What we learned from annual survey of New England sports fans

Sports News The votes are in: What we learned from the annual survey of New England sports fans For the 12th year in a row, Channel Media & Market Research asked over 16,400 New England sports fans what they thought of their teams. For the twelfth year in a row, the Patriots are New Englanders’ favorite sports team, according to the New England Sports Survey. (Globe Staff Photo/Jim Davis)
It’s a new year, but some things never change.
Bill Belichick is still the most admired coach in all of New England sports (yes, really), Celtics fans think they’re the best poised team to bring home a championship, and we’re still having the ‘Who was more responsible for the Patriots dynasty, Brady or Belichick?’ debate.
Those conclusions come straight from New England fans who participated in the 12th annual New England Sports Survey, conducted by Sudbury-based Channel Media & Market Research.
The survey aims to examine which teams and players fans admire, how they rate organizations and leadership, what they think could be improved, as well as general reactions to sporting events over the past year.
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Between Feb. 2024 and March 2024, over 16,4000 fans were surveyed via e-mail polling about the Red Sox, Bruins, Patriots, Celtics, and Revolution. Here are a few takeaways:
It’s the Patriots’ world and we’re all still living in it.
A 4-13 record aside, the Patriots were still New Englander’s favorite sports team. Raking in 45 percent of the votes, they still are just as beloved as they were in 2015 after winning Super Bowl XLIX. In fact, this Patriots squad scored higher than the 2012, 2013, and 2014 teams.
The Patriots have remained undefeated as the favorite team in New England since 2012, according to the survey. And despite a movement to question the legitimacy of Belichick’s coaching abilities last season, 40 percent of voters named him as the most admirable head coach.
Unfortunately, admiration does not win games, and only 17 percent of voters gave Belichick a high approval rating for his on-field coaching over the 2023-24 season.
Front office faults
While the Patriots and Belichick retained mostly high approval ratings, Robert Kraft’s plummeted. Down 30 percent from 2023, just 12 percent of those surveyed said they think Kraft did the most as an owner.
No doubt a contributing factor to Kraft’s dwindling popularity was how the Patriots handled Bill Belichick’s departure. On a write-in question that asked fans what they thought was the worst thing to happen in New England sports over the last year, 18 percent answered “the way the Krafts handled their separation with Bill Belichick.” Fans were five percent more disappointed by the way the breakup went down than they were about Belichick leaving.
Cleaning house
New England sports fans aren’t quitters, but we sure know when it’s time to throw in the towel. The last year saw a lot of head coach turnover, but voters rated the changes positively.
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The survey asked voters to rank the best thing that happened in New England sports over the past 12 months. Out of the 10 choices, 19 percent of voters answered parting ways with Bill Belichick, while 20 percent chose the Red Sox firing former chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom. Plus, a resounding 81 percent of New England Revolution fans agreed or mostly agreed with the choice to move on from former head coach Bruce Arena after allegations that he made inappropriate or insensitive remarks.
Earth to Breslow
Yes, yes, the Red Sox need pitchers. Luckily, free agents Jordan Montgomery and Blake Snell are still up for grabs, should Boston want to scoop one of them up. If it were up to some voters, it would be done already. Snell (21 percent) and Montgomery (18 percent) ranked in the top two on fans’ wishlists. According to MLB executives, Montgomery is a likely choice for the Red Sox, however multiple teams are interested in the left-hander.
If the Red Sox – who came in last in the AL East last season – were looking to buy some goodwill amongst Boston fans, it may be worth it to pay up. Twenty-three percent of voters said acquiring pitching talent would improve the team, while another 17 percent said the team should spend money on players who care about winning.
The Brady-Belichick legacy tug-of-war is back.
To be honest, the debate never went away. However, the Patriots’ 2023 season only added fuel to the fire, inflaming fans each weekend as they watched their team struggle to 4-13.
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Following the 2020 season, the first without Brady, only 15 percent of voters attributed the sole success of the team to the legendary quarterback. Now, that number has doubled, with 30 percent of voters believing Brady was the most responsible for the dynasty. Belichick’s numbers have slowly dwindled (with the exception of a slight uptick in 2022), with only 7 percent of voters siding with the coach.
Still, 42 percent of voters refused to pick sides, saying the success of the team from 2001-2019 was a tandem effort between Brady and Belichick.
Start ‘em young!
When Bruins fans were asked what one player they’d most like to acquire, 36 percent of the vote was split between two young forwards. Blackhawks center Connor Bedard (20 percent) and Devils forward Jack Hughes (16 percent) were chosen as the desired targets. The choices follow calls from voters to add stronger goal scorers and to continue to develop young talent.
Bedard, 19, and Hughes, 22, were ranked as the top two players in the NHL under 23-years-old by the Athletic. Their speed and top-tier scoring abilities are what voters say the Bruins need right now.
“They look sluggish and tired some nights… They need to have the same intensity for the entire game, especially in the third period,” one voter wrote in the survey comment section. Thirteen percent of their peers agreed, saying the Bruins needed to add a solid forward to get them over their end-of-game woes. Of course, acquiring players like Bedard and Hughes in a trade remains extremely unlikely.
An ode to Mike Gorman
In a free response section that could have been littered with praise for a Celtics squad that’s gone 48-13 so far this season, fans took the opportunity to offer their gratitude to longtime legendary Celtics play-by-play announcer Mike Gorman.
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“I will miss Mike Gorman, so great for so many years, thank you Mike,” one voter said. Gorman, who was voted the favorite play-by-play announcer with 22 percent, announced his upcoming retirement last March. This season will be Gorman’s last, marking 43 years since the Dorchester native started calling games.
This year, 26 percent of voters said they watch the Celtics 100 percent of the time, a new record. Meanwhile, a whopping 68 percent of voters said they watch the Celtics at least half of the time.
‘Gil’ me a break
Just a year after being voted the most admired player on the New England Revolution, Charles Gil was dethroned and moved to a less flattering list. Sixteen percent of voters selected Gil as the player who failed to meet their expectations the most. The Revs captain and former MLS MVP experienced an apparent fall from grace after a tumultuous season that saw coaching turnover and a first-round playoff loss.
Ultimately, the coaching change saw resounding approval from fans. Sixty-three percent of voters agreed that it was the right choice to move on from Bruce Arena, the former Revolution head coach who resigned in September.