent
Clearly, cheerleaders and “kiss cams” are wasted on our readers. They want to watch the games and hang out with their family and friends.
How passionate are you when cheering for your team in person?
Borderline insane – 6 percent
Energized – 56 percent
Interested – 31 percent
Indifferent – 6 percent
It’s good to know our readers are enthusiastic without crossing the line into insanity.
How often do you call in to sports talk radio shows?
Frequently – 0 percent
Occasionally – 6 percent
Rarely – 19 percent
Never – 75 percent
According to our readers, this might be the time sports talk radio stations in our region consider a format change.
How interested are you in fantasy sports leagues?
Play in as many leagues as possible – 19 percent
Own one or two teams – 24 percent
Interested but haven’t done it – 19 percent
Couldn’t care less – 38 percent
Full disclosure: I played in three fantasy football leagues last year, and I’m trying to put one together for the fall to go along with the league I’m already in. I also have a fantasy baseball team that’s turned into a nightmare (come back, Troy Tulowitzki and David Ortiz).
How often do you bet on sports?
Frequently – 12 percent
Occasionally – 0 percent
Rarely – 38 percent
Never – 50 percent
Our readers tend to shy away from the type of activity that led to Pete Rose’s banishment from baseball.
Should athletes/coaches be held to a higher social standard than other people?
Yes – 44 percent
No – 56 percent
It was a close vote, but a slight majority of our readers say that coaches and athletes don’t deserve to be placed on a higher pedestal than the rest of us.
What should student-athletes be focused on?
Their sports – 6 percent
Their academics – 38 percent
Sports and academics equally – 56 percent
Our readers believe that student-athletes should live up to their titles and hit the books when they’re not on the field.
Overall, what role should sports play in society?
Pleasant diversion – 31 percent
Honored tradition – 56 percent
Purely business – 0 percent
Source of civic pride – 13 percent
Our readers still have an emotional tie to sports, even as it appears that sports are treated like a business at the highest levels of the collegiate and professional worlds.
I couldn’t let our readers get away from our survey without asking them for a few predictions.
Which area team will play in an NCAA Division I tournament this season?
UAlbany men’s basketball – 7 percent
UAlbany women’s basketball – 0 percent
Siena men’s basketball – 7 percent
RPI hockey – 26 percent
Union College hockey – 60 percent
Our readers think Union has what it takes to get back to the NCAA hockey tournament, but they don’t think that defending America East champion UAlbany will go back to the NCAA women’s basketball tournament – even with the majority of its starters returning.
Which area high school will produce the most Section II titles this year?
Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake – 20 percent
Guilderland – 7 percent
Niskayuna – 7 percent
Shaker – 26 percent
Shenendehowa – 40 percent
The Shen “Green Machine” is our readers’ choice to capture the most Sectional titles, even though BH-BL has fared better in that regard over the last four years than its larger Saratoga County neighbor.
Will the Tri-City ValleyCats win the New York-Penn League title?
Yes – 56 percent
No – 44 percent
This was a lot closer than I thought it was going to be, considering the ValleyCats have the best record in the NY-PL.
Will the Albany Devils make the American Hockey League playoffs?
Yes – 27 percent
No – 73 percent
If you make a habit out of not making the playoffs, don’t expect our readers to start believing you can make the playoffs.
Finally, here is a list of the sports predictions our readers came up with:
• The Yankees will not make the playoffs (might need a major collapse for that to happen)
• Bruins win Stanley Cup
• Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens will not be elected to the HoF (Baseball Hall of Fame) in their first year of eligibility
• NY Rangers in Stanley Cup finals
• The Buffalo Bills will make the (NFL) playoffs.
Thank you for participating in this year’s Spotlight Sports Survey.
