Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Because the NFL season is in full swing and the NE vs. CA thread so inspired me, I thought I’d look at the states producing the most NFL talent. I addded total NFL draft picks from 1998 -2011, by state in which the picked player attended high school. For the NE I combined:
ME, VT, NH, NY, NJ, MA, PA, MD, DC and DE. That’s 61 million total population.
Adjusted for population, that’s a rate of almost 2:1 If you take out PA, its abysmal, and CA v. NY is more than 3:1. TX and FL rip the NE an even larger one if you go per capita. And baseball would look even worse.
Now, I really don’t give a rip about the NFL. But a great many Americans do, and none more obnoxiously than many of those in the Northeast. These are two HUGE sample sizes, over an extended period of time, in America’s undisputedly most popular sport. My question is: compared to the rest of the nation, why can’t the North East play the game? Density should breed completion. Four seasons should promote character. Diversity should bring dynamism.
Because the NFL season is in full swing and the NE vs. CA thread so inspired me, I thought I’d look at the states producing the most NFL talent. I addded total NFL draft picks from 1998 -2011, by state in which the picked player attended high school. For the NE I combined:
ME, VT, NH, NY, NJ, MA, PA, MD, DC and DE. That’s 61 million total population.
Adjusted for population, that’s a rate of almost 2:1 If you take out PA, its abysmal, and CA v. NY is more than 3:1. TX and FL rip the NE an even larger one if you go per capita. And baseball would look even worse.
Now, I really don’t give a rip about the NFL. But a great many Americans do, and none more obnoxiously than many of those in the Northeast. These are two HUGE sample sizes, over an extended period of time, in America’s undisputedly most popular sport. My question is: compared to the rest of the nation, why can’t the North East play the game? Density should breed completion. Four seasons should promote character. Diversity should bring dynamism.
Whatever the explanation, it can’t be good.
It's not exactly rocket science. HS football is biggest in rural areas and in the south. In the NE if you're not in high school and you don't have a kid in hs, there's basically no reason to care about HS football. There are bigger tickets in town. Better things to do.
That's why Texas is such a huge producer of Talent, HS football is like a religion there. HS football just isn't as big of a deal in urban areas. You talked about how PA produces a lot NFL talent compared to other NE states. For the most part these kids are not coming from Philly or Pittsburgh, they're coming from the middle of the state where football is huge and it's about as rural as anywhere in America.
The bigger football is, the more money it brings it, the better likelihood that HS teams will have good work-out facilities, be willing to pay money to hire high quality coaches ext. In the northeast football just isn't as big of a deal. In Texas, practically every HS has a multimillion dollar football stadium... in the northeast, that money is more likely to go towards... idk, actually educating children. My HS football team didn't even have a true home field.
Also kids in the northeast tend to be a lot more diverse in their extracurricular activities. Football reigns supreme in rural areas, and they also play baseball and basketball and have track and field... in many cases that's about it though. In the NE kids who might have excelled at football are instead playing lacrosse, ice hockey, soccer, golf, tennis etc.
Most NFL football players came from rural areas and the south... this isn't exactly groundbreaking news.
It's not exactly rocket science. Football is biggest in rural areas and in the south. That's why Texas is such a huge producer of Talent, HS football is like a religion there. In the NE for the most part unless you're in HS you are not going to HS football game and you don't care. HS football just isn't as big of a deal in urban areas. You talked about how PA produces a lot NFL talent compared to other NE states. For the most part these kids are coming from Philly or Pittsburgh, they're coming from the middle of the state where football is huge and it's about as rural as anywhere in America.
The bigger football is, the more money it brings it, the better likelihood that HS teams will have good work-out facilities, be willing to pay money to hire high quality coaches ext. In the northeast football just isn't as big of a deal. In Texas, practically every HS has a multimillion dollar football stadium... in the northeast, that money is more likely to go towards... idk, actually educating children. My HS football team didn't even have a true home field.
Also kids in the northeast tend to be a lot more diverse in their extracurricular activities. Football reigns supreme in rural areas, they also play baseball and basketball and have track and field... in many cases that's it though. In the NE kids who might have excelled at football are instead playing lacrosse, ice hockey, soccer, golf, etc.
Most NFL football players came from rural areas and the south... this isn't exactly groundbreaking news.
Now as for actual NFL teams NE:8, CA:3
CA is rural?
The fact the NE has eight teams is evidence of its interest. It just can't produce.
Most are black and do not live in the rural NE............
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
