America is divided over Celtics-Bucks series, rooting interest map shows

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Tied at 1-1 entering Friday's Game 3 in Boston, the Celtics' second-round series with the Milwaukee Bucks is very much up in the air.

So, too, are the fans who have followed it.

That's according to SportsInsider.com's "state rooting interest" map of the Celtics-Bucks series, which used geotagged Twitter data -- over 50,000 tweets that included either pro-Celtics or pro-Bucks hashtags -- to determine which states are pulling for which team.

The verdict: dead even, at 25 states for Boston and 25 states for Milwaukee.

A few takeaways:

-- It's no surprise the entire Midwest is behind the Wisconsin-based Bucks, whose playoff battles with the Celtics go back several decades.

-- California favoring the C's over the Bucks is a bit surprising, considering Boston-based teams beat Los Angeles teams in both the Super Bowl and the World Series. Maybe Golden State Warriors fans really want the Celtics in the NBA Finals?

-- If Jazz fans feel spurned by Gordon Hayward leaving two summers ago, they're not showing it, as Utah apparently is pulling for Hayward's current club.

-- What's up with Alabama? The Celtics have a firm hold on the American South, with the random exception of the Cotton State.

Here's the biggest takeaway, though: The C's don't appear to be universally hated across the country ... unlike a certain local football team.

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