For the first time ever, thanks to the scourge that is college football conference realignment, the University of Texas and the University of Georgia will play each other in a Southeastern Conference game.
To help the respective fan bases become better acquainted with one another, Attain conducted a study on the spending habits of residents of both states, and the results reveal some stark differences between the residents of the Lone Star and Peach States.
Whenever two football schools match up against one another, there’s a tacit battle between the schools’ student bodies over who parties the hardest — and in this sense, Texas is the clear favorite. Texas residents are more than twice as likely to buy tobacco and vape products, and three times as likely to buy booze, according to Attain’s analysis.
There are also clear differences in beverage preference between the two states. The most popular beer brand in Georgia is Miller Lite, whereas Texas is Coors country. Texans were more than 10 times more likely to buy Coors Light than Georgians. Georgians are also far more likely to drink Modelo and Michelob Ultra than their rivals four states to the west.
Surprisingly, Texas consumers are more likely to buy Coca-Cola than Georgians despite Coca-Cola having its headquarters in Atlanta. So much for home state pride.
Georgia Bulldogs fans can talk solace in knowing they are much more responsible with their money than the Longhorn faithful. Georgians are 50 percent more likely than Texans to put their money in investments and retirement funds, according to Attain’s analysis, and almost twice as likely to spend on insurance. The residents of the great state of Georgia know how to plan for their long-term financial health, which could make for a creative way to trash talk Texas fans.
Both states love fast food — they are both Americans, after all — but they different significantly in terms of their brand preferences. Texas shoppers are more likely to eat at pizza chains Pizza Hut and Little Caesars, whereas Georgians prefer Papa John’s. Georgians are big into burgers, over-indexing on Wendy’s and Burger King (McDonald’s was roughly the same for both states).
If animosity between the conference foes runs too high, then the opposing fan bases can bond over some of their shared interests. Both Georgians and Texans over index on sporting goods, a reflection of the robust athletics and hunting cultures in both states. And they both love fried chicken — Georgia and Texas shoppers spend far more than the national average on Church’s Chicken, Chick-Fil-A and Popeye’s.
In this time of incredible social division, we can all rest assured over our shared love of fried foodstuffs. That much rings true, from the vast expanses of West Texas to the swamps of south Georgia.
