Bad language and behavior among MLB fans
While there are many clean plays in baseball , fans aren’t always keeping it clean in the stands. More often than not, people are dropping some choice words while taking in the game.
A new survey of more than 1,000 people, conducted by onlinebetting.com, found 63% swear while watching sports games, and some fans have witnessed people taking what’s supposed to be a friendly competition too far.
Three swears and you’re out
New Yorkers are known for telling it like it is, and it appears fans of the New York Yankees don’t stray from that. Yankee fans ranked the worst for language in the league, and Yankee Stadium wasn’t getting any love either. People ranked it as the worst environment to see a game because of fans and the number one stadium they would not bring their kids.
The Yankees weren’t the only team to rank in those categories. The Boston Red Sox, Philadelphia Phillies, and Chicago Cubs also made the top five. But fans were torn about the Red Sox. The fan base also ranked ninth as the least likely to curse.
As for the other best behaved, the Canadians maintained their reputation as a nice country. People ranked the Toronto Blue Jays the most proper fan base. Other teams that got a gold star were the Colorado Rockies, Minnesota Twins, Seattle Mariners, and Arizona Diamondbacks.
Bad fan behavior
More than three out of five (63%) people admit to swearing while watching sports games, and more than half actually swear at their own team. The biggest reason fans swear is because they are mad or upset about a play.
However, fans don’t just swear during bad moments. Nearly two out of five (48%) swear when they’re excited about a play, and nearly one out of three (31%) admitted a curse word slips out when they’re celebrating their team’s win.
That’s not to say people are fans of those cursing during MLB games . The top words used to describe people who swear are 'annoying', 'competitive', and 'intoxicated'.
Nearly one out of five (18%) said bad fan behavior has caused them to try and switch seats at an MLB game. More than two out of five (43%) have witnessed a fan throw something onto the field during a game. Even worse, one out of three have witnessed someone use racist, anti-Semitic, or homophobic language in the stands. Not cool.
Swearing in front of others
Most people have more than one go-to swear word, but if they had to pick just one, fans boldly go straight for the f-bomb. More than one out of 10 (14%) admitted to swearing while watching MLB games with their kids. People swear even more around family (43%), but swear the most around their friends (62%).
That’s not to say people don’t get in trouble for their language. Nearly one out of 10 (8%) have been called out for what they said during a game. Oppositely, nearly one out of five (18%) have actually called someone else out for swearing.
There’s nothing wrong with a swear word or two, but here’s our two cents. Maybe make sure there’s no kids around when you decide to drop a choice word or two. Let’s keep the drama on the baseball field instead of the stands.
Methodology
In June 2022, we surveyed 1052 Americans about MLB fan bases. 48% were women, 48% men, 2% nonbinary, 1% transgender, and 1% preferred not to respond. The average age of respondents was 37 years old.
Fair use
When using this data and research, please attribute by linking to this study and citing onlinebetting.com .