Politics and Football

I read an interesting article on Time’s web site saying that college football fans are more likely to go to the voting polls. As strange as that may sound, after reading the conclusion of the study, it makes sense.
The study was done at Auburn, and began with 4,000 addresses to take the poll during football season. They did take into account that people with higher incomes are probably going to vote more than lower, and that people who have lived in one place a long time are probably more invested into local affairs; therefore, they are more than likely to go vote.
Researchers found that 7 percent of the houses had some form of display toward Auburn University football. Displays were:"1) flying an AU flag, 2) affixing an AU pom-pom on one's mailbox, 3) affixing an AU sticker on one's mailbox, 4) placing an AU sign in one's yard, 5) placing an AU windmill in one's yard, 6) placing an inflated figure of Aubie [AU's school mascot] in one's yard."
Although the two, politics and football, don’t really seem linked together, the study showed that football fans were twice as likely to vote. The connection starts with the fact that fans backing a football team are probably more willing to back a politician. “’In many ways, politics is a spectator sport in which you get to rank the teams, or the candidates, through a vote,’ says Clemson University economist Robert Tollison.”
Along with that, football fans can easily engage in conversation about their favorite team—talk about recent games, plays that the team runs, etc. This can also be said about politicians and talking about the policies you like and don’t like along with where they stand on the issues.