According to a poll basketball is America’s second favorite sport, with baseball closely following.
Football maintains the top spot with 37% of people saying it’s their favorite sport to watch.
Despite football being in the lead it has dropped significantly in popularity since 2006 and 2007 when 43% of people voted it their favorite sport.
Tom Brady of the New England Patriots is pictured here playing against the Atlanta Falcons during Super Bowl 51 in 2017
Basketball surpassed baseball as America’s second favorite spectator sport for the first time in more than a decade, AOL reported.
Basketball reached its height of popularity during Michael Jordan’s time in the NBA and the numbers have been pretty consistent ever since.
The NBA has an average following of 29.4 million on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, compared to 17.3 million for the NFL, 6.3 for MLB and 2.3 for MLS.
Kevin Durant of the Golden State Warriors defends against LeBron James of the Cleveland Cavaliers during the game on December 25, 2017 in California
Baseball has hit an all time low in America after only 9% of people saying it is their favorite since Gallup first asked the question in 1937.
Soccer seems to be on the rise too with 7% of American’s saying it’s their favorite sport, which marks the highest number for any sport outside of football, basketball and baseball since 1997.
It’s almost tied with baseball’s popularity.
The dip in numbers for football is linked to the national-anthem controversy the NFL has been dealing with since 2016 when then-NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick first sat and then started kneeling during the national anthem last season to bring more attention to the killings of black men by police officers.
Dallas Keuchel of the Houston Astros pictured here during the first inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 2017 World Series in Houston, Texas
Christian Pulisic (C) of the United States mens national team is pictured here at the FIFA World Cup Qualifier match between Trinidad and Tobago on October 10, 2017
The movement also wanted to shed light and call attention to the wrongdoings against African Americans and minorities in the United States.
At the start of his protest, Kaepernick told the NFL Media: ‘I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color.
‘To me, this is bigger than football and it would be selfish on my part to look the other way. There are bodies in the street and people getting paid leave and getting away with murder.’
Trump has called out NFL players for kneeling during the national anthem, saying it’s disrespectful to the country and the flag
The dip in numbers for football is linked to the national-anthem controversy the NFL has been dealing with since 2016 when then-NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick first sat and then started kneeling during the national anthem last season to bring more attention to the killings of black men by police officers