Chiefs Kingdom vs. Cardinals Country: New Survey Maps Missouri’s True Team Loyalties
A survey of 2,262 fans reveals how Kansas City, St. Louis, Springfield and beyond really split their hearts — and who owns Missouri’s best game-day atmosphere.
Missouri is officially a two-team state. Unofficially? It’s one giant tug-of-war between red and red. A new survey of 2,262 Missouri sports fans asked two simple questions:
- Which is your favorite Missouri-based (or formerly based) professional sports team?
- Which Missouri fanbase has the best game-day atmosphere?
When you zoom out, you see exactly what you’d expect: the Kansas City Chiefs and St. Louis Cardinals dominate the map. But once you start slicing by city — focusing on places with 100+ respondents (Kansas City, St. Louis, Springfield, Columbia, Cape Girardeau and Joplin) — the picture gets a lot more interesting.
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Key Findings
- The Chiefs are Missouri’s No. 1 team. Statewide, 50% of fans pick the Kansas City Chiefs as their favorite Missouri-based (or formerly based) pro team.
- The Cardinals are the only real challenger. 23% pick the St. Louis Cardinals, making them the clear No. 2 statewide and the dominant choice in eastern Missouri.
- Arrowhead is the undisputed atmosphere king. 59% of fans say Chiefs fans at Arrowhead have the best game-day atmosphere in Missouri, more than all other fanbases combined.
- But Busch Stadium is still a cathedral. 21% of respondents say Cardinals fans at Busch have the best atmosphere — including 50% of fans in Cape Girardeau and 44% in St. Louis.
- Even with an MLB franchise in the Royals, Kansas City is overwhelmingly a Chiefs city. 76% of locals choose the Chiefs as their favorite team, and an incredible 91% say Chiefs fans deliver the best game-day atmosphere.
- St. Louis is a multi-team city — with baseball first. In St. Louis, 45% pick the Cardinals as their favorite team, with 18% choosing the Chiefs and 18% the Blues.
- Springfield and Columbia quietly lean Kansas City. In Springfield, 56% pick the Chiefs vs. 16% for the Cardinals; in Columbia it’s 59% Chiefs vs. 23% Cardinals.
- Cape Girardeau is pure Cardinals country. In Cape, 50% say the Cardinals are their favorite team — the highest Cardinals share of any major city in the sample.
- A small but real group still rides for the LA Rams. 2% statewide list the Rams as their favorite team, with higher pockets in Springfield, Columbia, Cape Girardeau and Joplin — but 0% in St. Louis.
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Statewide Picture: Chiefs on Top, Cardinals Holding the Line
At the state level, the hierarchy is clear when fans are asked for their favorite Missouri-based (or formerly based) team:
- Kansas City Chiefs – 50%
- St. Louis Cardinals – 23%
- St. Louis Blues – 9%
- Kansas City Royals – 5%
- Springfield Cardinals – 2%
- LA Rams – 2%
- Other teams such as St. Louis City SC, Battlehawks, Kansas City Current and Mavericks all sit at around 1% or less.
- 5% say they do not like any of the listed teams.
In other words: half the state lives in Chiefs Kingdom, about a quarter lives in Cardinals Country, and everyone else is scattered across smaller enclaves — hockey diehards, Royals loyalists, local-club supporters or the quietly disengaged.
On game-day atmosphere, fans are even more decisive:
- 59% say Kansas City Chiefs fans at Arrowhead have the best atmosphere in Missouri.
- 21% pick St. Louis Cardinals fans at Busch Stadium.
- 8% choose St. Louis Blues fans at Enterprise Center.
- 8% select Missouri Tigers fans in Columbia.
- 2% go for St. Louis Battlehawks fans at The Dome.
- 2% choose “Other.”
Even plenty of Cardinals fans will quietly admit: if you want the loudest day out, you go to Arrowhead.
Kansas City: A One-Team Town with Arrowhead as the Benchmark
In Kansas City (n=500), the numbers are almost comically lopsided.
Favorite team (Kansas City):
- Kansas City Chiefs – 76%
- Kansas City Royals – 12%
- Springfield Cardinals – 5%
- LA Rams – 3%
- Smaller shares for other teams; 4% say they do not like any of the listed teams.
Best game-day atmosphere (Kansas City):
- Chiefs fans (Arrowhead) – 91%
- Cardinals fans (Busch Stadium) – 3%
- Blues fans – 2%
- Tigers fans – 2%
- Battlehawks fans – 1%
- Other – 2%
Kansas City is a true Chiefs town with a respectable Royals minority and almost no competition on the atmosphere front.
St. Louis: Cardinals First, But Not a One-Sport City
St. Louis (n=482) looks very different from Kansas City.
Favorite team (St. Louis):
- St. Louis Cardinals – 45%
- Kansas City Chiefs – 18%
- St. Louis Blues – 18%
- Smaller shares for Royals, Springfield Cardinals, LA Rams, St. Louis City / City SC and Battlehawks.
- Only 2% do not like any of the listed teams.
This is a multi-team city, but baseball is clearly at the center of the universe. Between the Cardinals, Blues, MLS side City SC and the Battlehawks, St. Louis spreads its love but still orbits Busch.
Best game-day atmosphere (St. Louis):
- Cardinals fans (Busch Stadium) – 44%
- Chiefs fans (Arrowhead) – 25%
- Blues fans (Enterprise Center) – 19%
- Tigers fans – 8%
- Battlehawks fans – 4%
St. Louis splits its atmosphere votes between Busch and Enterprise Center, with a respectable nod to Arrowhead from afar.
