Michigan’s Top Star Wars Search Trends Show Passionate Fandom
Lightsabers, Mandalorians and battle droid one-liners, these are just a few of my favorite things.
It shouldn't come as much of a surprise, but Michigan really loves Star Wars. With it being May the 4th, it got me thinking: What are Michigan's favorite things about the galaxy far... far away...?
Rather than look through those completely fabricated maps that will no-doubt surface that tell the states which character is their favorite or what color their lightsaber is with no rhyme or reason, I went straight to the Jedi Archives, well... Google. Close enough.
First, on the national scale, Michigan ranks 17th in the country for interest in Star Wars over the past year. Not bad. That's better than Ohio. The Dark Side of the Midwest landed at 27. So uncivilized.
No region of Michigan loves Star Wars more than Southwest Michigan. The Grand Rapids - Kalamazoo - Battle Creek market tied with the Marquette market at a 100 interest score in Google Trends. There's a joke about a high midichlorian count there, but I'll leave it be.
So, what are Michigan's favorite things about Star Wars according to Google Trends? Let's take a look.
*The Google Trends data is calculated between May 4, 2022, and May 3, 2023.
Favorite Movie: Episode IV: A New Hope
The story that started it all. Michigan respects the classics and a solid budding story of good versus evil. Maybe it was a personal connection when Obi-Wan looked off into the distance and said Ohio, "You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy.”
Favorite Character: Anakin Skywalker
Michigan's favorite character is the main character of the entire franchise? The Chosen One? What could Michigan and Anakin have in common? Well, we don't like sand either. Something tells me Anakin would hate snow too, though.
Favorite Location: Tatooine
Maybe we hate sand in Michigan, maybe we don't. But we have an appreciation for a good engine. One of the single best moments in all of Star Wars is the Boonta Eve pod race in Episode 1: A Phantom Menace. Michiganders love a good race.
Or maybe it's just an easy escape from all the snow to think of a desert planet that has two more suns than our state does for 90% of the year.
Favorite Live-Action Show: The Mandalorian
This is the way. Unless you were searching for chatrooms to complain about season 3. It's called story pacing - and recovering from giving half your story to The Book of Boba Fett...
Favorite Animated Show: Star Wars Rebels
This one really did surprise me! Good taste Michigan. Don't watch the upcoming Ahsoka series without watching Rebels. Trust me.
"I'm No Jedi." Chills.
Favorite Toy: LEGO
Come on, who doesn't love spending way more money than they should on Star Wars-themed LEGO sets? I proudly display my Boba Fett helmet set on my desk at home. I simply can't trust you if you don't have a LEGO Star Wars set displayed somewhere.
Favorite Video Game: LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga
I gotta imagine at least 80% of the Google searches were to find collectibles for this insanely huge game. There are 1,166 collectibles in this game guys. 1,166. There are fewer pieces of the Death Star floating in space.