A closer look at the SBI Mafia (Updated)

(Since I made a mistake with the LA numbers in the previous post on the numbers of SBI readership, I decided to re-post this including the full Los Angeles numbers as well as the Top 20 states.)

The first four months of the new Soccer By Ives have come and gone and it is time to take a look at the readers who have helped the site get off to a great start (and will help SBI surpass the 3 million pageview mark at some point today).

I will have a more detailed sampling of things such as favorite clubs and ages once I can break down the latest SBI Reader Roll Call, but I do have some stats that can give you a sense of where SBI readers are checking in from.

Here are the Top 10 countries and states and Top 21 cities with the most SBI readers for the months of March and April (stats provided by Google Analytics):

Top 10 Countries

1. USA
2. Canada
3. United Kingdom
4. Germany
5. Mexico
6. South Korea
7. France
8. Spain
9. Netherlands
10. Japan

Here are the Top 10 states:

Top 20 States (includes DC)

1. New York
2. California
3. New Jersey
4. Illinois
5. Texas
6. Virginia
7. Massachusetts
8. Pennsylvania
9. Ohio
10. Florida
11. District of Columbia
12. North Carolina
13. Maryland
14. Georgia
15. Connecticut
16. Washington
17. Colorado
18. Michigan
19. Indiana
20. Missouri

Top 21 Cities

1. New York
2. Chicago
3. Toronto
4. Los Angeles
5. Brooklyn
6. Washington D.C.
7. Dallas
8. Boston
9. Houston
10. Arlington (VA)
11. Atlanta
12. Seattle
13. Denver
14. San Francisco
15. Columbus
16. Austin
17. Newark
18. Minneapolis
19. Raleigh
20. Philadelphia
21. Hoboken

I was going to just do a top 20 but had to give Hoboken some love for being so high up despite being such a small town.

Also, when I did the original tallies I didn't factor in suburbs, but once somet big cities were clearly broken up quite a bit into suburbs, I decided to group them. In doing that, I forgot to do that for LA, which is why LA was ranked so low in my original post. As you can see now, LA is actually a top-four city for SBI readership.

Thank you to all of you who have made SBI a regular part of your daily routine.

What do you think of the rankings? Is your city higher up than you thought it would be? Surprised not to see your city listed? Share your thoughts below.

Comments

[Fireball]

This is cool. Q: Why is Brooklyn listed separately from New York?

[Javier]

Cali over NJ is surprising, but good for the site.

found the lists interesting...looking forward to seeing how they fluctuate every few months or so.

[AL17]

Dammit!!!
Chicago finishes second to NY again ~ What gives? LOL

Congrats on the wickedly large amount of traffic.

P.S.
Go FIRE!!!!!!!

[Amit]

Hudson County represent!

[Ryan]

Nice to see Atlanta as the only top 15 city without a team.

[Dave Martinez]

But . . . . where is Salt Lake?!

[kpugs]

I should have just put Hoboken since I work here, maybe nudged it up a bit.

What ISN'T surprising is that New Jersey is the most densely populated SBI state, haha just like in real life population. (Pats self on back)

[kpugs]

If Brooklyn was a separate city it would be something like the 4th largest city in the country, gotta give the boroughs some love.

[VD]

LA.. what a bunch of clowns. Lands in 14th spot despite having two teams they obviously couldn't care less about

[vreleven]

Sorry Ives, but I've been away from a personal computer due to traveling-work related- and while I can visit your site,and I do often, from work, I can not post using work equipment. So here is my info.

Victor, 43, Texas, El Paso
USMNT, all Yanks abroad and Most MLS teams.

[Tom Long]

Where's the love for Wisconsin?

[DJ]

I'm surprised Atlanta was so high up on the list of cities. That gives me some hope for a MLS team to come here. (Even though it's a skewed sample)

Anyway, missed the roll call, so put me down for 29 (age) and Manchester United (favourite club)

[Nick]

On the countries can you identify what percentage of the total hits were provided by each.

[Adam]

Speaking as a Brooklynite, I'm glad that we're #4. I'd imagine the reason it is separate is because people specified that's where they're from.

That being said, I wish that Brooklyn had a legit soccer bar. Nevada Smith's is great and all, but often a trek.

[Tim F.]

Ives,

What number did Connecticut fall in your list of States?

[Tim F.]

Stammler and Reyna are both out for the game against LA. Ouch!!!!

Magee and Sinisa better step it up. I hope Richards is ready to go!

[Aljarov]

What no Kentucky representation ;op

I simply can't believe it?!

