New Study Ranks NFL ‘Best’/’Worst’ NFL Fans, Guess Where We Land?

adding machine NFL fans ranked

Sure, that title, like the subject, reeks of clickbait. But, it’s still June and what else do you want from me, deep thought or analytics? Come on. This is more my speed, as I’ve always argued that the Vikings faithful had to at least be a top five fan-base just based on the fact that we exist at all and the surprising amount of fans we have nation-wide. So, when I came across this article on Yahoo! last night, I couldn’t wait to see how much the Vikings faithful were probably ignored (Per usual). The study, which was conducted by  Dr. Mike Lewis of Emory’s Goizueta Business School, is actually pretty analytical, ironically. Or at least, as analytical as a study like this can be.

It analyzes social engagement, home and road attendance, gear purchase and so on, to determine which fan-bases are the most active, to determine which are the best and the worst. Hopefully the existence of this site and it’s increasingly large foot-print on Social Media will help. To really understand the results, you have to understand the following three aspects that helped determine the outcome of the study (As quoted from the Yahoo! article that directed me to it):

“Fan Equity measures fans’ willingness to support a given team, while adjusting for factors such as market size and win-loss record. The Cowboys, Patriots and — surprisingly — the 49ers rank high here, with fans willing to pay a premium for tickets and merchandise to support these teams.

Social Equity measures fans’ willingness to stand up for a team online, following and liking them across multiple social networks. The Patriots, Cowboys and Broncos head the pack here. Social Equity is often a more reliable barometer of national awareness than Fan Equity, since anyone anywhere can follow a team online without having to purchase tickets.

Road Equity documents how well a team draws fans on the road. In the NBA, you can always count on a LeBron or Golden State bounce; the correlating teams in the NFL are the Cowboys, Eagles and Raiders, with the Patriots (5) not far behind. Sometimes these teams have fans that travel (Steelers, 6) and sometimes the bandwagons have set up shop around the country (hello, Cowboys fans in Los Angeles). Either way, the result is the same: a strong road presence.”

So, with that in mind, let’s hop into the ranking (prepare to be disappointed, per usual):

Of course. 23rd? Really? Why don’t they take into account the sheer amount of sell-outs this team has had since 1998, despite the fact that we root for a team that hurts us so deeply every five or ten years that we considering abandoning not only the sport, as fans, but life, as humans. I’ve often thought of just giving up and running into the woods after a Vikings playoff game, that has to count for something more than those drunks in Boston getting to watch a contender each and every year for the past decade and a half. It HAS to. Another gripe I have is that they claim that they control for market size and short term changes like winning and losing. So, why are all the big market teams the best teams? While small market teams are the losing teams? And how can you control for the fact that teams that have recently won Super Bowls, or have won them historically, have more fan fervor? I mean, I guess that’s fair, that good teams have “better” fans, but I refuse to believe that this many people in New England would be worked up if they had the Vikings history in their conference championship games or the Super Bowl.

Now, I used to be something of a numbers-savant. I went to high school starting in 7th grade because I tested out of my middle school when it came to math (Edison High School, represent!). Despite that, I think that this article is something more suited to our Analytics-wiz, Senior purplePTSD.com writer, Luke Braun. Perhaps he’ll comment or write a piece on it, but until then, remember that it’s easy to be a fan of a team that wins all the time. It takes real dedication to wait over fifty years for that win, and that’s what we’re doing here. I would put the following of purplePTSD.com against ANY other team or site out there and when we finally do win, we’ll show those d-bags on the East Coast what fandom really looks like!

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