There are sports fans and there are passionate sports fans. There are fans who participate in fantasy leagues. There are fans that block off their schedules to watch their favorite team play and never miss a game. There are fans that stalk scores on their phones like their waiting to see if they won a jackpot. There are fans whose mood completely rides on whether their team wins or loses. 

To find out which sports cities fandom is the most zealous, researchers at PlayBaseball.com, a sports equipment retail site, surveyed thousands of Americans across the United States and ranked states passion for local sports teams based on the following criteria: How strongly residents identify as sports fans, how emotionally invested the feel, how much time they spend following sports, whether they attend games or even travel for them, and how much money they spend on sports. 

Unfortunately, New York did not rank within the Top 5, but we are inside the Top 10.

(Thinkstock; Canva)

When all the stats were analyzed, New York was placed the #6 U.S. state with the most passionate sports fans.

Our ranking HAS to go up when the next batch of results is released, right? The New York Knicks just made the NBA Finals for the first time in 27 years and the NY Giants recently hired former Baltimore Ravens Head Coach John Harbaugh to take the reigns of a football team that's showing great potential. So, I definitely feel the enthusiasm around professional New York sports team gaining momentum!

Here are the Top 5 Most Passionate Sports States in America (according to PlayBaseball.com):

1. Texas

2. Georgia

3. Illinois

4. Mississippi

5. New Jersey

Take a look at the full ranking at PlayBaseball.com.