[Dave Martinez]

Hey - living in Queens - I would totally be interested in starting a footie bar for the kings and queens Boroughs!

[Thomas]

Just out of curiosity Ives, how many others
did you have in Austria. It would certainly make me happy to know I wasn't the only one in the whole country.

[Dominghosa]

T.I.P. doesn't even break top 20.
Figures.

[Derek (Brooklyn)]

Adam,
I couldn't agree more. Sitting on the R train for 45 minutes always makes me wish I had a Brooklyn option for soccer.

[Nick]

Now I understand why you don't cover the incomparable Copa Libertadores...

[dano]

Anyone else see this story? http://msn.foxsports.com/soccer/story/8118642/Beasley-set-for-return-following-knee-injury

I didn't really expect DMB to get back before the end of season, but then again I didn't expect the season to last this long.

[Tony in Quakeland]

So did you lump the SF Bay area together into San francisco? For example, I'm in the East bay - so were did you count me? And is there a seperate tally for San Jose?

[jevanvoo]

Ives, next time you're in Hoboken I'll buy you a beer!

[Julio]

So dissapointed my folks from Miami are not there. WOW!!!!

[RK]

Jersey wasn't #1? That's gotta hurt.

Surprised to see Atlanta up there, as well...at least I have the Silverbacks to watch :)

[CACuzcatlan]

If he went strictly by the city people put then LA probably has a lot more. Depending on where you live in LA (within the city limits) most people just have their neighborhood listed in their address and that's probably what they put on the roll call. For example, my address in L.A. is listed as 123 Fake St., Reseda, CA although Reseda is within the city limits of Los Angeles. That's probably what broke it up. Not to mention that L.A. County is the most populous county in the country and has a lot of cities, which could have also split the votes.

[g]

yeah hoboken! ives, you're the best source of soccer information around.

[inkedAG]

Pretty interesting info.

[daniel]

i'm excited to see that atlanta is giving ives some love. life is grand in the dirty south, but will be more grand when we get our mls team (i'll stop lobying for it when it happens).

[onionsack]

Hoboken is massive

[angler23]

VD, the LA clowns move up if you consider there are at least 50 cities within a 30 mile radius of the Home Depot Center. I live in LA and I make a 60 mile round trip for every Galaxy home game. Given LA's attendance records, we're doing ok in LaLalass land.

[angler23]

CACuzcatlan is obviously a faster typer than I am.

[The Gentleman Masher]

So, basically...if you do what most would, and combine the NYC/Brooklyn and the DC/Arlington readers...Atlanta is the 8th largest readership.

Yep - there's definitely not a fan base for soccer down here. I'll remember that when I'm unable to get a seat at Fado on Sunday.

[Pat the Red Bulls Fan]

Jozy Altidore, Michael Bradley and Tim Howard all born in the Garden state, so thanks Jersey.
What happened with Rossi?

[bgnewf]

Ives:

To me you and Steven Goff of the Washington Post are essential reading up here in Toronto for all things MLS. I would highly recommend Ben Knight's "On Soccer" column that is published in the Globe and Mail, Canada's national newspaper (USA Today meets the Wall Street Journal) for all things TFC and Canadian. Here's the link: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/blogs/soccerblog

[JeffM]

I think that DC would be a bit higher if it weren't for the fact that the District is very small geographically (less than half the size of Chicago, for example) and everyone lives in a suburb. For example, my address is Vienna, Virginia, which is actually DC.

[Neal]

Am I the only Arkansan that reads the site?(though techincally I live in the UK and have for a couple years now)

[Chosun]

Adam/Derek: I agree that it's a bit of a trek, but the atmosphere there is great. They show games at a sports bar on 5th ave in Park Slope--I forget the name but have been a couple times.

I must admit that I was shocked to see Korea at #6! And I thought I was the only one...ha.

[VD]

To all LA people, how is this different from Chicago or New York which have a lot of cities within their borders themselves? Complete nonsense! LA is just not a sports town. And I think Ives is bright enough to include suburbs into major cities unless the numbers are very significant

[Tim Archer]

Ives...

Where is the greatest city in the whole USA? Winston-Salem, NC????

I mean, we have two, count 'em, two! cigarette brands named after us!!

[RHYbread]

VD, LA County is much more spread out than Chicago and New York, not to mention people from /other/ counties (Riverside, OC, Ventura) that support.

Comparing the population densities of the three cities New York destroys all at 27k/sq mi, Chicago at 12.4k, and LA at 8k.

Find something worth hating.

[Reid]

i thought LA was worth hating?

[Original Aaron]

The ATL is number 10?! damn... we need a team in the worst way... come on Mr. Blank!

