NATIONAL PULSE – Most Canadian fans prefer watching Super Bowl to Grey Cup

By ANGUS REID INSTITUTE

February 9, 2023 – Millions of viewers will gather with friends and family to view one of the biggest spectacles of the year in sports this weekend – Super Bowl Sunday.

The game is a largely unmatched commercial and sports extravaganza, but depending on where they are in Canada, some Canadian football fans would give it up to support their home league instead.

A new study from the non-profit Angus Reid Institute finds that while three-in-five football fans in Canada (62%) would choose the Super Bowl over the Grey Cup if they could only watch one, two-in-five (38%) disagree, including a majority in Alberta and the Prairies.

On a broader scale, each league has its strengths and weaknesses among the Canadian public. The aforementioned Prairie advantage is evident for the CFL, with close to twice as many Saskatchewan and Manitoba residents saying they follow that league closely (41%) than say this about the NFL (22%).

That said, the American game has key strengths in Ontario, Quebec, and Atlantic Canada which will likely hearten NFL Canada executives and dismay CFL brass.

Age is also a factor. One-quarter of men aged 18 to 34 follow the NFL closely (26%) compared to just one-in-nine (11%) for the CFL. A similar ratio is evident for men 35 to 54 (34% NFL vs 19% CFL), while older men (55+) follow both leagues at an equal level, approximately three-in-ten.

More Key Findings: 

• Men and women over the age of 54 are divided about which game they would prefer if they had to choose one. In fact, both lean slightly toward watching the Grey Cup rather than the Super Bowl. That said, three-quarters of men and women younger than this would choose the February American spectacle over November’s Canadian tradition.

• Among all football fans, 44 per cent say they prefer the NFL to the CFL, while 36 per cent offer the opposite view. Another one-in-five (19%) don’t feel the need to choose a side, and say they like both equally

• Those who like both leagues equally are much more likely to say they would watch the Super Bowl than the Grey Cup (65% to 35%)

Link to the poll here: www.angusreid.org/