Two New York Towns Are the Top and the Bottom for Football Fans

With Super Bowl 53 looming, WalletHub this week posted results of its study of 2019's Best & Worst Football Fans.

The financial services site "compared more than 240 U.S. cities with at least one college or professional football team across 21 key metrics." WalletHub says its "data set ranges from number of NFL and college football teams to average ticket price for an NFL game to fan friendliness." One Empire State market performed very well, landing in the top five nationwide, while another was near the bottom.

Among the markets measured, the New York City metro area ranked 5th best. No surprise, with the abundance of rabid Jets and Giants fans. Ithaca, home of the Cornell Big Red, came in 240th, just five spots from the basement.

Here's how the New York markets fared:

• 5. New York
• 22. Buffalo
• 39. West Point
• 40. Hamilton
• 112. Poughkeepsie
• 167. Syracuse
• 220. Stony Brook
• 240. Ithaca

Syracuse no doubt scored better this year than in recent years, all due to the rejuvenation of the Orange program under Coach Dino Babers.