In a recent YouGov poll based on millions of responses from the British Public; the Miami Dolphins emerged as the Brits’ favorite team. The Dolphins are the third best known team in the NFL and most popular among Millennials.
Despite the success of the Dolphins in the poll, the most common adjectives associated with the team were erring on the negative side; they included; gone downhill, annoying and incompetent. However they were also described as; determined and fit. We are assuming the latter refers to their fitness levels and not the British use of ‘fit’ to mean good looking, although they needn’t be mutually exclusive!
The New York Giants emerged as the second best known and the second most popular. Again, the Giants were most popular among millennials. The words used by fans to describe the team were considerably more flattering than the Dolphins; they included competitive, fearless, good under pressure, dedicated and hard working.
The Chicago Bears, popular with both Millennials and Generation X, were voted the third most popular team in the UK, and the fifth best known. Looking at how fans described them you can tell that this is a team that commands respect; determined, committed, aggressive, focused and competitive.
The Dallas Cowboys were the most famous of all NFL teams but only the fourth most popular with fans not holding back in describing them. The words used were; inconsistent, unreliable, infuriating, unpredictable and unlucky.
The New England Patriots proved incredibly popular among millennials, coming out as fifth most popular in the country. Competitive, dedicated, focused, passionate and committed is how their fans described them.
Among Baby Boomers. The Washington RedSkins and Buffalo Bills came out as the most popular, whilst Gen X had Chicago Bears and Las Vegas Raiders as the most popular. The Cleveland Browns and New Orleans Saints topped the millennials charts demonstrating that there is a huge variation between the generations.
One interesting insight was that the most popular teams among women – the New York Jets and New York Giants – were the least popular among men.
The Cincinnati Bengals were the least known team as well as the least popular, especially amongst women. Although they were the fourth most popular team among Baby Boomers.
US-based sportsbooks have the Kansas City Chiefs as most likely to win the next Super Bowl but the Chiefs were not included in the YouGov poll.
According to NJ sportsbooks the two New York teams based in New Jersey – the Jets and the Giants – have little chance of success this season.