What is Maine’s Most Popular Professional Sports Team?

We love our sports here in Maine.

The state's minor league teams get tremendous support, as do the colleges. And I don't have to tell any of you how impactful high school athletics have on the population. It's a great sports culture for such a small state. And the fandom goes well beyond the border.

As we know, the majority of sports fans in Maine have allegiances to teams in and around Boston. The Bruins, Celtics, Patriots, Red Sox, and Revolution are obviously the teams from the "Big Five" leagues that Mainers grow up supporting and continue to throughout their lives.

But is one of those teams actually more popular than the rest? I mean, one would think that not everyone follows all five, or at least not at the same rooting level.

For example, my favorite is the Patriots. First off, it helps that I think American football is the best sport in the world. Plus, the success the team has had certainly doesn't hurt. I would say the Celtics are number two, followed by the Revolution. I hate the Red Sox (bring back Mookie) and Bruins, so they are not even in the conversation.

But what about the rest of Maine? Are the Patriots the clear number one? Are the Red Sox still New England's true love? Or maybe it's the Celtics, with its incredible winning tradition?

Well, thanks to Google Trends, we now have our answer.

The sports site My Protein put together a map of every state's favorite pro sports team. The site analyzed Google Trends over the past 12 months to come up with the results.

So, are you ready to see who Maine's most popular team is?

Congratulations to the Boston Red Sox. The boys from Fenway are still number one in the hearts of Mainers. It's not too surprising, considering the state loves its baseball. Plus, who doesn't support the Sea Dogs, Boston's Double-A affiliate right here in Portland? I'm sure that helps keep the Google Trends buzzing in the Red Sox direction.

Amazingly, Maine was the only state in New England that still has the Red Sox as the most popular. Here is a look at the rest of the region.

New Hampshire: New England Patriots - I always liked you, New Hampshire.
Vermont: Montreal Canadians - That's a rough look.
Massachusetts: Boston Celtics - Worthy Choice.
Rhode Island: Toronto Blue Jays - I have no idea why.
Connecticut: New York Yankees - LOL, of course.

Congrats to the Red Sox for still being Maine's most popular team. While I wish it was the Patriots, at least we aren't Connecticut. Talk about a state that we should kick out of New England. What a bunch of traitors.

You can check out the entire map here.