Dallas Cowboys and Indianapolis Colts are Two Favorite Teams Among U.S. Adults Who Follow Professional Football, According to Harris Poll

ROCHESTER, N.Y.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Dallas Cowboys may be a few years from their last Super Bowl, but they are the favorite football team among adults who follow professional football, rising one spot since last year. Since this survey began in 1998, the Cowboys have always been in one of the top four positions, usually in the top two. The Indianapolis Colts have continued their steady rise in the rankings and move up one spot, from No. 3 last year to No 2 this year. In 1999, the Colts were tied for No. 27 and have moved up each year since. Rounding out the top five are the Pittsburgh Steelers (No. 3, dropping from No. 1 last year), the Green Bay Packers (remaining at No. 4) and the Chicago Bears (No. 5, moving up one spot).

“What are your two favorite National Football League teams?”

These are the results of a nationwide survey conducted online by Harris Interactive^® between September 11 and 18, 2007 among 2,392 U.S. adults, of whom 1,182 follow professional football.

Other results from this year’s poll include:

The two teams that made the largest movements up the list since last year are the San Diego Chargers who moved up from tied for 23^rd to No. 10, a jump of 13 spots, and the New Orleans Saints, who moved up 10 positions, from No. 31 to tied for No. 21;
The two teams that lost the most ground since last year are the Tennessee Titans, who dropped 11 spots, from No. 15 in 2006 to tied for No. 26 this year, and the Detroit Lions, who moved from tied for No. 17 to No. 25, a drop of eight points;
Regionally speaking, the New York Giants are the No. 1 favorite of those in the East, while the Green Bay Packers are No. 1 for those in the Midwest. In the South, the Cowboys come out on top and in the West, the San Francisco 49ers are the favorite team;
The percentage of those who say they follow professional football remains stable at about half of all adults (49% this year);
Perhaps, not surprisingly, men (63%) are more likely to follow professional football than women (37%);
Over half (55%) of Baby Boomers (those aged 43-61) follow football, making it the largest generation of football followers. Just under half (49%) of both Gen Xers (those aged 31-42) and Matures (those aged 62 and older) follow football but just 42 percent of Echo Boomers (those aged 18-30) follow the sport;
The more education one has, the more likely one follows professional football. While three in five (60%) of those with a post grad degree follow football, 45 percent of those with a high school degree or less follow it.

Harris Interactive also asked adults who follow professional football to look into the future and say which team they think will win the Super Bowl. One-quarter (25%) say that the Indianapolis Colts will be the winners, while 23 percent say that it will be New England Patriots. These are the only two teams in double digits, but there are always die-hard fans for every team, as each of the 32 NFL teams are named as a potential Super Bowl winner by at least some respondents (albeit some at a very small percentage).

TABLE 1
WHO FOLLOWS PROFESSIONAL FOOTBALL
“Do you follow professional football?”
Summary of Yes Responses
Base: All adults

		Total
		%
2007		49
2006		48
2005		49
2004		51
2003		50
2002		47
1999		53
1998		55
1997		51
1996		52
1995		49
1993		46
1992		49

TABLE 2
WHO FOLLOWS PROFESSIONAL FOOTBALL – BY DEMOGRAPHIC GROUP (2007)
“Do you follow professional football?”
Summary of Yes Responses
Base: All adults

		Total
		%
All Adults		49
Sex
Male		63
Female		37
Age
Echo Boomers (18 – 30)		42
Generation X (31 – 42)		49
Baby Boomers (43 – 61)		55
Matures (62+)		49
Race/Ethnicity
White		48
Black		63
Hispanic		51
Region
East		52
Midwest		54
South		44
West		50
Household Income
Less than $35,000		41
$35,000 to $49,999		54
$50,000 to $74,999		54
$75,000 and over		59
Education
High School or less		45
Some college		51
College graduate		55
Post graduate		60
Party
Republican		52
Democrat		49
Independent		52
Political Philosophy
Conservative		46
Moderate		54
Liberal		45

TABLE 3
FAVORITE NFL TEAM
“What are your two favorite National Football League teams?”
Base: Adults who follow professional football

