Ohio Sports Fans Favor Cleveland, But OSU Trumps All

A new poll of Ohioans shows that Cleveland's professional sports teams have stronger support than Cincinnati's, however, the Ohio State Buckeyes have the strongest support of all Ohio sports organizations.

In professional baseball, the poll found that voters preferred the Cleveland Indians to the Cincinnati Reds 51% to 34%. In pro football, Cleveland was favored over the Bengals 55% to 30%.

Interestingly, OSU football is closer to Ohioans' hearts than either of Ohio's two pro football teams. Participants backed the Ohio State football team over their favorite NFL team 58% to 28%. Ohioans also prefer NCAA basketball over the NBA, backing the OSU Buckeyes over the Cavaliers 42% to 38%.

The poll of 1,300 likely Ohio voters was conducted by Quinnipiac University earlier this month.