Last week, I provided unequivocal evidence that Cardinals fans, not Steelers fans, are actually the best fans in the NFL. It took just two days to have my theory reduced to bird feed by a random dude wearing a Steelers jersey (see arrow) in a completely inappropriate context; in this case, a picket line. I’ve talked about this phenomenon with Brian/Josh for years. No matter where I go, no matter the circumstance, there always seems to be the most random people wearing Steelers jerseys or accessories. When I was at the Cardinals vs. Redskins game last year, I saw more Steelers jersey’s than Cardinals. Despite my effective, brilliant, and well-crafted argument, it is hard to compete with Steelers fans.
HOWEVER….
In light of ESPN.com identifying the Cardinals as the NFL’s worst fans, data from DirectTV subscribers found that the Cardinals have the largest out-of-market fan base of any NFL team. Naturally, these fans are located in St. Louis, MO, where the Cardinals played until 1988. One thing that I found interesting about these data is that none of the top 32 out-of-market fan bases were located in Arizona, where the Cardinals have recieved notoriously poor support and often had a larger percentage of opposing fans at home games. Go exogenous Cardinals fans!
September 12, 2008
Arizona Cardinals, sports, Washington DC