Denver Broncos Are America's Favorite Football Team; Dallas Cowboys Drop to 4th After Six Years at the Top

NEW YORK, Oct. 14, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- The 2014-2015 football season is in full swing, and while off-field stories have been occupying as much of the news cycle as on-field drama, that doesn't seem to be detracting from interest in the sport overall. Viewership has been up for the season so far, and the majority of U.S. adults (55%, up slightly from 54% last year) continue to say that they follow professional football. A few of them may have changed which team they're following most closely though, as the Dallas Cowboys have dropped to the #4 spot this year, after spending six years as the favorite team of adults who follow professional football.

Replacing them at the top of the list are the Denver Broncos, moving up two spots. They're followed by the NY Giants (who have moved up two spots to 2^nd) and the Green Bay Packers (who dropped one spot to 3^rd). Rounding out the top five favorite football teams are the Pittsburgh Steelers, up two spots from 7^th to 5^th.

These are some of the results of The Harris Poll® of 2,543 adults (1,275 of whom follow professional football) surveyed online between September 10-17, 2014. (Full results, including data tables, available here)

The Seattle Seahawks have really taken off this year, soaring up six spots to the 6^th position on the list. The San Francisco 49ers have risen one spot to 7^th, while the New England Patriots have dropped three spots to 8^th. Completing the top ten are the Chicago Bears, falling three spots to 9^th, and the New Orleans Saints, rising one spot to 10^th.

The Jacksonville Jaguars are at the bottom of the list for the fifth year running, though at least this time around they're not alone – they share the spot with the Tennessee Titans this year.

Early favorites for the big game
There may be plenty of games left to play before the Super Bowl arrives, but it's never too early for fans to have a pick for the big game. Nearly three in ten of those who follow professional football (28%) say the Seattle Seahawks will be the Super Bowl champs in February, while roughly two in ten (19%) say it will be the Denver Broncos. Just under one in ten (9%) believe the San Francisco 49ers will win the Super Bowl.

Who follows pro football?
No matter what goes on behind the scenes, America's love of football carries on. It was once again crowned America's favorite sport a January Harris Poll, and as stated earlier, 55% of U.S. adults say they follow professional football, on par with last year's 54%.

As might be expected, men are more likely than women to say they follow professional football (69% vs. 43%). Regionally, those in the Midwest (61%) are more likely to follow professional football than those in the East (52%) or the South (53%). Additionally, those with children under 18 in their households are more likely than those without to follow pro football (61% and 52%, respectively).

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Methodology
This Harris Poll was conducted online within the United States between September 10 and 17, 2014 among 2,543 adults (aged 18 and over), 1,275 of whom follow professional football. 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, The Harris Poll 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 Poll 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 our 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 The Harris Poll.

Product and brand names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners.

The Harris Poll^® #94, October 14, 2014
By Larry Shannon-Missal, Managing Editor, The Harris Poll

About The Harris Poll®
Begun in 1963, The Harris Poll is one of the longest running surveys measuring public opinion in the U.S. and is highly regarded throughout the world. The nationally representative polls, conducted primarily online, measure the knowledge, opinions, behaviors and motivations of the general public. New and trended polls on a wide variety of subjects including politics, the economy, healthcare, foreign affairs, science and technology, sports and entertainment, and lifestyles are published weekly. For more information, or to see other recent polls, visit the Harris Poll News Room.

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