Springfield & Columbia: College-Town Energy, Pro-Team Split
Springfield (n=349): Quietly Chiefs Country
Favorite team (Springfield):
- Chiefs – 56%
- Cardinals – 16%
- Royals – 4%
- Blues – 2%
- Springfield Cardinals – 1%
- LA Rams – 3%
- I do not like any of these – 2%
Best game-day atmosphere (Springfield):
- Chiefs fans – 69%
- Cardinals fans – 13%
- Blues fans – 7%
- Tigers fans – 8%
- Battlehawks fans – 1%
- Other – 2%
Springfield reads like a satellite of Kansas City with a Cardinals accent and a small, slightly haunted pocket of LA Rams fans who apparently never fully moved on.
Columbia (n=142): Chiefs on Top, But Mizzou Owns the Energy
Favorite team (Columbia):
- Chiefs – 59%
- Cardinals – 23%
- Blues – 6%
- Royals – 4%
- Springfield Cardinals – 9%
- LA Rams – 2%
- I do not like any of these – 10%
Best game-day atmosphere (Columbia):
- Chiefs fans – 59%
- Tigers fans – 25%
- Cardinals fans – 13%
- Blues fans – 2%
- Battlehawks fans – 0%
- Other – 1%
Columbia leans pro-Chiefs and still has a solid Cardinals presence, but the atmosphere data shows Mizzou fans are the only non-NFL fanbase in the state to break one in four on game-day energy.
Cape Girardeau & Joplin: Cardinals Temple vs. Chiefs Stronghold
Cape Girardeau (n=117): Eastern Cardinals Outpost
Favorite team (Cape Girardeau):
- Cardinals – 50%
- Chiefs – 27%
- Blues – 9%
- Royals – 0%
- LA Rams – 3%
- I do not like any of these – 5%
Best game-day atmosphere (Cape Girardeau):
- Cardinals fans – 50%
- Chiefs fans – 34%
- Blues fans – 3%
- Tigers fans – 9%
- Battlehawks fans – 1%
- Other – 3%
Cape is Cardinals Country first, Chiefs Kingdom second — one of the few places where the baseball team clearly outruns the NFL halo.
Joplin (n=107): Quietly One of the Most Chiefs-Heavy Cities
Favorite team (Joplin):
- Chiefs – 63%
- Cardinals – 16%
- Royals – 6%
- Blues – 3%
- LA Rams – 4%
- I do not like any of these – 8%
Best game-day atmosphere (Joplin):
- Chiefs fans – 71%
- Cardinals fans – 12%
- Blues fans – 4%
- Tigers fans – 8%
- Battlehawks fans – 0%
- Other – 5%
If you drew a “Chiefs corridor” on the map, Joplin would be comfortably inside it.
Beyond the Big Two: Blues, Royals and the Rest
St. Louis Blues: Third Place, Deep Roots
Statewide, the St. Louis Blues get 9% as favorite team and 8% as best atmosphere, but their real strength is local. In St. Louis, 18% call the Blues their favorite team and 19% say Blues fans offer the best atmosphere. They also show up in smaller numbers across Springfield and Joplin.
Royals: Strong in KC, Scattered Elsewhere
The Kansas City Royals have 5% statewide as favorite team, but more notable pockets in Kansas City (12%), Joplin (6%) and several central and southwest markets. They rarely win the atmosphere question, but they are clearly the second team of choice in KC-influenced areas.
Smaller Teams Still Hold Real Fan Support Across Missouri
Smaller fanbases still matter to local identity:
- Springfield Cardinals reach 5% as favorite team in Kansas City, 9% in Columbia and 1–2% in several other cities.
- St. Louis Battlehawks appear as favorite team for 3% in St. Louis and 3% in Springfield, and reach 4% on atmosphere in St. Louis.
- St. Louis City and City SC together reach around 9% as favorite team in St. Louis and show small pockets of support in nearby areas.
These numbers are small, but they underline that Missouri’s sports identity is not just NFL and MLB — there’s a layered ecosystem of hockey, minor-league baseball, MLS and XFL that gives each city its own texture.
The Rams Hangover: Alive, But Not in St. Louis
One of the strangest quirks in the data: 2% statewide still say the LA Rams are their favorite Missouri-based (or formerly based) team.
By city, Rams loyalty is spread thin:
- Kansas City – 3%
- Springfield – 3%
- Columbia – 2%
- Cape Girardeau – 3%
- Joplin – 4%
- St. Louis – 0%
The Rams nostalgia that remains is everywhere but St. Louis, which lines up neatly with the last decade of local sentiment.
The “None of the Above” Fans
Finally, there is a group that resists local allegiance altogether. Statewide, 5% say “I do not like any of these” when shown the list of Missouri-based or formerly based teams.
By city, that group looks like this:
- Columbia – 10%
- Joplin – 9%
- Cape Girardeau – 5%
- Kansas City – 5%
- St. Louis – 2%
- Springfield – 2%
Columbia in particular stands out — a reminder that even in the middle of the state, some people care more about Mizzou, national brands, or no team at all.
Methodology
The research was carried out online by Research Without Barriers (RWB).
All surveys were conducted between 15th October 2025 and 21st October 2025.
- The sample comprised 2,262 Missouri sports fans.
- All research conducted adheres to the MRS Codes of Conduct (2023) in the UK and ICC/ESOMAR World Research Guidelines.
- RWB is registered with the Information Commissioner’s Office and is fully compliant with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the Data Protection Act (2018).
Full Survey Tables
For readers (and editors) who want to see every percentage by gender, age, relationship status and city, the full data for both questions is available in the interactive tables below.
For full survey tables and the complete dataset, click here.
