Steelers Nation is worldwide.
But it especially exists in North Dakota.
That’s the takeaway from Pro Football Reference’s 2023 year in review. Tuesday, they sent out an email full of information about how users interacted with their website throughout the season. The website with all the basic info you need, the advanced stats you want, and our home base for “stats of the weird,” they noted all the quirks and results on a state-by-state basis for the season.
When it came to the most viewed team by state, the Steelers didn’t come out on top in Pennsylvania. More Philadelphia Eagles fans were checking in. But Pittsburgh came out on top elsewhere. The great state of North Dakota.
As their graphic shows, the Kansas City Chiefs, Philadelphia Eagles, and San Francisco 49ers. But the Steelers were the most viewed team in North Dakota. Not the Green Bay Packers. Not the Minnesota Vikings. The Pittsburgh Steelers.
Why? It’s hard to say. Steelers’ fans span the country and the globe and that definitely helps. The state also not having their own NFL team plays a role as well. But they are arguably the oddest outlier of the entire list. Even according to this list of Steelers’ spots, there’s nothing in North Dakota. Idaho, Montana, and Mexico? There’s a Steelers’ hangout. Not North Dakota.  Perhaps the state is identifying with the Steelers’ offense. Largely speaking, an empty field without much going on. Drive 100 miles and everything is going to look the same.
And hey, the state does love football. North Dakota State is a college football powerhouse and they’re again in title contention, advancing to the FCS semifinals with a blowout win of South Dakota over the weekend, 45-17. They’ll take on Montana this weekend.
Other tidbits include Eagles QB Jalen Hurts the most viewed player in the state of Pennsylvania. Unfortunately, all my clicks dedicated to Miles Killebrew weren’t enough to put him over the top.
It’s just one of those fun oddities of the sports world and the reach the Steelers have. Let it be known if there ever was a Steeler game held in Fargo, that crowd would be packed.
