The Yellow Jackets pulled some pretty impressive numbers in the Journal-Constitution's poll of metro Atlanta sports fans, with 29 percent describing themselves as avid fans of Tech football. Among local pro and college teams, only the Braves drew a more enthusiastic response, with 46 percent of Atlanta fans saying they are avid followers of the perennial division champs. The difference between Tech's and Georgia's avid-fan percentages is within the poll's margin of error of plus or minus 5 percentage points. Still, at first blush, the inevitable comparison of the Tech and Georgia poll results produces surprise. Atlanta to Tech's 30,000.
Women also prefer pro sports by a wide margin.
Women are much less likely than men to be avid fans. Georgia still sells more football tickets to metro Atlantans than Tech does, but the Bulldogs' larger edge comes from elsewhere in the state. Fans from high-income households are more likely to be avid fans. Freddy Jones, Georgia's associate athletics director for ticket operations, scoffs at the suggestion that the Jackets could possibly have as many fans in Atlanta as the Dogs. However, he agrees that Georgia fills its 86,000-seat stadium from across the state.