ROCHESTER, N.Y., (PRNewswire) — The 2006 Super Bowl Champions, the Pittsburgh Steelers, are ranked as the No. 1 favorite
National Football League (NFL) team among U.S. adults who follow pro football. Though the Steelers were in the top five last year, this is their
first time at the top of this list since tracking began on this topic in 1998. The Dallas Cowboys remain at No. 2, a position they have held since
2004. Rounding out the top five are the Indianapolis Colts (No. 3, moving up five percentage points from last year\’s ranking), the Green Bay Packers (No. 4, dropping from No. 1 in 2005) and the New England Patriots (No. 5).
These are the results of a nationwide survey conducted online by Harris Interactive(R) between September 7 and 13, 2006 among 2,747 U.S. adults, of whom 1,306 follow professional football.
Other results from this year\’s poll include:
— Regionally speaking, the Pittsburgh Steelers are the No. 1 favorite of those in the East, while the Chicago Bears 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 (48% this year).
— Men (62%) are more likely to follow professional football than women (34%).
— Thirty-nine percent of Echo Boomers (those ages 18 to 29) and forty-two percent of Matures (ages 61 and over) follow professional football,
compared to fifty-two percent of Generation Xers (ages 30 to 41) and fifty-two percent of Baby Boomers (ages 42 to 60).
— College graduates are more likely to follow professional football (61%) than those with post graduate degrees (52%), those with some college
(49%) and those with a high school education or less (41%).
This year, Harris Interactive also asked adults who follow professional football which team they think will win the Super Bowl. One in five (20%)
says that the Indianapolis Colts will be the winners, while 16 percent say that the Steelers will repeat as Super Bowl Champs. There are always
die-hard fans for every team, evidenced by each of the 32 NFL teams being named as a potential Super Bowl winner by at least some respondents (albeit some at a very small percentage).