[Al17]

VD,
I think you're confusing metropolitan areas with actual cities. Chicago is the only city within its borders, although most neighborhoods have their own names (e.g. Austin, Hyde Park, Logan Square, etc...) first and foremost it's all Chicago. Now, Chicago's metropolitan area or Chicagoland as we like to call covers three states (WI,IN,MI) in addition to most of Northeast Illinois.

[East LA Chiva]

We're #14!! Yess! Mediocrity rules!
Chivas fans don't read English soccer blogs, sorry. Galaxy fans are too full of themselves to care.

Sorry. I'm all we got. Bring it on!

[Ives]

Listen folks, LA deserves to be higher. I will adjust its ranking tonight. I grouped suburbs of all cities but LA, which I measured early in the process.

Also, these rankings are not based on the Reader Roll Call. These are raw numbers pulled straight from Google Analytics, which tracks every single person who comes onto Soccer By Ives.

I am willing to bet that Los Angeles is in the Top 10, but I will find out for sure tonight. Apologies to the Los Angelinos who had to face the barrage of wisecracks.

[Garret]

Hahahhah, tiny, tiny Arlington VA is ranked 9, ahead of Seattle and ATL. Represent.

That's crazy. There is like 200 000 in Arlington.

[Brooklyn Zoo]

HA Adam-

Sitting the R train makes me want to kill myself period. But hey, I live a block away from the Prospect Ave stop, and no way I hop on the slowest BK train in the game (the F), I usually change at Pacific.

But for you folks out in the ridge, its yawn express alll the way to 95th!

BROOKLYNNN!!!

[Ryan]

CAC,
Yeah, LA suffers from that problem. I lived in Westwood for a while and my IP always showed up in Beverly Hills or, occasionally, Brentwood. But Atlanta suffers from that same problem. I know from looking at my own Google Analytics that Decatur leaches a lot of the traffic that could be Atlanta.

Also, for everyone, let it not be said that Atlanta is a bad sports town. We're just a terrible town for bad sports. We usually have the 3rd best NBA ratings for the finals after the two cities playing, host the biggest non-BCS bowl game, are consistently in the rotation for final 4s, etc.

[Josh]

Just a little confused. how is Houston and Dallas ranked so high, but Texas is ranked so low compared to Ill and California. There isnt one California city in the top 10. Must be some funny numbers

[matt]

good to see another el paso dude pop up. i live in austin now but there's no way you can grow up in el paso and not be at least half decent @ soccer let alone know and like at least one team from the mexican league.

[brentmcd]

a bit surprised san diego didn't crack the top-21. perhaps suffering from the l.a. syndrome...?

[Brant]

Guys - Google Analytics (Ives' source of data) bases its addresses on where the ISPs report the routing of the IP addresses. Thus the DC metro area will show up with about 20 different names b/c of all the 'burbs. Ditto Chicago, LA, etc. It also depends on how the IP addresses are registered. In Columbus, anyone in the 'burbs (like Upper Arlington, Dublin, Westerville, etc) that has RoadRunner through Time-Warner Cable has a "Columbus" IP address b/c that's where TWC routes them thru their switches.

Ives' list is pretty neat, and it's going to be accurate. But it's going to be accurate within the rules under which such IP-based lists are compiled.

[VD]

To all the LA clowns,
the only way to settle this dispute of LA being in 14th is to here from Ives himself and how he measured it

[Moibus]

Taking San Francisco as shorthand for the Quakes, there are only two current or future MLS cities that don't make the top 20 (21). Salt Lake's absence surprises me. Kansas City's does not.

[Simona]

Oh yeah Fargo --not. haha
How cool is that? Japan, Netherlands, South Korea, Spain, France. So far away!

[Joe_in_ND]

It's amazing how big this blog has become, I remember when you just started this blog and it wasn't a huge deal. Just some good, light reading on a daily basis. Now it has become a one stop shop for soccer news from all over the globe, not to mention some good discussion on matches and other goings-on in the soccer world.

Good on you Ives! And good on the rest of the SBI Mafia!

Keep up the good work. I am representing ND. How about least represented state?

[ACANES]

No miami???

[Alejandro Ruiz]

Theres only two towns inside Chicago Norridge and Harwood heights.

Anyway, the real question on everyone's mind.

How much is Ives rolling in.

[Ben]

am I they only reader/visitor from Switzerland ?

[Northzax]

c'mon jeff! Vienna is DC like Hoboken is New York!

Just out of curiosity, did you rank DC in the state list as well, or just the cities?

