Minnesota and the Dakotas are united in rooting for the Wild

Good times

April 16, 2014 at 10:14PM
(The Minnesota Star Tribune)

The Sporting News put together a map of which states are rooting for which teams in the NHL playoffs based on Facebook "likes." As someone who grew up in North Dakota, the results aren't terribly surprising, but: North Dakota, South Dakota and Minnesota are rooting for the Wild, while border states west and south of the Dakotas are rooting for the Avs.

Generally speaking, this is how things go with pretty much every Minnesota pro team. The Dakotas have no major pro teams, and residents tend to gravitate toward those in Minnesota. The exceptions are some odd ducks who are Cubs or Braves fans (we fell into the latter category) growing up, or those in the Western part of the state who wind up going for Colorado teams -- particularly the Broncos.

If you want to go start some stuff with an Avs fan, or perhaps scoop up some oil, head west on I-94 deep into North Dakota this weekend.

There are some other interesting nuggets to be gleaned from the map of all 50 states, including the wide swath cut by the Blackhawks and the one-state isolation of the Blues.

Have a look-see at the whole thing:

(The Minnesota Star Tribune)
about the writer

about the writer

Michael Rand

Columnist / Reporter

Michael Rand is the Minnesota Star Tribune's Digital Sports Senior Writer and host/creator of the Daily Delivery podcast. In 25 years covering Minnesota sports at the Minnesota Star Tribune, he has seen just about everything (except, of course, a Vikings Super Bowl).

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