The NFL kicked off last week, the baseball pennant races are heating up and soccer has returned from its summer break. And, of course, the election is weeks away. It must be fall.
Men being into sports may be a cliche, but that doesn’t mean we should overlook the obvious. While a few years ago the story was that Gen Z was less engaged in sports than older generations, that seems to be changing. Semafor has declared we’re in a sports boom, and a recent Morning Consult survey showed that Gen Z interest in sports has been steadily rising in recent years.
But how young men follow sports is different from previous generations. Young men are viewing highlights on social media, playing & watching sports video games like Madden and FIFA, and doing smartphone-enabled sports betting- far more than they are actually playing or attending sporting events. And we shouldn’t assume that all prominent athletes necessarily carry weight with young men–in YMRI’s survey, only about a quarter of young men said they liked and trust the views of Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce, which makes them about as influential as Ben Shapiro, and much less popular than the Rock or John Cena (or Elon Musk).
The polls are extraordinarily close. Every vote could be the margin of victory (or defeat), which is why campaigns ought to reach out to every voter, including those of young men, who are being heavily pursued by the Trump campaign. Harris still lags far behind recent Democratic presidential nominees in her margin with young people, largely because of young men. If we want to find a few more voters who might support Harris, or convince some not to vote for Trump, let’s reach young men where many of them are this fall, in person or online: engaging with sports. It’s not too late.
Soccer: The Overlooked Leading Sport, With High Numbers of Persuadable Voters
When we asked young men in our YouGov poll which sports they follow, the #1 sport was soccer, at 60% of young male sports fans. The NBA was second at 48%, and NFL third at 40%. This was a surprise. One theory we have is that while other polls show that the NFL may have more fans who rank it as their favorite sport, soccer may have more fans that casually “follow” the sport. Soccer fans are also relatively evenly split across income and racial demographics. 3/4 of Latinos and African Americans saying they follow the sport, and just over half of young white men.
In our survey (which was conducted in July), soccer fans were the most likely to be persuaded by a generic Democratic economic message. 66% of soccer fans said it would make them more likely to support the candidate, compared to 54% of college football fans and only 49% of MMA fans. Targeting young men via soccer seems like an opportunity that hasn't been widely explored. Get-out-the-vote and voter registrations groups have typically focused on football and basketball for their partnership. Engaging well-known soccer players, the MLS, online soccer influencers, or other soccer-related channels could present an untapped opportunity.
An important caveat: we didn’t learn from our research what these young men mean by “following” soccer: Watching a Major League Soccer game? Playing FIFA with buddies? Playing in a local league? Tuning in to Mo Salah on Saturday mornings? We don’t know. But we’d love to partner with others to figure it out and then go do some persuasion.
Gambling: Like it or Not, It’s a Major Part of Young Men’s Lives
The same Morning Consult survey found that 26 percent of Gen Z men gamble on sports at least weekly. A Siena survey found that 31% of 18-34 year olds (male and female) have a sportsbook account, compared to 19% of all American adults. Of those who do, 32% said they place a bet on a sporting event 3 or more times a week (it was 30% of men of all ages, compared to 11% of women). Gambling is an addiction for too many young men, but if you are looking to reach them, tapping into their passion for gambling is one way to do it.
Football is Still Huge, But How About Pickleball?
Football is still extremely popular, of course. 40% of our cohort say they follow the NFL, and 29% follow college football. Coach Tim Walz is able to tap into that interest.
But nearly 1 in 5 Gen Zers play pickleball, higher than any other generation, and skews 2 to 1 male. Anyone have an extra paddle?