Power Ranking the Game-Day Atmospheres for Every NFL Team

It's hard to compete with the game-day atmosphere at the Superdome in New Orleans. Saints fans are some of the most devout, loudest supporters in the NFL.

Then, there are venues like Paul Brown Stadium, where the Cincinnati Bengals play. According to ESPN.com, they had to beg fans to come to their final game in 2011—and that was the game that helped them clinch only their third playoff birth since 1990.

It's clear that not all game-day atmospheres are created equal. 

With that in mind, I give you my game-day atmosphere power rankings for 2012. 

32. Jacksonville Jaguars

It's no surprise that the Jacksonville Jaguars have been among the teams mentioned regarding a franchise's possibly moving to Los Angeles, even though past and present owners insist that they're keeping the team in Florida.

The Jaguars haven't been good since the late 90s, and as a result their fans have grown apathetic.

Blaine Gabbert didn't do much to dispel that attitude in his rookie year, and we'll get to see if he and the Jags can convince people in Jacksonville to care soon enough.

31. Cincinnati Bengals

As I mentioned in the opening slide, the Cincinnati Bengals had to beg fans to come to their Week 17 contest against the Baltimore Ravens...

It was an intra-divisional showdown that got them into the playoffs...

For the year, Paul Brown Stadium only averaged 75 percent capacity...

Enough said.

30. St. Louis Rams

Rams fans haven't seen a winning season since 2003. 

They have been "treated" to some of the worst teams in the NFL year after year since then, with mediocrity being the best they've gotten.

That's part of the problem.

The second half of the equation that makes the Edward Jones Dome so pathetic is that it's just a massive cave. There isn't a shred of personality about the place, and without a winning team on the field, the place is simply devoid of energy.

29. Minnesota Vikings

The Metrodome sucks.

Vikings fans are passionate about their team, but they haven't had much to cheer about since Brett Favre choked their Super-Bowl dreams away.

And it might be a while before they have anything to cheer about again. 

28. Buffalo Bills

Maybe it's the cold.

Maybe it's the fact that the Buffalo Bills have had exactly one winning season since 1999—a 9-7 record in 2004. 

Maybe Bills fans are still trying to recover from their four-in-a-row Super Bowl kick in the balls.

Whatever the case Ralph Wilson Stadium isn't exactly a warm and cozy environment for the Bills on game days.

27. Washington Redskins

The Washington Redskins have been outscored in nine out of their last 11 seasons. They used to be one of the most competitive teams in the NFL, but horrid free-agency moves have decimated their franchise and caused fans to become jaded.

There will be plenty of hype this year with the introduction of Robert Griffin III, but until the Redskins prove they're no longer cellar-dwellers, the hype won't last long.

26. Cleveland Browns

The Cleveland Browns have been cursed for a long, long time. 

Their fans keep showing up, but nobody knows why. 

Perhaps it's because they, like the Browns, are destined to trudge along the road of insanity as they keep doing the same things while expecting different results.

25. Miami Dolphins

The PR folks at Sun Life Stadium thought it would be a grand idea to host "Gator Day" on the day when Tim Tebow and the Denver Broncos came into town to play the host Miami Dolphins.

Wait. What?

Who in his or her right mind conjures up something like this? 

Fans were cheering for the other team. That's sacrilegious, and it's demonstrative of the sad state of affairs for the Dolphins and their fans.

Then, they drafted Ryan Tannehill...with the eighth pick of the 2012 NFL draft. Ugh. 

24. Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Raymond James Stadium is sure pretty. That massive pirate ship is sweet. 

Too bad the fans haven't had much to cheer about; hence the Bucs haven't been selling their sweet stadium out.

Maybe they'll be back in the next few years, if new head coach Greg Schiano can get things turned around.

23. Tennessee Titans

The Tennessee Titans are trying to get the ship turned around, but they haven't had a playoff team in a few years, and fans aren't ready to get behind the team with their full gusto quite yet.

Once Jake Locker starts taking over behind center, things are going to change for the better for both the team and the game-day environment, as he'll begin a fierce rivalry with Andrew Luck and the Indianapolis Colts.

