Iowans Spend Nearly 2 Years Of Life Cheering On Favorite Teams

It feels like a long football season.

College football bowl games have been announced. The Iowa Hawkeyes will take on Mizzou in Nashville for the Music City Bowl. Iowa State will play Miami in the Pop-Tarts Bowl (very intimidating name) in Orlando.

Whether it's football, hockey, basketball, or whatever sport you love, it is super frustrating when the team that you stand by and cheer for just cannot make the win happen. Ever. All season.

According to PromoGuy, cumulatively, Iowans devote 1.78 years of their lives to sports fandom. That includes watching games, checking scores, attending games, or keeping up with the players on social media. Nearly 2 years of straight cheering sounds like a lot, but I'm really surprised it's not more than that.

It's more than the national average, which is 1.71 years.

For Iowans, it averages out to 5 hours a week (about the length of a tailgate). Really, there's more than a game for a lot of fans. It's also watching the pregame prediction show, the post-game analytics show, and listening to podcasts about the game. Very layered.

But Iowans have had a lot to cheer for in recent years. Caitlin Clark, the WNBA star/Iowa grad/queen of the state, made her mark in Hawkeyes Basketball. Both Iowa & Iowa State football are headed to bowl games. We have multiple semi-pro teams in different sports in the state too.

There's a sense of community in sports fandom and it's fun to meet up to watch games or tailgate. Gotta love that Iowa Nice!