WASHINGTON – While Washington Redskins fever may be high as the team faces off against the Pittsburgh Steelers at FedExField Monday night, the Redskins’ fans ranked as the 13th-most loyal and supportive out of all NFL teams, according to a new study.
The findings — which come from Emory University’s Goizueta Business School — placed the Baltimore Ravens at No. 8, while the Dallas Cowboys scored the No. 1 spot.
The study was led by a Redskins fan and a Steelers fan and evaluated a number of factors over a three-year span to determine which teams had the most supportive fan bases. Team box office revenues relative to team on-field success, market population, stadium capacity, median income and other factors were used to compile the rankings.
The Cowboys have had above-capacity attendance despite the team playing sub-.500 football of late, according to the study.
“We think it’s a long legacy of success, a football mad Texas culture and a state of the art stadium,” the study’s authors say in an attempt to explain the passionate Dallas fan base.
The top 10 rankings are:
- Dallas Cowboys
- New England Patriots
- New York Jets
- New Orleans Saints
- New York Giants
- Indianapolis Colts
- Chicago Bears
- Baltimore Ravens
- Pittsburgh Steelers
- Tennessee Titans
The rankings are based on 11 years of data.
The Redskins would come in second behind the Patriots, if a decade of data was used, according to Emory University.
If a decade of data is used, here are the top five teams:
- New England Patriots
- Washington Redskins
- Kansas City Chiefs
- Denver Broncos
- Pittsburgh Steelers
In terms of which teams are rising and which are falling — aka fan equity, researchers used the first three years of their data (2002 to 2005) and the last three (2010 to 2012).
The Redskins ranked fourth when it comes to the biggest drops in fan equity. In the top three slots were the Chiefs, Buccaneers and Rams.
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