Sports

What is your favorite sport to watch?

	2008 Dec	2007 Dec	2006 Dec	2005 Dec
	%	%	%	%
Football	41	43	43	34
Baseball	10	13	11	12
Basketball	9	11	12	12
Ice hockey	4	4	2	4
Soccer	3	2	2	3
Auto Racing	3	3	4	5
Golf	2	2	3	2
Boxing	2	1	2	1
Tennis	1	1	1	3
Ice/Figure Skating	1	2	3	3
Gymnastics	1	1	1	*
Volleyball	1	*	*	1
Swimming	*	*	*	*
Wrestling	*	1	*	1
Fishing	*	--	*	1
Motocross	*	*	*	*
Rodeo	*	*	*	1
Bowling	--	*	*	*

OTHER	6	3	3	4
NONE	14	12	12	13
No opinion	*	1	*	*
* Less than 0.5%
^ WORDING: What is your favorite sport to follow?

Long-term trend

	Football	Baseball	Basketball	Ice hockey	Auto racing	Ice/ Figure skating
	%	%	%	%	%	%
2008 Dec 4-7	41	10	9	4	3	1
2007 Dec 6-9	43	13	11	4	3	2
2006 Dec 11-14	43	11	12	2	4	3
2005 Dec 5-8	34	12	12	4	5	3
2004 Dec 5-8	37	10	13	3	5	4
2003 Dec 11-14	37	10	14	5	5	6
2002 Dec 5-8	37	12	13	3	5	4
2001 Mar 26-28	28	12	16	3	6	4
2000 Mar 30-Apr 2	33	13	15	5	5	4
1998 Nov 20-22	36	16	12	3	3	2
1997 Apr 18-20 ^	30	14	17	3	7	2
1995 Apr 17-19	32	16	15	3	2	2
1994 Sep 16-20	37	16	13	1	2	3
1994 Aug 8-9	35	21	11	3	2	3
1992 Sept	38	16	12	4	2	2
1990 Feb	35	16	15	3	1	2
1981 Jan	38	16	9	2	1	2
1972 Oct	32	24	9	4	2	1
1960 Dec	21	34	9	3	*	1
1948 Apr 9-14	17	39	10	3	1	*
1937 Mar 24-29	23	34	8	2	1	1
* Less than 0.5%
^ WORDING: What is your favorite sport to follow?

In general, would you describe yourself as a sports fan, or not?

	Yes, sports fan	No, not a fan	No opinion
	%	%	%
2009 Aug 6-9	56	44	*
2009 Feb 20-22	63	36	*
2008 Jul 25-27	61	38	1
2007 Jun 1-3	54	45	*
2006 May 5-7	56	44	*
2005 Feb 25-27	63	37	*
2005 Feb 4-6	58	42	*
2005 Jan 7-9	56	44	*
2004 Dec 17-19	57	43	*
2004 Jan 9-11	62	38	*
2003 Aug 4-6	56	44	*
2003 Jul 25-27	63	37	*
2003 Jun 27-29	57	42	1
2003 Apr 22-23	61	39	--
2003 Mar 14-15	66	34	*
2003 Feb 24-26	61	39	*
2003 Jan 3-5	62	38	*
2002 Dec 9-10	62	38	*
2001 Aug 24-26	57	42	1
2001 Jan 15-16	58	42	*
2000 Apr 28-30	62	37	1
* Less than 0.5%

For each of the following, please say whether you are a fan of that sport or not. First -- [RANDOM ORDER]?

