Infectious Politics
The Democratic candidacy race has been heating up in recent weeks as we draw nearer and nearer to the inevitable election night. However, recently the Coronavirus has taken up most media attention, due to its increase in prevalence and incurable nature. When taking a look at Google trends to compare the number of people searching the Democratic candidates with the number of people looking into the Coronavirus it becomes very clear what people have become more concerned over.
The Coronavirus was originally found in China, but has become a global phenomenon in the past month or so. There have been cases reported in China, Korea, Italy, Germany, the United States, France, Japan, and many other countries. In fact, Antarctica is the only continent without a confirmed case of the virus so far.
Using Google trends the amount of searches Coronavirus has gotten was compared with the number of searches for the top four candidates in the Democratic race. The popularity of candidates was based on the number of delegates each candidate has received. In terms of the candidates, Bernie Sanders led the way in terms of searches, but he was a very distant second place when compared to the number of searches for the Coronavirus.
Is Chicago a Cubs City Now??
Chicago has always been considered a heavily sports influenced city and has had its fair share of successful sports teams and dynasties. From the Chicago Bulls in the 90s, to the Blackhawks in the 2010s Chicago has maintained a steady relevance in all Major Sports in America.
If you asked any Chicagoans what team they believed to be the most popular Chicago sports team most (if not all) would state that Chicago is and has always been a “Bears Town” or in other words, the Chicago Bears are the most popular franchise in Chicago. However according to Google Trends that hasn’t been the case for the last 12 months.
When using Google Trends to compare the number of searches that each Chicago team has gotten in the last 12 months it was somewhat surprising to see the Chicago Cubs leading the way as the most searched Chicago sports franchise. The Bears came in at a very close second place. While the Chicago Bulls rounded out the top three at a very distant third place. While this chart doesn’t speak to Chicagoans opinions, it gives a scope for national opinions on Chicago sports teams.
The Bears may be the main sports franchise for residents of Chicago, but the Cubs seem to have more national attention at the moment.
Myles' Data Journalism Blog 