Bruce Kluckhohn-USA TODAY Sports
Which team has the best fans in the NFL? It’s a great topic for debate. Some fan bases are known as being loyal even through tough times, while others will boo their own players every Sunday. NFL fans are known for being passionate and over the top. Some even rival the extremes WWE fans go to (see Syd Davy above, aka Vikings’ super fan).
But when it comes to the most ‘engaged’ fan bases, there’s actually a new way to track it. Thanks to TicketCity.com, we now have some hard data to look at when talking about the best fans in the NFL. TicketCity used an algorithm and weighted the following factors in their study of the 2012 season: average total attendance all games (5), average home attendance (10), average ticket price (5), average home game ticket price (10), percentage of stadium capacity filled at home games (10), Facebook likes(3), Twitter following (3).
They looked at all those factors and came up with these results:
1. Dallas Cowboys 100.00
2. New England Patriots 89.64
3. Green Bay Packers 87.29
4. NY Giants 85.51
5. Pittsburgh Steelers 84.41
6. Chicago Bears 83.75
7. Denver Broncos 80.39
8. New Orleans Saints 76.42
9. Houston Texans 76.16
10. Philadelphia Eagles 73.40
11. Baltimore Ravens 73.34
12. San Francisco 49ers 71.63
13. Washington Redskins 70.76
14. Seattle Seahawks 70.45
15. NY Jets 70.44
16. Atlanta Falcons 64.95
17. Indianapolis Colts 63.27
18. Carolina Panthers 62.11
19. Tennessee Titans 60.48
20. Detroit Lions 60.34
21. Minnesota Vikings 59.83
22. Arizona Cardinals 58.60
23. San Diego Chargers 57.67
24. Buffalo Bills 57.02
25. Cincinnati Bengals 56.94
26. Cleveland Browns 56.19
27. Oakland Raiders 54.93
28. Jacksonville Jaguars 54.25
29. Miami Dolphins 53.91
30. Kansas City Chiefs 53.42
31. St Louis Rams 53.09
32. Tampa Bay Buccaneers 52.22
While the top 10 teams aren’t really surprising, I couldn’t believe some of the results after that. Teams like the Raiders, Vikings, Falcons and Chiefs, who are all perceived to have great fans, didn’t score that well. Now keep in mind that this is based on the 2012 season and current social media numbers – so it’s not saying fans of the teams that didn’t score well aren’t loyal, it’s just saying they’re not as engaged.
It’s not surprising to see losing teams score poorly, because if you’re not winning, you’re not putting people in the seats. But it’s a little shocking when a playoff team like Minnesota places 21st.
It will be interesting to see how these rankings change in 2013 as some teams figure to improve, while others decline. I would be shocked if the bottom four teams don’t move up this year, as all are projected to starting turning things around. As far as the top of the list is concerned, the Cowboys, Patriots and Packers, aren’t going anywhere. There could be some minor fluxuation in the top 10 in 2013 and beyond, but for the most part they’re all established teams in big markets that will continue to draw fans for years to come.
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