Professional baseball

	Yes, a fan	Somewhat of a fan (vol.)	No, not a fan	No opinion
	%	%	%	%
2008 Feb 21-24	35	8	56	1
2007 Dec 14-16	40	7	53	*
2007 Nov 30-Dec 2	34	5	61	*
2007 May 4-6	37	8	55	*
2007 Mar 23-25	36	7	56	*
2006 Dec 8-10	35	6	59	*
2006 Sep 15-17	37	9	54	--
2006 Jul 21-23	40	12	48	*
2006 Jun 9-11	47	9	43	*
2006 Apr 7-9	33	8	58	*
2006 Mar 10-12	37	10	53	--
2005 Dec 9-11	36	11	53	*
2005 Aug 5-7	37	10	53	*
2005 Mar 18-20	39	9	52	*
2005 Jan 14-16	41	7	52	*
2004 Dec 5-8	43	9	48	*
2004 Mar 26-28	36	9	55	*
2003 Oct 24-26	44	11	45	--
2003 Oct 10-12	42	8	50	*
2003 Jun 27-29	36	10	54	*
2003 Jun 9-10	39	11	50	*
2002 Nov 8-10	38	13	49	*
2002 Aug 19-21	37	8	54	1
2002 Jul 26-28	37	10	53	*
2002 Jun 7-8	35	16	48	--
2002 Mar 22-24	44	10	46	*
2002 Jan 11-14	36	11	53	*
2001 Nov 26-27	38	10	52	*
2001 Nov 2-4	45	11	44	*
2001 Jun 8-10	35	14	51	0
2001 Mar 26-28	46	10	44	*
2000 May 5-7	35	11	54	--
2000 Apr 28-30	40	12	48	--
2000 Mar 30-Apr 2	45	10	45	--
1999 Nov 18-21	45	16	39	--
1999 Oct 21-24	37	10	53	--
1999 Jul 13-14	40	19	41	--
1999 Mar 19-21	34	15	51	--
1998 Oct 9-12	47	14	39	--
1998 Sep 14-15	45	18	37	--
1998 Jun 22-23	34	10	56	--
1996 Mar 15-17	38	10	52	--
1995 Oct 5-7	34	8	58	--
1995 Jul 7-9	35	13	52	--
1995 May 11-14	35	10	55	--
1995 Apr 17-19	32	9	59	--
1995 Feb 24-26	37	12	51	--
1995 Jan 16-18	37	8	55	--
1994 Oct 17-19	39	9	52	--
1994 Sep 6-7	35	11	54	--
1994 Aug 15-16	39	10	51	--
1994 Aug 8-9	35	20	45	--
1993 May 21-23	39	10	51	--
1993 Feb 12-14	44	7	49	--
* Less than 0.5%
(vol.) = Volunteered response

Professional football

	Yes, a fan	Somewhat of a fan (vol.)	No, not a fan	No opinion
	%	%	%	%
2007 Dec 14-16	54	6	40	*
2005 Dec 9-11	50	9	41	*
2004 Dec 5-8	58	6	36	*
2003 Jan 23-25	50	9	41	*
2001 Mar 26-28	54	9	37	*
2001 Mar 9-11	48	14	38	*
2001 Jan 15-16	44	14	42	*
2000 Aug 24-27	42	12	46	*
1999 Mar 5-7	47	9	44	0
1999 Jan 22-24	51	10	39	*
1998 Jan 16-18	45	11	43	1
* Less than 0.5%
(vol.) = Volunteered response

Professional basketball

	Yes, a fan	Somewhat of a fan (vol.)	No, not a fan	No opinion
	%	%	%	%
2007 Aug 3-5	24	6	70	*
2004 Dec 5-8	33	5	61	1
2003 May-Jun	29	10	61	--
2002 Jun 21-23	33	12	54	1
2002 Mar 18-20	35	7	58	*
2001 Oct 5-6	30	8	62	0
2001 Jun 8-10	29	12	59	*
2001 Mar 26-28	36	8	55	1
2000 Mar 30-Apr 2	38	8	54	--
1999 Jan 15-17	31	11	58	--
1999 Jan 6	29	12	59	--
1998 Oct 9-12	36	10	54	--
1994 Mar 11-13	32	11	57	--
* Less than 0.5%
(vol.) = Volunteered response

Professional ice hockey

	Yes, a fan	Somewhat of a fan (vol.)	No, not a fan	No opinion
2004 Dec 5-8	18%	5	77	*
2002 Feb 8-10	23%	11	66	*
2001 Mar 26-28	24%	7	69	*

