The NHL playoffs are underway. As a nation, we are fascinated by the drama and excitement that comes with seeing your favorite team claim the coveted Stanley Cup. Hockey may be considered part of the national identity, but it’s not a given that everyone shares the same level of interest. And even for those who do, they don’t necessarily share the same deep-seated interests.
In April 2024, RealAgristudies surveyed 538 Canadian farmers to learn more about their level of interest in watching the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Nearly 60% of farmers said they would watch the playoffs, but a quarter said they would not and 17% said they were likely to watch the playoffs. This different level of interest therefore raises some more interesting questions. For example, does it matter who your favorite team is?
According to the survey, interest in the playoffs did not vary much depending on the respondent’s favorite team. However, there were some interesting results. Calgary Flames fans were far more likely to say “maybe,” which makes sense considering they’re not in the playoffs. However, what stood out was that only 68% of Toronto fans said they would watch the playoffs, which can only be explained by the fact that fans can’t bear to watch. As expected, his 12% of farmers who didn’t have a favorite team were much more likely not to watch the playoffs.
Figure 1: Q) Are you planning on watching the Stanley Cup Playoffs?
As for who farmers are rooting for to win the Cup, about a third of farmers say they’re rooting for Edmonton, followed by Winnipeg at 20 per cent and Toronto at 18 per cent. In fourth place is Vancouver with 5%.
This is highly correlated with your favorite team, but perhaps the more interesting question is: Who is the team you don’t want to win the Cup? Here, the clear opponents are Toronto at 21 percent, followed by Boston at 17 percent and Las Vegas at 16 percent. All that can be said from these results is that they like their favorite team to win, and I think most Canadians would be fine with another Canadian team winning, as long as it’s not the Maple Leafs. .
As seen in Figure 2, this sentiment is even stronger among fans of the Canadian team, but Maple Leafs fans do not reciprocate with the same level of disdain. Perhaps this is due to recency bias, but almost half of Leaf fans don’t want Boston to win, and only a small portion of Leaf fans are suggesting another Canadian team. Ta.
Figure 2: Percentage of respondents who do not want Toronto to win the Stanley Cup by their favorite team.
Research isn’t always fun. At RealAgristudies, we seek to address many important issues that matter to farmers and provide opportunities for farmers to share their voices and provide perspective on decisions that affect them but are made by others. . Sometimes it’s good to lighten it up a bit and realize that farmers are just like all of us. If their favorite team isn’t Toronto, they don’t want Toronto to win the Stanley Cup.
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