[Brant]

"To all the LA clowns,
the only way to settle this dispute of LA being in 14th is to here from Ives himself and how he measured it"

Uh... he did tell you how he measured it. He used Google Analytics to track his site traffic.

[PCFC]

Things that concerned me:

-Dallas above Houston is surprising, being that Houston has great supporters (but attendance might just be the result of a horribly-placed stadium)

-No San Jose, Salt Lake, Kansas City, St. Louis or any FL cities (but the State of Florida). I guess San Jose could be linked with San Francisco. But this might show the failure of putting teams in these cities (or thinking of doing it) without much following.

-Seattle, Philly, Minneapolis and Atlanta! Great show for teams that don't have MLS. Most people are talking about Atlanta, but good response from Minneapolis too.

-Boston, New York (with Brooklyn - yes as a New Yorker- Brooklyn is part of NYC regardless of population), Dallas, and Chicago were all amongst the highest in the city list, meaning: GET MLS TEAMS IN THE BIG CITIES... NO SUBURBS!

-Last...It would be infinitely better if we had percentages. I know this might be a little more risky to post but the stats would be infinitely more meaningful with actual numbers.

[gerald]

yes Hoboken ranks!!

I heard that Floyd's on atlantic ave in Brooklyn was decent for footie action but I have not gone myself with Mulligan's a few block away from me

[papa bear]

@Posted by: VD | May 08, 2008 at 03:01 PM

it has little to do with LA fans being apathetic towards their team. It has more to do with this site being east coast biased and done with updates before the West Coast is even halfway through the work day.

Plus there are about 90 California soccer blogs people read here. No offense to Ives but if you are looking for West Coast news you really don't come here as the coverage is a bit inadequate compared to the WC blogs as can be expected from someone based 4000 miles from said coast.

[papa bear]

LA has horrible infrastructure in terms of telecom and IP's are routinely routed outside of the city.
I know I've had people look at my IP and tell me I was in AZ or even West Africa. It's a bit of a mess.

[chg]

Not really surprised to see Atlanta so high. A lot of soccer fans around here, but we can't get investors to pony up for a franchise.

[Greifie]

Arlington, Va. @ #9? Nice work, neighbors.

[JayDelight]

Yeah, but a huge chunk of DC's fan base lives in Arlington.

Hoboken is to NY as Arlington is to DC except that Arlington is bigger population wise.

Not surprised both rate so high on the list.

[Brant]

Go Raleigh!

[Geoff]

very good to see Philly and Seattle crack the top 20 even though they have no franchise yet.

[Joe_in_ND]

I think you should also do least represented states.

[RHYbread]

Like Papa Bear said, there are blogs that focus on California soccer more than SBI, not to mention in terms of actual soccer, there is much much more love for FMF than MLS/EPL.

But hey, we're all clowns, what do we know? (we know venereal disease is bad)

[TFC07]

Nice to see Toronto in Top 3 and Canada in 2nd.

[dcpohl]

Ives,

I'm not surprised at all. Nobody seems to care about soccer in Indiana. /cry

[VD]

To all the clowns, that's fine your town sits 4th considering the city has a total population of 18 mil including the suburbs. Whatever boundaries you use, LA is massive compared to all MLS towns except NYC.

To me, it's still not a good MLS town. Contrary to the announced attendances, most Galaxy games and Chivas home games sit half empty.. there's little interest pure and simple. My question is: What happens when Beckham's contract is finished and the novelty dies down? What is the future of MLS in Los Angeles? Let's put some teams in towns that are dying for this league and have proven supporters.

[Adam]

Brooklyn Zoo - I also live a block from the prospect R. Small world.

[CACuzcatlan]

VD, did you just start looking at MLS attendance last year? In case you haven't noticed, LA has historically led the league in attendance. In fact, our 2005 attendance (2 years before Becks) was almost as high as our attendance with Beckham last year. Do some homework before you start complaining about L.A.

[PanchoMiguelMoralesdeConejo]

Must be a misprint, they don't know how to read in Hoboken.

[RHYbread]

VD, where do you live? I've had season tickets since I was 13. While I wasn't able to go many Galaxy games during their first years, the last seven years we sell out most of our games, and unlike other teams, people actually show up so there isn't any attendance inflation.

If you want to see a horrible MLS town, look at New York. We have more immigrants than New York but we still manage to support our team just as well, especially when you look at everything there is to do in the city unlike places like DC.

(you really are a horrible troll, work on your game son)

[SF]

Neal, you aren't the only one.

Fort Smith here.

[HE from NJ]

glad to see jersey so high up on that list!
SBI rules.

[Palermo Son]

North Carolina! Come on and Raise up