Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills' growing fandom shows how more people are rooting for players over teams

Analysis by Harry Enten, CNN

Updated 1603 GMT (0003 HKT) January 16, 2022

(CNN)The Buffalo Bills, led by quarterback Josh Allen, beat the New England Patriots 47-17 during this weekend's NFL's opening playoff round. As a huge Bills fan, I was rooting for Allen to do well.

But an analysis of recent online search trends indicates that team loyalty like mine may not be as widespread in the age of free agency and social media. Plenty of sports fans are more interested in individual players than teams.This is seen throughout football, the sports industry and even across continents — with Allen and the Bills proving a fascinating example of this growing phenomenon.The Bills have historically not been a team with national appeal. Based in the second smallest metropolitan area in the US for a pro football team — according to the 2020 US Census, Buffalo had a population of 1.17 million compared to New York City's 20.14 million — their games are rarely shown nationally often.Allen on the field before a game against the Atlanta Falcons. However, I noticed something while reviewing which local television markets were broadcasting which games this season. All Bills games weren't just shown in Buffalo's local market, but also in the Southeastern Wyoming market. Read MoreFor those without a map, southeastern Wyoming is thousands of miles from Buffalo. So why do people there even care?Well, for starters, southeastern Wyoming is home to the University of Wyoming, where Allen went to college and starred for the Cowboys. Also, the state doesn't have an NFL team of its own, so it makes sense they want to keep tabs on a local hero. Allen throws for the Wyoming Cowboys against Boise State on October 21, 2017.Former CBS executive Steve Warner