Dallas Cowboys are America's Favorite Football Team for 4th Year

NEW YORK, Oct. 12 /PRNewswire/ -- Leaves are changing colors and the air feels crisp.  Fall is officially here, which most importantly, means football! For the fourth year in a row, the Dallas Cowboys are the favorite team of adults who follow professional football. Peyton Manning and the Indianapolis Colts come in at number 2, up from number 4 last year while the Green Bay Packers have moved from number 6 to number 3. Rounding out the top five favorite football teams are the Pittsburgh Steelers at number 4, down from number 2 last year and the Super Bowl Champion New Orleans Saints who jump from 24th on last year's list to number 5 this year.

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These are some of the results of The Harris Poll of 2,620 adults surveyed online between September 14 and 20, 2010 by Harris Interactive.

Certain teams have moved up or down more than others this year. While the Saints' jump up 19 spots is the biggest move, other movement includes the following:

• The Seattle Seahawks dropped 17 places on the list from a tie for number 14 last year to number 31 (out of 32) this year;
• The Tennessee Titans dropped 12 places from number 9 to a tie for number 21;
• The Baltimore Ravens moved up seven places, from number 26 to number 19; and
• Two teams moved up 6 places each – the St. Louis Rams, from number 30 to number 24, and the Houston Texans, from number 23 to a tie at number 17.

For the second year in a row, the Jacksonville Jaguars are at the bottom of the list.

Even though it may be early in the season, it's never too early to start thinking about the upcoming Super Bowl. One in five Americans who follow professional football (20%) believe the New Orleans Saints will repeat and win the Super Bowl again. One in ten believe it will be the New England Patriots (11%) or Indianapolis Colts (9%), while smaller numbers believe it will be the Green Bay Packers (7%), the Minnesota Vikings (6%) or the Baltimore Ravens (6%). All teams have their die-hard fans and at least a few people believe their team will win the Super Bowl this season.

Who follows football?

Over half of Americans (53%) say they follow professional football, a slight increase from last year when 51% said so. As might be expected, men are more likely than women to follow football (66% versus 41%). Over half (56%) of both Gen Xers (those 34-45) and Baby Boomers (those 46-64) say they follow football compared to just under half (49%) of both Echo Boomers (those 18-33) and Matures (those 65 and older) who do.

Who likes football and why?

While just over half of Americans follow professional football, over three in five (62%) say they like professional football. Over half (57%) say they like it because of the competition and rivalries while one-third (32%) say it is because of the athletic display. One-quarter say they like gathering with friends to watch games (26%) and a similar percent like the strategy and intellectual components (24%). Smaller numbers say they like professional football because of the fans and excitement (18%), the commercials on TV (7%), and the food and drink that go along with watching a game (6%).

So What?

One of the things people like most about football are the rivalries and there are plenty of them. Redskins versus Giants (Giants "win" since they are number 7 and the Redskins are number 15) is one or there may be the regional rivalries such as San Francisco versus Oakland (the 49ers edge the Raiders, number 12 versus a tie for number 17). And, while it may not be America's pastime, a fall Sunday afternoon just would not be the same for a majority of Americans without football on television.

Methodology

This Harris Poll was conducted online within the United States between September 14 to 20, 2010 among 2,620 adults (aged 18 and over). 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.

The results of this Harris Poll may not be used in advertising, marketing or promotion without the prior written permission of Harris Interactive.

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Q905, 910, 915, 920, 925

The Harris Poll^® #118, October 12, 2010

By Regina Corso, SVP, Harris Poll, Public Relations and Youth Research, Harris Interactive

About Harris Interactive

Harris Interactive is one of the world's leading custom market research firms, leveraging research, technology, and business acumen to transform relevant insight into actionable foresight. Known widely for the Harris Poll and for pioneering innovative research methodologies, Harris offers expertise in a wide range of industries including healthcare, technology, public affairs, energy, telecommunications, financial services, insurance, media, retail, restaurant, and consumer package goods. Serving clients in over 215 countries and territories through our North American, European, and Asian offices and a network of independent market research firms, Harris specializes in delivering research solutions that help us – and our clients – stay ahead of what's next. For more information, please visit www.harrisinteractive.com.

SOURCE Harris Interactive