The NBA and NFL are the top U.S. sports leagues in terms of social media followers (Facebook + Twitter) as '11 comes to a close, while the Lakers, Celtics and Yankees top the list of teams. Compared to April '11, MLS saw the biggest gains among the major pro leagues, up 74.9%. In terms of percentage gains for clubs since April, the NBA-champion Mavericks and Hornets saw the biggest gains, up well over 300% during that period. Listed below are the top five teams ranked by number of social media followers through Dec. 13, along with figures for respective leagues (THE DAILY).
| MOST SOCIAL MEDIA FOLLOWERS AMONG
MAJOR U.S. LEAGUES, TEAMS THROUGH DEC. 13 |
| | FACEBOOK | TWITTER | TOTAL | % CHANGE
(APRIL-DECEMBER) |
| MLB | 821,964 | 1,607,556 | 2,429,520 | 60.7% |
| Yankees | 4,839,185 | 490,510 | 5,329,695 | 36.1% |
| Red Sox | 3,181,666 | 170,334 | 3,352,000 | 41.6% |
| Phillies | 1,112,991 | 661,442 | 1,774,433 | 21.9% |
| Cubs | 1,472,738 | 73,786 | 1,546,524 | 30.5% |
| Giants | 1,240,172 | 206,692 | 1,446,864 | 40.6% |
| NBA | 10,863,668 | 3,267,003 | 14,130,671 | 34.9% |
| Lakers | 11,053,031 | 2,213,583 | 13,266,614 | 43.3% |
| Celtics | 5,652,995 | 254,827 | 5,907,822 | 50.1% |
| Heat | 4,372,474 | 308,961 | 4,681,435 | 121.5% |
| Bulls | 4,075,524 | 212,204 | 4,287,728 | 130.6% |
| Magic | 1,118,110 | 1,052,131 | 2,170,241 | 21.4% |
| NFL | 4,179,434 | 2,556,768 | 6,736,202 | 36.3% |
| Cowboys | 4,094,761 | 237,159 | 4,331,920 | 68.0% |
| Steelers | 3,712,505 | 226,128 | 3,938,633 | 77.3% |
| Patriots | 2,730,888 | 208,933 | 2,939,821 | 50.0% |
| Packers | 2,407,788 | 189,918 | 2,597,706 | 71.2% |
| Saints | 2,270,973 | 131,801 | 2,402,774 | 82.5% |
| NHL | 1,965,801 | 807,230 | 2,773,031 | 38.4% |
| Red Wings | 1,157,628 | 109,725 | 1,267,353 | 134.3% |
| Penguins | 1,026,965 | 148,163 | 1,175,128 | 99.9% |
| Bruins | 1,052,209 | 114,622 | 1,166,831 | 97.7% |
| Blackhawks | 1,019,489 | 116,623 | 1,136,112 | 54.8% |
| Canadiens | 921,655 | 209,321 | 1,130,976 | 51.6% |
| MLS | 56,281 | 279,944 | 336,225 | 74.9% |
| Galaxy | 72,065 | 276,503 | 348,568 | 280.6% |
| Sounders | 33,329 | 233,352 | 266,681 | 39.6% |
| Red Bulls | 29,229 | 132,845 | 162,074 | 80.4% |
| Union | 22,650 | 88,257 | 110,907 | 49.3% |
| Fire | 20,412 | 81,319 | 101,731 | 57.7% |
