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NFL Poll on most popular team not good for JAC


DMD
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From the NFL's survey it appears that the Cards, Bengals and Rams have almost no one tuning in on Sunday and the Jags have only half as much as those three.

 

As for the most popular, no real surprise with the Packers, Giants and Steelers doing well.

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Popularity is mostly a function of team success (generally, not just for a year or 2) and how big the city is - there are exceptions of course, but really none of those are surprising.

 

Every time people bring up the fact that Jax doesn't pull fans, people talk about the product on the field. However, one of the previous times, I looked it up and they didn't really pull all that well in the years following their stunning debut into the league. I mean, they were 14-2 and a perennial play-off team 4 years into their history. Then, one bad year and nobody is there. Unfortunately, I can't find the links this time. A search on 2000 attendance numbers only yeilded an ESPN chart that was sort of worthless and only showed the top 16. However, no person alive could have expected a better start for the franchise and it bought them little in terms of momentum.

 

And since then, they've been average but, overall, not horrible year in and year out, but still nobody comes. Other cities have continued to support their team in the face of worse records than they've managed.

 

I place the blame entirely on the fact that Jacksonville has no business having an NFL franchise. Not because their fans suck, but because there's just not enough of them. In fact, I recall no shortage of articles talking about unfit it was to host a Superbowl. That it simply wasn't a big enough city. Couple that with the fact that they've got both FSU and UF not terribly far away, and you've got some major competition. Tampa and Miami are pro-sports towns enough to pull it off, but it appears Jacksonville is not.

 

Here's how they've done every year. Doesn't exactly look like a perennial loser.

Edited by detlef
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Some info from the poll

"According to ESPN, Pollsters conduct 1,500 monthly telephone interviews with a nationally representative sample of Americans age 12 and older. They have reached 390,000 Americans since 1994 via land lines and cell phones, in English and Spanish."

 

12 and older, I'd guess most 12-18 year olds root for

1) the home team if they're any good

2) the home team even if they're not good if the family has a strong allegiance

3) some other team that is successful

 

And that translates to other age groups to a lesser extent. Add in the fact that this poll has been going on for almost 20 years.

 

So what does this poll tell us, pretty much nothing.

 

PS Its nice to see the Browns are still slightly more popular than the Ravens and a few other teams with more recent success (Falcons, Cards, etc.)

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I place the blame entirely on the fact that Jacksonville has no business having an NFL franchise.

 

 

Well, there are definitely other factors at play, such as southern fans even in the larger Atlanta market being fairweather at best when it comes to pro sports attendance, but obviously loyal, interested and willing to travel for our college and even high school football... I don't think you can discount lack of tradition, which might explain why even when the Jags started hot out of the gate, they only drew so many.. Now, I think it hurts to not have sustained success and stars worth the price of admission, and obviously that is what is needed to actually build a tradition for fans to flock to.

 

I think there are plenty enough potential fans, hell I know a few from South Georgia (or did before the Falcons stabilized and Jacksonville's been pretty much stuck in neutral for a while). Just in GA alone they're pulling from a cluster of markets that collectively make a pretty sizeable additional market of Valdosta, Savannah, Statesboro, Brunswick/St. Simons, all within an hour or two from there (and not to mention additional clusters in north FL, and as I'm sure you know from living in NC Det, there are a tons of small towns with decent populations in the South, when you pull from them as a whole).

 

You'd think that the ones in GA would be Falcons fans, but I was just hanging out with my cousin from down south this weekend, and was reminded how much most from below Macon don't identify with the Falcons or even the NFL; But I have to wonder if he'd feel differently if there was a team down there with the types of gamechangers that really fill the stands. That's what it took here in Atlanta. Up until Vick came along, most of us had just about given up on the Falcons never having back-to-back winning seasons (and still didn't even with Vick), but once that excitement was brought back and the team has had sustained success the last 4 years, the stadium has stay filled and interest is at an all-time high.

 

New England is another place, formerly Red Sox country, where sustained winning and Superbowls are creating hugh fanship and now tradition there. Of course it's going to take more work for a place like Jacksonville to reel them in from a bunch of smaller, more distant markets, but people down there do love them some football. I just think they need to spark that sense of tradition like we have with college, to be able to get people to stay on board when they have some down years like where they are now...

 

Not to say that population doesn't matter, but IMO, stars, sustained winning (and ultimately tradition) matter just as much.

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Well, there are definitely other factors at play, such as southern fans even in the larger Atlanta market being fairweather at best when it comes to pro sports attendance, but obviously loyal, interested and willing to travel for our college and even high school football... I don't think you can discount lack of tradition, which might explain why even when the Jags started hot out of the gate, they only drew so many.. Now, I think it hurts to not have sustained success and stars worth the price of admission, and obviously that is what is needed to actually build a tradition for fans to flock to.

 

I think there are plenty enough potential fans, hell I know a few from South Georgia (or did before the Falcons stabilized and Jacksonville's been pretty much stuck in neutral for a while). Just in GA alone they're pulling from a cluster of markets that collectively make a pretty sizeable additional market of Valdosta, Savannah, Statesboro, Brunswick/St. Simons, all within an hour or two from there (and not to mention additional clusters in north FL, and as I'm sure you know from living in NC Det, there are a tons of small towns with decent populations in the South, when you pull from them as a whole).

 

You'd think that the ones in GA would be Falcons fans, but I was just hanging out with my cousin from down south this weekend, and was reminded how much most from below Macon don't identify with the Falcons or even the NFL; But I have to wonder if he'd feel differently if there was a team down there with the types of gamechangers that really fill the stands. That's what it took here in Atlanta. Up until Vick came along, most of us had just about given up on the Falcons never having back-to-back winning seasons (and still didn't even with Vick), but once that excitement was brought back and the team has had sustained success the last 4 years, the stadium has stay filled and interest is at an all-time high.

