Just a straight-up poll, nothing more.
Which of the following 5 major North American team sports is your favorite? (Not just at the pro level, but at all amateur/HS/college/for-fun levels too)
0 voters
I’d vote none of the above if I could. But I’m least annoyed by pro football.
At all levels it’s America’s Pastime, baseball.
Baseball transcends mere sport. It is the essence of the universe.
Is soccer a major North American team sport?
I don’t think it qualifies yet. I’ll admit it is getting closer.
| League | Sport | Year | Teams | Last | Last | Revenue | Average |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| founded | expansion | contraction | US$ (bn) | attendance (2017) | |||
| National Football League | American football | 1920 | 32 | 2002 | 1952 | $13.00 | 67,396 |
| Major League Baseball | Baseball | 1903[o 1] | 30 | 1998 | 1899 | $9.50 | 30,042 |
| National Basketball Association | Basketball | 1946 | 30 | 2004 | 1954 | $5.20 | 17,884 |
| National Hockey League | Ice hockey | 1917 | 31 | 2017[o 2] | 1978 | $4.70 | 17,422 |
| Major League Soccer | Soccer | 1996 | 26 | 2020[o 3] | 2014[o 4] | $1.20 | 22,112 |
| Canadian Football League | Canadian football | 1958[o 5] | 9 | 2014 | 2006 | $0.20 | 24,644 |
Definitely baseball is first, I’d go with hockey second and soccer third because it’s not often enjoyable at the lower levels to me, but the highest level is amazing.
MLB wasn’t founded in 1903.
I’m baseball, basketball, and then a largish gap to hockey. I’ll watch football. Soccer in North America just isn’t good enough to bother.
I had a hard time choosing between baseball and football. They’re obviously very different. I picked baseball because I admire the game more. Football is second, and more exciting most of the time.
Basketball, which is also literally the only sport where I’ll watch the college version. Baseball and football well below that as a very casual fan - I follow them loosely in print and watch the occasional game. Football used to be a firm #2, but I’ve trailed off over the years. I went through a brief hockey phase for a few years but now rarely watch a game. Soccer almost never - I’ll catch the odd World Cup game and that’s about it.
Baseball is incredibly boring, basketball doesn’t matter until the playoffs, hockey is great fun in small doses, great soccer games are awesome (but too many games are not great), but football is king.
Football, I suppose, but only the NFL. I don’t give a shit about college football.
Conversely, I much prefer college basketball to the NBA. It’s got the same dynamic of player turnover and fairly disgusting recruiting practices, but somehow I find the basketball version less objectionable. It seems like there’s more of a chance for someone other than the same 5 teams to win it all, whereas in college football, we 99% know who’s going to still be standing at the end of the season before it even starts. Hell, most of the time we know before the end of the previous season.
Used to be into baseball but I now I couldn’t care less. Really got fed up with all the “unspoken rules” bullshit a long time ago and as far as I can tell, none of that has gone away.
I hold hockey and soccer at about on the same level. I’ll watch if it’s what’s on and/or it’s some type of significant game, but I would never go out of my way to see a game.
You are correct that “Major League Baseball” was not founded in 1903. The following is greatly oversimplified. “Major League Baseball” as a formal legal entity is a rather recent occurrence, in the year 2000. Before that, the leagues were each nominally independent, under the Commissioner’s Office. The National League was founded in 1876, the American League in 1901. The year 1903 was the first year of the so-called “Modern Era”, being the first year the two league champions played in a championship “World Series.” RickJay will be along in due course to fill in the details. 
The only thing I can think to add to that is that the “Major League Baseball” name does formally date back to at least 1968.
If we expanded to outside North America, soccer would move to a tie for #3. If we added cricket, I’d put that at #3 too.
Baseball will always be my favorite. Maybe because I played it as a youth, or because it was my parents’ favorite. Or something else, I’m not sure.
American football is enjoyable to watch, although the high rate of injuries for players, especially concussions, takes away some of the enjoyment.
Basketball can have moments of brillance, but too often it’s just very large men crashing into one another. And the referreeing can be horrible The WNBA is actually better in many respects.
Hockey and American soccer are just off my radar. I had no idea that the average attendence at MLS games was 20K plus.
Baseball’s the only one I’ve ever really followed. Played a little basketball and soccer, but much more baseball, and enjoyed it more.
I’m torn it’s baseball but only when the Phillies play. After that it’s the NFL, no matter what teams.