This Map Shows Which U.S. States Are Talking About The Winter Olympics

Athletes from all across the globe have descended upon Pyeongchang, South Korea, for the 2018 Winter Olympics. The United States are represented by 244 athletes (135 men, 109 women) for the Games.

America’s delegation—the largest athlete delegation in Winter Olympics history—features competitors from 31 states. Unsurprisingly, fans and viewers in some states are more invested in the Games than others, whether it’s their interest in particular events (including curling, skiing, snowboarding, and bobsleigh), or supporting athletes like Lindsey Vonn, Shaun White, or Mikaela Shiffrin.

Oakley Forum has created a map that illustrates which states are the most interested in the Winter Olympics, according to the percentage of residents who tweeted with the hashtag #winterolympics (as opposed to the total number of tweets per state because states like California and New York would dominate and skew the results based on population size and user base). Data was collected from more than 500,000 geotagged tweets in January 2018.

Unsurprisingly, the states with the most interest in the Games traditionally have colder climates, where the opportunity to play and watch winter sports is greater. They are Utah, Colorado, Vermont, Minnesota, and Alaska.

Colorado, home to the U.S. Olympic Complex also boasts the most athletes, with 31 participants competing in Pyeongchang. Minnesota comes in third with 20, while Utah is fifth with 16.

No surprise that interest is higher in those states.

On the other hand, the Southern states of Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, New Mexico, and Kansas had the lowest amount of tweets surrounding the Games. These states don’t have a single participant. In fact, they are five of 19 states without a representative this year.