The world of sports has greatly expanded over the last few decades, and now, just about every state has a number of popular college and professional sports teams to call their own. California is no exception. In fact, The Golden State has various teams that are not only well-known but also very good, and many of them have the championships to prove it.
From baseball to hockey, there’s a team here for you. So, if you’re still on the fence about which team to love, here is a list of the most popular sports teams in California, and what makes them so notable. (Click to read about notable sports pros from California.)
There are many sports teams in California, so to gauge the most popular, 24/7 Tempo used data provided by ESPN, the California Business Journal, and sport-specific sites, like Pro-Football-Reference.com, to check the attendance at their games to see how many people went to see them in 2023. Here are the most popular California teams and the reasons they’re so well-loved.
Los Angeles Rams
We start with football and the Los Angeles Rams, who had the largest attendance numbers during the 2023 season, with 1,163,425 fans at both home and away games. The Rams are coming fresh off of their Super Bowl win last year, and that likely helped to add folks to their fan base. This year is a little less promising, but many fans are sticking around. To add more drama to the situation, the Rams left Los Angeles and instead were the St. Louis Rams from 1995-2015. They’ve since returned to California. However, even though their beloved team left them for a while, people are still going to games and making the Rams one of the most popular sports teams in California.
Los Angeles Chargers
Next is the L.A. Chargers, who also had over a million fans attend their home and away games during 2023. The team is actually located in Los Angeles, and they have many fans who will travel the country to watch them play and hopefully win. This season could have been better, but the fans will stick with them through thick and thin. The team plays in the American Football Conference West division, which is also home to the Kansas City Chiefs, so it has been an uphill battle in the last several years. That’s in addition to the fact that the Chargers are one of 12 teams to have never won a Super Bowl as of the time of this writing. Still, the fans are here to stay, and they’ll be cheering until this team becomes NFL champs.
San Francisco 49ers
The 49ers have the lowest attendance number out of these three California football teams, but they still brought in over 1.1 million fans into their games during 2023. People often flock to teams that are doing well, and that could explain some of the attendance this year. The team is performing above expectations in 2023, and that can be very exciting. The 49ers have been around since 1946, which makes them the 10th oldest franchise in the NFL, and that also explains their robust fan base. The team plays exciting football, and the warm temperatures in San Francisco also make going to a game a no-brainer. San Fran is a big sports town. Between the 49ers and the Giants baseball team, there’s a lot to see and do and people are always at the games.
Los Angeles Lakers
Moving onto basketball, we have the Los Angeles Lakers, which are undoubtedly one of the most popular sports teams in California. The Lakers have always been the popular team to like, and many people stick with the team for their entire lives. Part of their draw is the amazing roster of players and the many championships the team has had over the years. From Kobe Bryant, Magic Johnson, Shaq, Wilt Chamberlain, and currently, LeBron James, there’s a lot of star power that makes being a fan well worth the effort. As of 2023, the Lakers have had attendance at their games reach just over 763,000, and that number will only grow as the season progresses.
Golden State Warriors
Next on the list of game attendance is the Golden State Warriors, which also have plenty of sports fans in California, especially after several championship wins in the last 10 years. Over 740,000 fans attended the Warriors games in 2023, and they’re always ready to have a great time. Several of the long-term players, including Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, and the always-entertaining Draymond Green, are characters that deserve to be seen in person. The arrival of superstar Chris Paul is just another reason to buy a ticket. The team will likely need to go through another long dry spell to lose their mighty fanbase.
Los Angeles Clippers
For many years, the Clippers were far from being one of the popular sports teams in California, and that’s because they seldomly won, and it was getting bad. Over the last several years, they started to gain more star power with the addition of players Kawhi Leonard and Paul George, and suddenly, the team started winning. Now, all the fans have returned, and that’s part of the reason why there have been over 720,000 fans in the seats watching them at the games. When it comes to Los Angeles, the basketball fans there are typically Clippers or Lakers fans, so this team will always have a built-in fan base that will continue to make them one of the most popular sports teams in California.
