The Poll Nutmeggers weigh in on sports*
Favorite major league baseball team:
New York Yankees........42%
Boston Red Sox..........26%
New York Mets...........12%
Favorite NFL team:
New York Giants.........27%
New England Patriots....19%
Dallas Cowboys...........7%
New York Jets............5%
Favorite NBA team:
Boston Celtics..........22%
New York Knicks.........15%
Los Angeles Lakers.......7%
New Jersey Nets..........6%
No favorite.............36%
Favorite NHL team:
New York Rangers........16%
Boston Bruins...........13%
New York Islanders.......4%
No favorite.............50%
Favorite pro team:
New York Yankees........28%
Boston Red Sox..........16%
New York Giants..........9%
New York Mets............7%
Greatest athlete who ever lived in or played for a team in
your state:
Ray Allen...............13%
Rebecca Lobo............12%
Diana Taurasi............9%
Sue Bird.................7%
Gordie Howe..............5%
State's biggest sports rivalry:
Yankees-Red Sox.........39%
UConn-Tennessee.........17%
State's biggest sports rival:
Massachusetts...........28%
Tennessee...............24%
New York................21%
Favorite announcer:
John Madden.............16%
Phil Rizzuto.............7%
Jerry Remy...............6%
Bob Costas...............4%
ENEMY OF THE STATE
Pat Summitt.............25%
George Steinbrenner.....20%
Bob Kraft...............14%
And you wondered if this was a women's basketball state? Patriots
owner Kraft made the list for pulling out of a deal in '99 to
move his team to Hartford. Nutmeggers' most hated opponents: the
Tennessee Volunteers (37%), the Yankees (19%) and the Red Sox
(13%).
*Harris Interactive poll, conducted online, of 416 Connecticut
residents who identified themselves as sports fans. Margin of
error +/-5%.
COLOR PHOTO: MARK HUMPHREY/AP (SUMMIT)
COLOR CHART Enthuse-o-meter On a scale of 1 to 100, how would you rate your state's enthusiasm for sports, relative to other states'? COLD-----76.9--HOT Rank: 17th of first 25 states polled
SI.com
To read an SI flashback story about UConn's charmed 1994-95
season, view a gallery of every Huskies cover or submit your own
Nutmeg State sports memory, go to
si.com/magazine/features/si50/states/connecticut.