CHICAGO—With a plethora of sports teams available to Chicagoans, it’s feasible that your early morning cough was a bit exaggerated, all in the name of cheering on your beloved [insert sports team here].
We’re not here to judge. Chicago is a sports city, after all.
But new data from Betway.com ranks Illinois as the sixth state most likely to call out sick for sports.
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Of the more than 2,000 people surveyed, 63% of Illinoisans admitted to taking a sick day to attend a sporting event.
Other key findings include:
- 22% of Illinoisans said that they will make sure their wedding day doesn’t interfere with a sporting event
- (22%) of Illinoisans admit that they have or will miss life events such as a birthday party or Thanksgiving to watch or attend a sports game
- (24%) of Illinoisans admit to having or being willing to break up with their partner because their favorite sports team or game takes precedence over their relationship
- Over one in five Illinoisans acknowledge that they would rather stay up to date with their sports team more than their friends
- 22% of people in Illinois state that have or are willing to name their child after their favorite athlete
But Illinoisans can hang their proverbial ‘Get Out of Work’ hat on the fact that we are not the worst.
That would be Utah, which tops the list of states that call out sick the most for sports (and probably complains that Jordan pushed off, but that’s another story for another day).
Colorado (No. 2-70%), Maryland (No. 3-67%), South Carolina/California/Texas (No. 4-65%), and Kansas (No. 5-64%) round out the top-5 for the worst ‘Call off of work for sports’ offenders.
Data also showed that of the surveyed Americans who falsely called out sick, 21% said they didn’t get in trouble, 19% said they did, and 17% got fired.
We get it. The Bears could be playoff-bound with two top-10 picks in Thursday’s NFL Draft. There’s nothing like catching a game at the ballpark, regardless of your North or South Side preference. The Blackhawks and Chicago Fire FC are trending in the right direction. Chicago Sky games will be turned up a notch, especially when a certain cross-state rival and their No. 1 pick come to do battle in the Windy City, and the Bulls are the Bulls (we’ll win the play-in next year).
We’re not advocating for anyone losing their job over sports, so call out responsibly!
