Cleveland Cavaliers fans have turned to porn to somewhat alleviate the pain of their team losing to the Golden State Warriors in the NBA Finals. Based on data gathered by Pornhub on June 12, or the day Game 5 was played in California, traffic to the website was -15 percent in the San Francisco Bay Area and -17 percent in the Cleveland area when the game began at 9 p.m. Eastern Time. Across the United States, the number of access to Pornhub slipped to -8 percent.
When the game was winding down, it looked like Cleveland resident already gave up, with traffic to Pornhub down by only -6 percent while San Francisco remained at -21 percent.
After the Warriors defeated the Cavaliers, Pornhub traffic in San Francisco returned to normal. However, Cleveland residents may have used Pornhub to cheer themselves up as they caused a +28 percent surge in Pornhub traffic between midnight and 1 a.m. The Cavaliers lost the best-of-seven series to the Warriors, 4-1.
Television-wise, the Cavaliers-Warriors Finals showdown was the most-watched NBA championship showdown since 1998. An average of 24.5 million viewers watched the five-game series. Around 20.5 million viewers watched Game 5 as the Warriors defeated the Cavaliers, 129-120, to clinch their second NBA title in three years.
Indians fans also turned to porn after World Series loss to Cubs
It was the same situation when the Cleveland Indians lost to the Chicago Cubs in Game 7 of last year’s World Series. The Indians were leading the best-of-seven series, 3-1, but lost the next four games as the Cubs won their first World Series crown since 1908. While Game 7 was being played, Pornhub traffic dropped by -17 percent in Chicago and -26 percent in Cleveland.
When the game ended around 12:45 a.m., Pornhub traffic in Cleveland went up to +54 percent while Chicago turned up the heat with a +41 increase in traffic.
Super Bowl LI dropped PornHub traffic by -27 percent
Aside from the NBA Finals, Pornhub said that live major sports events like the Super Bowl, World Series, and Euro Cup affect Pornhub traffic.
During February 5’s Super Bowl LI between the New England Patriots and the Atlanta Falcons, Pornhub traffic across the United States slipped to -27 percent at kickoff around 6:30 p.m. The traffic remained the same until the end of the game at 10:30 p.m., with the Patriots coming from a 25-point deficit en route to a 34-28 overtime win. After the game ended, Pornhub visits immediately surged, reaching 9 percent above average by 11 p.m.