 

New England is another place, formerly Red Sox country, where sustained winning and Superbowls are creating hugh fanship and now tradition there. Of course it's going to take more work for a place like Jacksonville to reel them in from a bunch of smaller, more distant markets, but people down there do love them some football. I just think they need to spark that sense of tradition like we have with college, to be able to get people to stay on board when they have some down years like where they are now...

 

Not to say that population doesn't matter, but IMO, stars, sustained winning (and ultimately tradition) matter just as much.

 

I don't think what you're saying disputes my point because many of the reasons you give are why I fell Jax has no business hosting an NFL franchise. It's not just population, but the fact that they're right next to two traditional college football icons. Sure, FSU has not been the same team they were for decades, but I have to imagine that the fan base is still loyal as hell.

 

Carolina started the same time Jacksonville did and, I don't believe, they've had back to back winning seasons ever. Yet, they still draw. Mind you, Charlotte is a reasonably big city and the triangle area is a 2 hour drive, so doable on game day. Also, nobody gives two craps about college football out here. Certainly not to the extent that they do in FL.

 

To be honest, I just tire of the argument that gets used often to explain Jacksonville's lack of success of "if they put a decent product out there, people would come." They're over .500 for the history of the franchise. That means they're doing a better job than plenty of giving the customer a team worth rooting for.

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Detlef,

You make a good point, the product alone will not be the answser in some places. I keep hearing how bad the economy is in Jax or Tampa and that's why they don't draw. I find it hard to believe things are that much worse there than an old rust belt city like Cleveland. Yet the Browns have little trouble selling tickets. (The Indians and Cavs always suffer more at the gate when the team is not good.)

 

Transplants are a big part of the fan interest in the south (east and west) since many bring their old home team allegiance, while others may just give up on the sport or be a more casual fan.

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Good Lord look at the chasm between New Orleans & the rest of the NFC South. :rofl:

 

Enjoy it while it lasts, before your feel good story crashes, burns and goes back to the bayou from whence it came.

 

Oh wait, it pretty much already has.... If they don't take care of Brees, then you'll truly be back to the same old Aints.

Edited by delusions of granduer
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From the NFL's survey it appears that the Cards, Bengals and Rams have almost no one tuning in on Sunday and the Jags have only half as much as those three.

 

As for the most popular, no real surprise with the Packers, Giants and Steelers doing well.

 

I was going to say I can't believe the Cowboys aren't listed at the top, and then well...I clicked the link. :)

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Bounties make for good TV!

 

 

And winning does wonders for the fanbase. I think you guys have struck gold with Cam as long as he doesn't regress this season & you can start building around him. On the other hand, Atlanta could win 5 Pennants... err, I mean Championships and still not outnumber their opponents fans in their own dome. (Just for you DoG ;) )

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I would be curious to go back 10 years and see what the poll was like then. I bet you the Bucs were closer to the top than they are now (when they won the SB). Since then, they have done absolutely nothing, and the fans here (most of them) arent quite the "fan" they were back then. Its pretty typical of people that live here though. Same can be said about the Lightning and the Rays to an extent, though no one really ever goes to those games anyway.

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I would be curious to go back 10 years and see what the poll was like then. I bet you the Bucs were closer to the top than they are now (when they won the SB). Since then, they have done absolutely nothing, and the fans here (most of them) arent quite the "fan" they were back then. Its pretty typical of people that live here though. Same can be said about the Lightning and the Rays to an extent, though no one really ever goes to those games anyway.

 

I think that's probably typical of most small market teams. As long as they are winning, they will have a strong & active following. When they've gone through a few tough years only the loyal fanbase pays them any attention.

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I think that's probably typical of most small market teams. As long as they are winning, they will have a strong & active following. When they've gone through a few tough years only the loyal fanbase pays them any attention.

 

 

I think its also more typical in markets that have a lot of transplants, like the SE and SW. Many people are not lifelong residents who grew up with the traditions of these teams, or the teams have no old traditions of success. So when the team starts to struggle, their passion fades.

 

I look at Cleveland which I don't consider to be a big market (not compared to NY, CHI, DAL, etc.) and despite very bad teams they continue to have very strong fan support for the Browns. While the Indians (#2 sport in town) and Cavs (#3 by a long shot except when they're successful) do struggle more when they're not successful (or showing a committment to winning).

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I think its also more typical in markets that have a lot of transplants, like the SE and SW. Many people are not lifelong residents who grew up with the traditions of these teams, or the teams have no old traditions of success. So when the team starts to struggle, their passion fades.

 

I look at Cleveland which I don't consider to be a big market (not compared to NY, CHI, DAL, etc.) and despite very bad teams they continue to have very strong fan support for the Browns. While the Indians (#2 sport in town) and Cavs (#3 by a long shot except when they're successful) do struggle more when they're not successful (or showing a committment to winning).

 

 

Agree to an extend... New Orleans wouldn't be considered a team with an old tradition of success by any means, yet we've always had a very strong core following & I think it's because of the part you mentioned about lifelong residents & there being a very strong sense of tradition in this region. Now if we could just get the Whornets, name changed to the NO Brass and fall in love with them all over again as well.

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Agree to an extend... New Orleans wouldn't be considered a team with an old tradition of success by any means, yet we've always had a very strong core following & I think it's because of the part you mentioned about lifelong residents & there being a very strong sense of tradition in this region. Now if we could just get the Whornets, name changed to the NO Brass and fall in love with them all over again as well.

 

 

Too bad Utah wouldn't change their name and let you have the Jazz back.

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