College football

	Yes, a fan	Somewhat of a fan (vol.)	No, not a fan	No opinion
	%	%	%	%
2007 Nov 2-4	39	6	54	*
2006 Jul 28-30	39	6	54	*
2006 Jul 6-9	37	7	56	*
2006 Jun 23-25	42	8	50	--
2006 Jun 9-11	47	7	46	*
2005 Jul 22-24	37	6	57	--
2004 Dec 5-8	47	7	46	*
2001 Dec 14-16	39	8	53	*
2001 Mar 26-28	44	9	46	1
2000 Nov 13-15	41	6	53	*
2000 Aug 24-27	32	10	58	*
1999 Oct 21-24	36	10	54	*
* Less than 0.5%
(vol.) = Volunteered response
^ Asked Jan 6-8, 1994: "Are you a college football fan, or not?" Yes = 48%; No = 52%
† Asked Dec 4-6, 1993: "Are you a college football fan, or not?" Yes = 43%; No = 57%

College basketball

	Yes, a fan	Somewhat of a fan (vol.)	No, not a fan	No opinion
	%	%	%	%
2006 Apr 7-9	29	6	65	*
2004 Dec 5-8	35	6	59	*
2004 Mar 26-28	32	6	62	*
2002 Mar 18-20	37	5	58	*
2001 Mar 26-28	38	9	52	1
* Less than 0.5%
(vol.) = Volunteered response

Professional golf

	Yes, a fan	Somewhat of a fan (vol.)	No, not a fan	No opinion
	%	%	%	%
2007 Sep 7-8	25	6	69	*
2007 Jan 5-7	26	10	64	--
2006 Sep 15-17	22	9	69	*
2004 Dec 5-8	22	8	70	*
2003 May 19-21	27	9	64	--
2002 Mar 22-24	24	8	68	0
2001 Mar 26-28	27	9	64	*
2001 Feb 9-11	26	5	69	*
2000 Mar 30-Apr 2	26	8	66	*
* Less than 0.5%
(vol.) = Volunteered response

Professional tennis

	Yes, a fan	Somewhat of a fan (vol.)	No, not a fan	No opinion
2004 Dec 5-8	18%	6	76	*
2001 Mar 26-28	19%	9	71	1

Auto racing

	Yes, a fan	Somewhat of a fan (vol.)	No, not a fan	No opinion
2006 Jul 28-30	25%	6	69	*
2004 Dec 5-8	25%	5	69	1
2001 Mar 26-28	31%	8	61	*
* Less than 0.5%
(vol.) = Volunteered response

Figure skating

	Yes, a fan	Somewhat of a fan (vol.)	No, not a fan	No opinion
2004 Dec 5-8	34%	7	58	1
2001 Mar 26-28	40%	10	50	*
* Less than 0.5%
(vol.) = Volunteered response

Professional wrestling

	Yes, a fan	Somewhat of a fan (vol.)	No, not a fan	No opinion
2004 Dec 5-8	8%	2	89	1
2001 Mar 26-28	12%	3	85	*
1999 Aug 16-18 ^	12%	6	82	*
* Less than 0.5%
(vol.) = Volunteered response
^ WORDING: Now thinking about World Championship Wrestling, the World Wrestling Federation and other professional wrestling that you may see on TV, are you a fan of professional wrestling, or not?

Professional or college soccer

	Yes, a fan	Somewhat of a fan (vol.)	No, not a fan	No opinion
2006 Jun 9-11	13%	6	81	*

Horse racing

	Yes, a fan	Somewhat of a fan (vol.)	No, not a fan	No opinion
2006 Jun 9-11	22%	8	69	*

(Asked of sports fans) We'd like to know your views on how widespread the use of performance enhancing drugs is in various professional sports. Just your best guess, how many athletes in -- [RANDOM ORDER] -- use performance-enhancing drugs -- all or almost all, most, some, only a few, or none?