	1998	1999	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007
Dallas Cowboys	1	1	4	1	2	2	2	1
Indianapolis Colts	23	=27	=23	23	11	9	3	2
Pittsburgh Steelers	5	5	6	10	=15	=3	1	3
Green Bay Packers	2	3	1	1	1	1	4	4
Chicago Bears	7	10	11	8	=6	8	6	5
New England Patriots	16	11	=8	19	3	=3	5	6
New York Giants	=8	9	7	=11	4	13	9	7
Philadelphia Eagles	12	21	16	20	5	5	7	8
San Francisco 49ers	3	2	2	5	8	6	8	9
San Diego Chargers	26	=23	=27	26	31	27	=23	10
Oakland Raiders	=8	=19	3	3	12	7	10	11
Washington Redskins	10	8	10	6	10	14	16	12
Cleveland Browns	NA	12	15	15	=24	15	19	13
Miami Dolphins	6	6	14	9	13	=18	=13	=14
Carolina Panthers	13	30	22	24	18	=16	=13	=14
Denver Broncos	4	4	=8	17	9	10	11	16
New York Jets	17	13	12	16	=6	=11	22	17
Cincinnati Bengals	25	=25	=27	28	=24	30	=23	18
Minnesota Vikings	14	7	13	7	=15	=16	21	=19
Seattle Seahawks	22	15	=18	=21	14	24	12	=19
New Orleans Saints	24	=19	25	29	30	29	31	=21
Tampa Bay Buccaneers	15	17	=18	4	17	=11	=17	=21
St. Louis Rams	30	29	5	=11	20	=21	26	=23
Kansas City Chiefs	11	16	20	13	=21	=21	20	=23
Detroit Lions	=19	22	21	30	26	=18	=17	25
Tennessee Titans	29	31	17	14	23	=25	15	=26
Baltimore Ravens	27	=25	32	25	29	28	30	=26
Atlanta Falcons	=19	18	26	27	=21	=18	=23	28
Arizona Cardinals	28	=23	31	32	32	31	29	29
Buffalo Bills	18	14	=23	18	27	23	27	30
Houston Texans	NA	N/A	30	=21	19	=25	28	31
Jacksonville Jaguars	=19	=27	=27	31	28	32	32	32
“=” indicates a tie
NA = not applicable for that year.
Note: Respondents provided list of teams
In 1998, 1999 the Tennessee Titans were the Houston Oilers.

TABLE 4
TOP FIVE NFL TEAMS – BY REGION
“What are your two favorite National Football League teams?”
Base: Adults who follow professional football

Region
East	Midwest	South	West
New York Giants	Green Bay Packers	Dallas Cowboys	San Francisco 49ers
Pittsburgh Steelers	Chicago Bears	Indianapolis Colts	San Diego Chargers
New England Patriots	Indianapolis Colts	Carolina Panthers	Oakland Raiders
Philadelphia Eagles	Cleveland Browns	Washington Redskins	Dallas Cowboys
New York Jets	Detroit Lions	Pittsburgh Steelers	Denver Broncos

TABLE 5
SUPER BOWL WINNER
“Regardless of your favorite team, who do you think will win the Super Bowl this year?”
Base: Adults who follow professional football

		Total
		%
Indianapolis Colts		25
New England Patriots		23
San Diego Chargers		8
Dallas Cowboys		7
Pittsburgh Steelers		6
Chicago Bears		5
Green Bay Packers		4
Philadelphia Eagles		2
Seattle Seahawks		2
New Orleans Saints		2
Minnesota Vikings		2
New York Giants		2
Washington Redskins		1
Baltimore Ravens		1
Jacksonville Jaguars		1
Denver Broncos		1
Tennessee Titans		1
St. Louis Rams		1
San Francisco 49ers		1
Carolina Panthers		1
Oakland Raiders		1
Kansas City Chiefs		1
Tampa Bay Buccaneers		1
Detroit Lions		1
Houston Texans		*
Cincinnati Bengals		*
Miami Dolphins		*
New York Jets		*
Arizona Cardinals		*
Buffalo Bills		*
Atlanta Falcons		*
Cleveland Browns		*
* Less than 0.5 percent.

Methodology

This Harris Poll^® was conducted online within the United States between September 11 and 18, 2007 among 2,392 adults (aged 18 and over) of whom 1,182 follow professional football. Figures for age, sex, race/ethnicity, education, region and household income were weighted where necessary to bring them into line with their actual proportions in the population. Propensity score weighting was also used to adjust for respondents’ propensity to be online.

All sample surveys and polls, whether or not they use probability sampling, are subject to multiple sources of error which are most often not possible to quantify or estimate, including sampling error, coverage error, error associated with nonresponse, error associated with question wording and response options, and post-survey weighting and adjustments. Therefore, Harris Interactive avoids the words “margin of error” as they are misleading. All that can be calculated are different possible sampling errors with different probabilities for pure, unweighted, random samples with 100% response rates. These are only theoretical because no published polls come close to this ideal.

Respondents for this survey were selected from among those who have agreed to participate in Harris Interactive surveys. The data have been weighted to reflect the composition of the adult population. Because the sample is based on those who agreed to participate in the Harris Interactive panel, no estimates of theoretical sampling error can be calculated.

These statements conform to the principles of disclosure of the National Council on Public Polls.

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About Harris Interactive

Harris Interactive is the 13th largest and fastest-growing market research firm in the world. The company provides innovative research, insights and strategic advice to help its clients make more confident decisions which lead to measurable and enduring improvements in performance. Harris Interactive is widely known for The Harris Poll, one of the longest running, independent opinion polls and for pioneering online market research methods. The company has built what it believes to be the world’s largest panel of survey respondents, the Harris Poll Online. Harris Interactive serves clients worldwide through its North American, European and Asian offices, and through a global network of independent market research firms. More information about Harris Interactive may be obtained at www.harrisinteractive.com.

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Harris Interactive Inc. 10/07