The folks at Best Ticket combed through Google search traffic to find the most searched athlete in all 50 states.
1. LeBron James is the most searched athlete, even though football is searched more than basketball in every state but one (New York). Our unsubstantiated theory: Basketball season is longer than NFL season, thus affording more opportunities to Google LeBron. Who’s searching for Peyton in May?
2. Kansas one-and-done star Andrew Wiggins was the most searched in Kansas (no surprise) and in Kentucky (more of a surprise). You can picture Wildcats fans sitting up late at night during the team’s early struggles this season, longingly Googling Andrew Wiggins like he was the ex-boyfriend who got away.
3. Speaking of longing, you know it was a rough year for University of West Virginia athletics when departed quarterback Geno Smith was the subject of the most searches.
4. Tiger Woods is the most popular athlete search in Vermont. The Lindsey Vonn effect?
5. Peyton Manning is well-positioned for a game of Risk. He has control of the Rockies, Tennessee and Indiana, thanks to playing stops in each locale.
6. There’s not a big surprise on the map. I’d have guessed Tony Romo would be the most-searched in Texas, but Manziel is hardly a shocker. Same with Russell Wilson over Richard Sherman in Washington. I’ve never thought of Iowa as a breeding ground for Vikings fans, but it makes sense.
7. The final state tallies:
Lebron James — 24 states
Peyton Manning — 6 states
Tom Brady — 4 states
Adrian Peterson — 4 states
Andrew Wiggins — 2 states
Kevin Durant — 1 state
Johnny Manziel — 1 state
Floyd Mayweather — 1 state
Aaron Rodgers — 1 state
Derrick Rose — 1 state
Geno Smith — 1 state
Manti Te’o — 1 state
Russell Wilson — 1 state
Tiger Woods — 1 state