2007 Jun 1-3 (sorted by "all or almost all/most")	All or almost all	Most	Some	Only a few	None	No opin- ion	All/ Most
	%	%	%	%	%	%	%
Professional football	7	26	45	18	2	2	33
Professional baseball	7	20	46	24	1	2	27
Track and field	5	16	45	25	5	4	21
Professional cycling	6	14	37	31	5	7	20
Professional basketball	4	12	43	32	5	3	16
Swimming	3	6	37	34	10	10	9

(Asked of sports fans) Do you think each of the following sports is doing enough -- or not doing enough -- to deal with the use of performance enhancing drugs by its athletes? How about -- [RANDOM ORDER]?

2007 Jun 1-3 (sorted by "doing enough")	Doing enough	Not doing enough	No opinion
	%	%	%
Swimming	51	31	18
Professional cycling	48	42	10
Track and field	45	43	12
Professional basketball	45	48	6
Professional football	33	63	4
Professional baseball	30	67	3

In your opinion, who is currently the greatest male athlete in sports today? [OPEN-ENDED]

	2005 Jul 25-28
	%
Lance Armstrong	41
Tiger Woods	10
Michael Jordan	3
Shaquille O'Neal	1
Peyton Manning	1
Michael Vick	1
Brett Favre	1
Albert Pujols	1
Barry Bonds	*

Other	16
None	*
No opinion	25
* Less than 0.5%

In your opinion, who is currently the greatest female athlete in sports today? [OPEN-ENDED]

	2005 Jul 25-28
	%
Serena Williams	9
Venus Williams	9
"Williams sisters"	6
Annika Sorenstam	7
Michelle Wie	3
Mia Hamm	2
Sheryl Swoopes	1
Danica Patrick	1
Anna Kournikova	1
Maria Sharapova	1
Lindsay Davenport	1
Lisa Leslie	1
Jackie-Joyner Kersee	1
Michelle Kwan	*

Other	9
None	*
No opinion	48

BASKETBALL

Would you like to see the NCAA -- [ROTATED: increase the number of teams that qualify for the men's NCAA basketball tournament, keep the number of teams the same, or reduce the number of teams that qualify for the men's NCAA basketball tournament]?

[ASKED OF COLLEGE BASKETBALL FANS]

	Increase	Keep the same	Reduce	No opinion
2006 Apr 7-9	20%	72	4	4

Do you think the NBA should have an age restriction requiring players to be at least twenty years of age, or do you think there should be no age limit?

	Yes, restriction	No, no restriction	No opinion

*National adults*
2002 Jun 21-23	43%	51	6
1999 Jun 25-27	50%	44	6

*Basketball fans*
2002 Jun 21-23	43%	55	2

GOLF

(Asked of professional golf fans) Are you, personally, familiar with the new FedEx Cup Playoff system on the PGA tour, or not?

	Yes, familiar	No, not	No opinion
2007 Sep 7-8	43%	56	1

(Asked of professional golf fans) Next, we are interested in how the new FedEx Cup Playoff system will affect golf fans' interest in the PGA tour. Does the new playoff system -- [ROTATED: make the PGA tour more interesting to you, does it make no difference, or does it make the PGA tour less interesting to you]?

	More interesting	No difference	Less interesting	No opinion
2007 Sep 7-8	20%	61	5	14

(Asked of professional golf fans) In general, would you say you do -- or do not -- understand how the new FedEx Cup Playoff system works?

	Yes, do	No, do not	No opinion
2007 Sep 7-8	32%	64	5

(Asked of golf fans) As you may know, tournaments such as the Ryder Cup pit a team of professional golfers from the U.S. against an international team. Just your best guess, how important do you think it is to U.S. golf team members that the U.S. wins these tournaments -- very important, somewhat important, not too important, or not important at all?

	Very important	Somewhat important	Not too important	Not important at all	No opinion
2006 Sep 15-17	49%	33	12	4	1

Have you ever played golf?

	Yes, have	No, have not	No opinion
2006 Jan 6-8	43%	57	*
1995 Oct 13-16 ^	41%	59	--

^ Gallup/CNN/IBM/US News and World Report poll

Have you, personally, become more interested in golf since Tiger Woods joined the professional golf tour, have you become less interested, or has your interest in golf not changed?