Sacramento Kings
Finally, we have the Kings, which are seeing audiences totaling over 715,000 over the year 2023. The Sacramento Kings are a bit underrated. They have a young team without a ton of star power, but they play well together, and their coaching is becoming very strong. The team will be a contender for the best in their division this year, and fans are starting to take notice. As the team continues to gain popularity, they’ll only become more popular, and soon they could be equal to the Clippers. The trend on this list is that sports fans in California love to go to games, so most basketball teams will always get a decent audience.
Los Angeles Dodgers
The first baseball team on the list is the Dodgers, who are not only one of the most popular sports teams in California but are one of the most popular baseball teams, period. The Dodgers had more fans at their games than any other team in the MLB, and it wasn’t close. According to ESPN, the team had 3,837,079 fans come to their 81 games. The next closest team is the New York Yankees, which had 3,269,016 people come to see them play.
On average, over 47,000 people come to see each game, and that’s because it’s cool to like the Dodgers and root them on, even if some of the people at the games don’t typically watch baseball. Another reason why people in California love the Dodgers is because they’re also quite good. The team won the World Series in 2020, and they’ve had winning seasons for many years, so there’s a reason to root them on, and many Californians do.
San Diego Padres
Another very popular sports team in California, as well as many other parts of the country, is the San Diego Padres. Over 3.2 million people came to their games during the 2023 season, making them the third most-watched team in all of Major League Baseball. The Padres have been a hit-or-miss team over the years. They have their moments, but there are some kinks to work out. However, it doesn’t seem that the people of San Diego care. This is their team, and they’re sticking to them. Again, part of their popularity is likely the perfect weather in San Diego, which makes any day the perfect day to watch the Padres.
Los Angeles Angels
The other Los Angeles team to love is the Angels, which drew in 2.6 million fans during their 81-game season. People have always gone to Angels games because of the weather and the fun environment. However, their popularity has increased in recent years due to big names like Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani. The latter is one of the most famous names in the sport due to his ability to pitch and hit. During this off-season, Ohtani left the Angels to go to the Dodgers, so only time will tell if the Angels continue to stay this popular. However, it’s almost a certainty that the Dodgers will become more popular due to this trade.
San Francisco Giants
The Giants also have a great fan base that will stick with them through thick and thin. Although not as popular as the Dodgers, the Giants were able to pull in 2.5 million fans this past season, and they’re still within the top 20 most-watched MLB teams. The team’s popularity spiked a bit more in 2021 when the team won an incredible 107 games and was a league favorite. The seasons since then haven’t been too great, but the fans are sticking around. Regardless of that, though this is another team that has a lot of players come and go, the great weather in the area always draws a crowd, and the fans are always willing to root for the Giants.
San Jose Sharks
When it comes to hockey, sports fans in California have limited options, and they tend to often choose other sports. However, a favorite of Californians is the San Jose Sharks. The team was able to pull 556,468 people into the stadium to watch their games during the 2022/2023 season. That’s an average of about 13,900 per game. People enjoy hockey games because there’s a very lively atmosphere in the air, and it’s very energetic. There’s also non-stop action, and the Sharks are no slouch in the scoring category. If the Sharks ever win the Stanley Cup, their popularity will likely increase further.
UCLA Bruins
Sports fans in California are also fond of their college teams, and one that many people in the area rally behind is UCLA. According to estimates, the Bruins have about three million fans, which is a combination of college students and NFL fans. College students make up a lot of the fanbase, and it doesn’t hurt that UCLA has been rated as the number one public university in the nation. Many student-athletes dream of playing for the Bruins, and their popularity will likely continue to rise.
USC Trojans
When it comes to college football, most Californians either love UCLA or USC. The Trojans are one of the most popular sports teams in California when it comes to college football.
The NCAA team, which competes in the Pac-12 Conference, is considered to be one of the most successful teams ever to do it. They have won 136 national championships, and they’re proud of it. This team is a rival of UCLA, so people who don’t like that program are often going to cling to USC. In fact, USC game attendance often tops UCLA, and there can often be upwards of 66,000 folks per game. (Learn about 50 of the best college towns.)