Sports

Facebook: VA Backs Baltimore in Super Bowl

Data from the social media site shows most Northern Virginia users rooting for the Baltimore Ravens, switching their allegiance (temporarily) from the Washington Redskins.

It's not a surprise that most Facebook users in Northern Virginia and D.C. started the football season solidly supporting the Washington Redskins—even though many people who live here came from someplace else.

"While winning seems to matter, NFL teams have local followings that are probably heavily influenced by family ties and/or where a person grew up," according to Facebook, which recently compiled data on Facebook users who are fans of an NFL team on the social network.

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During the regular season, Redskins fans on Facebook are likely to be friends with fans of the Dallas Cowboys, Pittsburgh Steelers, Baltimore Ravens, Philadelphia Eagles and New York Giants—most of those are geographically close to the D.C. area, Facebook reports.  

But now that the Redskins' season is over and the Baltimore Ravens are heading to Sunday's Super Bowl XLVII (47) against the San Francisco 49ers, many local residents have shifted their allegiance to the city to the north.

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According to Facebook data, most Facebook users in Northern Virginia and throughout the mid-Atlantic and Southeast will be rooting for the Baltimore Ravens this Sunday. 

In fact, several stores in the D.C. area aren't even selling San Francisco 49ers gear. A woman from Falls Church who is a 49ers fan told Falls Church Patch earlier this week she ordered San Francisco 49ers gear online.

Who's going to win on Sunday?  Who will you support? Tell us in the comments.


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