NFL's best fans?

[cybok0]

NFL's best fans? We gotta hand it to Steelers (barely)​

The only problem with ranking the NFL's 32 fan bases -- other than the sheer insanity of the exercise -- is that someone must finish last. But let's not focus on the Cardinals right now.

The idea to rank the 32 fan bases was hatched by our Committee on Rankings in Bristol, Conn. With the steadfast belief that everything in sports should be quantified on at least a twice-weekly basis, we were off and running.

A team of eight esteemed bloggers was asked to rank fans over the past five seasons using scientific criteria such as "Tailgate factor" and "How well do they travel?"

When all was said and done, the Pittsburgh Steelers and Green Bay Packers ended up tied for first. But much like the International Gymnastics Federation, we came up with an elaborate tiebreaking process in which Hall of Fame writer John Clayton of ESPN was called upon to keep things above board. Clayton, who grew up in the East Braddock section of Pittsburgh, picked the Steelers, which seems totally fair.

But even without John's gentle nudge, Steelers fans are deserving of the top honor. The decline of the steel industry in the 1970s coincided with the rise of the Steelers dynasty. At a time when the city's collective psyche was taking a major blow, the local football team offered a weekly respite.

A generation of young people left the city to find work elsewhere, but they remained passionate about their hometown team. And that's why your local stadiums are often invaded by a black-and-gold army.

"People save up all year and then plan their vacations around traveling to Steelers games," said native Pittsburgher Bill Hillgrove, a retired local TV icon and the team's radio play-by-play voice the past 15 seasons. "When you arrive at the team hotel, the fans are all waiting in the lobby."

The Steelers of the 1970s pretty much took over the Pro Football Hall of Fame -- a subject you might consider avoiding the next time you bump into Roger Staubach. But a great deal of credit for the Steelers' first-place finish should go to the late Myron Cope, who from his local radio pulpit gave fans a distinctive voice.

In 1995, a group of Steelers fans were roasting a pig in the Three Rivers Stadium parking lot before a game against Jacksonville and thought it would be funny to send the pig's head to Cope in the radio booth. According to Hillgrove, Cope spent much of the game referring to the pig on-air as Jaguars middle linebacker Keith Goganious.

ESPN - NFL's best fans? We gotta hand it to Steelers (barely) - NFL

That's what I'm talking about.

 

[SabresRule]

Chiefs fans are ranked fifth-best, even though their team is in the league's bottom five and will draft in the top five.

Either K.C. fans are very loyal or they're masochists.

 

[mccoyrj]

ESPN - NFL's best fans? We gotta hand it to Steelers (barely) - NFL

That's what I'm talking about.

 

[Paul Wozniak]

Chiefs fans are ranked fifth-best, even though their team is in the league's bottom five and will draft in the top five.

Either K.C. fans are very loyal or they're masochists.[/QUOTE]

You could substitute Detroit into that line, and lose nothing. The only time I go is when the tix are free, and even then, I turn down a lot more than I accept. I refuse to support the Fords until they bring in a real GM.

 

[anders5189]

No way Raiders fans should be ranked so high. They don't even sell out their own games. The Raiders live off a reputation that was formed in the 70's. Even the rabid fans that wear the Halloween costumes are pretty limited. They're just like the Dawg Pound in Cleveland. A few bozos shouldn't make up for the fact that their attendance is as bad as the Falcons or Jaguars.

 

[CharlesO]

+1 :up:up:up:up

 

[cybok0]

It's a shame that all NFL teams fans aren't like the Steelers fans.

 

[anders5189]

It's a shame that all NFL teams fans aren't like the Steelers fans.

It's a shame that most teams aren't as good as the Steelers either.

 

[cybok0]

It's a shame that most teams aren't as good as the Steelers either.

True.

 

[Shawn Hill]

My world history teacher in high school (10th grade, twelve years ago) is a big time Steelers fan...even had the Terrible Towel hanging on the wall in the classroom. Even though I'm more of a Charger fan, it's too hard to dislike the Steelers, except when they play the Bolts.

 

[Dgenx321]

You can go almost anywhere in the world and you will find a Steeler Fan.

It shouldn't be Steeler Nation, it should be Steeler World...

Steeler Nation

 

[Ramy]

Are you kidding me? The best fans have to be the Lions fans for putting up with losing for so many years, with the Browns, Bengals, and others right behind.

 

[satjay]

Steeler fans seem to "travel" well to other stadiums

 

[HD MM]

It's a shame that all NFL teams fans aren't like the Steelers fans.

Oh please. The Stoolers should be known as having the most obnoxious fans, not the best.

 

[cybok0]

Oh please. The Stoolers should be known as having the most obnoxious fans, not the best.

Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.

The only thing Brownies fans have are those old guys dressed in their Halloween dog costumes.


Hell they can't even spell dog. what is the highest level of education up there, 2nd grade?

 

[SabresRule]

HD,

got a non-Steeler question for you:

Chiefs fans are ranked #5, even though their team is terrible.

Are they loyal fans or masochists (They keep selling out even though the team was cataclysmically abysmal)?

 

[HD MM]

HD,

got a non-Steeler question for you:

Chiefs fans are ranked #5, even though their team is terrible.

Are they loyal fans or masochists (They keep selling out even though the team was cataclysmically abysmal)?

I say they're legit. Middle America loves their football and Missouri is no different. I give a lot of respect to fans who stick by their teams when they're down and out.