Didn’t expect the MLB Illinois fan camp discussion to go this far. For what it’s worth, growing up in Central Illinois, I noticed a pretty even 50/50 split between Cardinals and Cubs fans. Only knew one White Sox fan until I went to UofI and made friends with those from the suburbs.
I think the rivalry of Cards vs Cubs drove the fanbases to those two in the Central area, plus the local farm league affiliate would flip flop between being either a Cardinal or Cub-based team. So pros like Pujols and Baez made their starts helped. Also, Central and Southern areas I’ve noticed have a bit of disdain for Chicagoland that’s more political, so allegiance may help gravitate some to STL, maybe? Either way, Cardinals have a clear fan base in the state that though Chicago and Suburbs outnumber the population for the rest of the state, you take a trip down around Campus, Bloomington, Peoria, and south from there I would say you’d never think Cubs fans outnumber Cardinals fans.
I might add success helps a bit to build a fan base. Central Illinois had noticeable amounts of GB Packers fans (Bears rivalry maybe helped), Iowa fans (lot of rural and farm kids gravitated that way), and Colts fans.
Essentially, there’s a hodgepodge that isn’t necessarily statehood driven. Region drives it some too, among many factors. But again, Cardinals have a large presence in the Central Region, and it’s not necessarily a mystery.
