Half of Americans plan to watch the Super Bowl, with slightly more cheering for the Seattle Seahawks than for the New England Patriots. Just over half say they'll watch at least some events from the Winter Olympics, where figure skating is the most popular event among Americans.
What you need to know about Americans' views on the Olympics and the Super Bowl, as of the January 30 - February 2, 2026 Economist / YouGov Poll:
- Half of Americans say they will either definitely (28%) or probably (23%) watch the Super Bowl on February 8, between the Seattle Seahawks and New England Patriots
- Men are slightly more likely to say they'll watch the Super Bowl than are women
- Black and Hispanic Americans are more likely to say they'll watch it than are white Americans
- People with higher family incomes are more likely to say they'll watch than are people with lower family incomes
- Half of Americans don't care whether the Seahawks or Patriots win, while 31% are rooting for the Seahawks and 18% for the Patriots
- Residents of the Northeast are most likely to cheer for the Patriots (27% want the Seahawks to win and 31% want the Patriots to win), while the Seahawks are more popular in the Midwest (31% vs. 14%), the South (28% vs. 19%), and especially the West (41% vs. 12%)
- The Seahawks are a lot more popular than the Patriots among Democrats (39% vs. 15%) and also hold an edge among Independents (25% vs. 16%) and Republicans (32% vs. 23%)
- More Americans think the Seahawks will win the game than think the Patriots will (34% vs. 23%), while 43% don't have an opinion on the likely winner
- 28% of Americans say they are very or somewhat satisfied with Bad Bunny as the Super Bowl halftime performer, and the same share (28%) are dissatisfied
- Younger Americans, Black and Hispanic Americans, and Democrats are more likely to say they're satisfied with Bad Bunny, while Americans who are older, white, or Republican are more likely to be dissatisfied
- 56% of Americans say they'll watch at least a few events in the upcoming 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy, including 6% who say they'll watch every day, 15% who will watch lots of events when they can, and 35% who will watch a few events
- Similar shares of men and women say they'll watch the Olympics
- Black Americans are more likely than white or Hispanic Americans to say they'll watch lots of Olympic events
- Americans in higher-income families are more likely to say they'll watch the Olympics than are those in lower-income families
- Figure skating is the Winter Olympics event Americans are most likely to say is a favorite: 38% of U.S. adult citizens pick it as one of their five favorites from a list of 16 events
- Other popular events include ski jumping (21%), snowboard (20%), bobsled (20%), and ice hockey (20%)
- Single-digit shares of Americans say short track speed skating (8%), skeleton (4%), biathlon (3%), ski mountaineering (3%), or Nordic combined (3%) are among their favorites
- On average, Americans name two Winter Olympics events as favorites when asked to choose up to five; that takes into account 26% who say none is a favorite and 9% who don't know
- 19% of Americans expect the U.S. Olympic team to perform at about the same level as usual at the Winter Olympics; 5% expect it to perform worse than usual and 43% expect it to perform at about the same level it usually does
- Republicans and younger Americans are slightly more likely to expect a better-than-usual U.S. Olympic performance than are Democrats, Independents, or older Americans
Image: Getty (Chris Graythen / Staff)
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