Are the best teams always the most popular teams? Sometimes, yes; sometimes no. After last season’s exciting finish with the Steelers and Cardinals, one would imagine that these teams had solid followers throughout the regular season right up until the Super Bowl. The fact is, however, these two teams are not the top two most popular teams.

In October of 2008, HarrisInteractive.com released an interesting poll about the NFL, covering a wide range of topics including demographics, favorite teams, and even the political party affiliate of football fans. The complete study findings were released on ColdHardFootballFacts.com – Click Here to see Entire Study, and we’ve also included some summary data from these results below. Prepare to be surprised, impressed, or even inspired: If there are any NFL props for “most popular team”, or “season attendance record”, you might want to read up on these facts closely.

Top 10 Most Popular NFL Teams, as of October 2008

1. Dallas Cowboys
2. New England Patriots
3. Indianapolis Colts
4. Pittsburgh Steelers
5. Green Bay Packers
6. Chicago Bears
7. New York Giants
8. Philadelphia Eagles
9. Washington Redskins
10. New York Jets

Conclusions: The Cowboys in the #1 spot is a bit surprising, but reasonable given their strong fan base. The Patriots, Colts, Steelers are about right in the 2-4 positions. The two New York teams; the Giants and Jets took two spots of the top 10. Given that fact that these teams compete in one of largest metropolitan areas in the country, they should land in the top 10 by sheer numbers of fans alone. Believe it or not, the Detroit Lions were not the last place team. Even though no one could have predicted their unfortunate season as of October 2008, it’s worth noting that they came in #29 on the list, just ahead of the Rams, Jaguars, and Bengals.

Top 10 Most Likely Teams to win Superbowl 43, February 2009

1. Dallas Cowboys
2. New England Patriots
3. Indianapolis Colts
4. New York Giants
5. Pittsburgh Steelers
6. Philadelphia Eagles
7. Green Bay Packers
8. Chicago Bears
9. Carolina Panthers
10. Denver Broncos

Conclusions: Interestingly enough, the Cowboys were not only the most popular team, but the Superbowl favorite for last season. In terms of percentages, 30% of those surveyed felt the Cowboys would win the Super Bowl. Then again, if they’re the most popular team, it follows that their fans would want them to make it to the big game. The rest of the list is routine: the Patriots, Colts, Giants, and Steelers and perennial favorites in recent years. The Panthers at #9 was unexpected, and looking back, maybe this poll data wasn’t so accurate given the teams that actually made post season play during the 2008-09 season.

Other Random Survey Facts and Findings

Sex of NFL Football Fans

• Male – 65%
• Female – 39%

Give it up for the ladies on this one: nearly 4 in 10 either sit down with the boys for the big game, or tolerate their boyfriend’s/husband’s NFL habit on Sunday afternoons. A very interesting stat given the obvious marketing to the male sports audience.

Age of NFL Football Fans by Percentage of Demographic Group

• Echo Boomers(18-31) – 46%
• GenerationX(32-43) – 54%
• Baby Boomers(44-62) – 56%
• Matures(63+) – 48%

This data has no surprises. The younger crowd clearly likes football but has other interests in life, while the adult to middle aged adult seems to really enjoy football. The seniors have slightly lesser interest, but this could be due to the fact that most elderly people are female, since men have a lower life expectancy. (Oh Well… )

Political Party Affiliation by Percentage

• Republican – 59%
• Democrat – 47%
• Independent – 53%

Republicans seem to love the NFL, but sadly, Republican lawmakers are against NFL betting by virtue of the passage of the UIGEA in 2005. The Democrat percentage seems to suggest the liberal minded like football, but also like sitting under a tree reading Shakespeare. The independent group doesn’t appear to be so “independent” when it comes to the NFL: a clear majority are fans and enjoy the sport overall.

So what about a poll on NFL Betting? That may be forthcoming. Given the legal jockeying and fighting in Delaware regarding its recent legalization of sports betting, eventually there may be some sort of referendum on how the general public feels about sports gambling in general. By and large, many people may not admit publicly that they bet on sports, although they are definitely plugged into their computers or lining up outside a Las Vegas sportsbook to place bets on Sunday.

Sports betting – most like it, but don’t talk about it: the archetypal situation of many activities in the USA that most consider vice.

Good luck NFL Betting in the Pre-Season, and Check Back with us in the Regular Season for great sportsbooks!

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