22. Atlanta Falcons

Atlanta Falcons fans are always ready to make it loud in the Georgia Dome, but there always seems to be something missing.

The fans are a reflection of the team they love, as the Falcons always seem to be missing a key element to finding the success they seek. 

21. Carolina Panthers

Don't get me wrong. This is a team on the way up. 

The Panthers just haven't arrived quite yet, and neither have their fans.

20. San Diego Chargers

The San Diego Chargers are a team that hasn't ever lived up to its potential. 

Their fans know it, and they haven't been able to invest themselves filly into making Qualcomm Stadium a den of pain for opposing teams since the 90s.

19. Indianapolis Colts

The Indianapolis Colts have some devoted fans, but even they couldn't find anything worth cheering about last year. 

The next couple of years aren't going to be much easier, either, even with a young stud quarterback. 

It won't be long before Lucas Oil Stadium is a-rockin' and a-rollin' once again, though.

18. Arizona Cardinals

The Arizona Cardinals don't have an attendance problem, as they averaged 96.5 percent capacity last year.

But until the fans have a legitimate NFL quarterback to cheer for, they'll continue to hold their emotions in check. 

One thing they have going in their favor is that the Cardinals feature a mean defense, and when it starts balling out at home, their fans eat it up.  

17. Philadelphia Eagles

Fans in Philadelphia suffer from a personality disorder. One minute they're ecstatic about their team, and the next minute they excoriate them.

They're the NFL's most devoted fair-weather fans.

When things are going good, they are 100 percent behind their team, but when things start going bad, they are plain mean.

16. Detroit Lions

Things are heading in the right direction for the Detroit Lions. They've gotten progressively better every year since Jim "May the Schwartz Be with You" came into town.

That said, it hasn't been long enough since the dark times, and fans are still wary of the team's future.

15. Houston Texans

The Houston Texans made the playoffs for the first time in the history of their franchise in 2011.

They are definitely on their way up, both on the field and in the realm of fan support. 

It's crazy to think that so many Texans fans were willing to jump ship and abandon the Dallas Cowboys, but they did.

And that's not a bad thing.

14. Kansas City Chiefs

Arrowhead Stadium used to be one of the NFL's best game-day atmospheres. It's still pretty good, but the Kansas City Chiefs have strayed from their tradition of putting a winning team on the field every year. 

Fans won't put up with this much longer, so the Chiefs need to start behaving like the franchise they became in the 80s and 90s.

Or the fans might stop caring.

13. Chicago Bears

Chicago Bears fans really want to believe in their team, but it's hard these days being in the same division as the Green Bay Packers.

There's been something not quite right every year since they went to the Super Bowl in the 2006 season, and their window to make something happen again is closing fast.

12. Oakland Raiders

I have a special place in my heart for Oakland Raiders fans. 

They are the most blindly dedicated fans in the NFL. Not only have they put up with a terrible team for years now, but the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum is one of the most antiquated and ill-advised stadiums for football in the league.

Yet they still keep showing up in full costume to cheer for their team.

Loyalty is priceless.  

11. San Francisco 49ers

This was a tough one for me, as I bleed red and gold. 

The San Francisco 49ers have a tremendous fanbase, but we need the team to be successful for more than just one year before we're ready to become a part of one of the elite game-day environments.

Another year like the one the 49ers had last year, though, and 49ers games at Candlestick will be some of the hottest tickets in the NFL.

10. Denver Broncos

Year in and year out, no matter how good or bad the Denver Broncos have been playing, their fans come out in droves to cheer on their team.

Perhaps it's the lack of oxygen in the air at Mile High Stadium that makes Broncos fans so rabid, but whatever it is, they are some of the best in the NFL at boosting the morale of their team.

9. Baltimore Ravens

It's safe to say that there aren't many fans in Baltimore that are still bitter about the Colts leaving so long ago. 

They have a new team to cheer for, and the Ravens have been putting a quality team on the field more years than not since they moved to Baltimore.

The fans feed off of the Ravens' elite defense, and the defense feeds off of the fans. It's a feeding frenzy every game in Baltimore, and if I weren't a 49ers fan, I'd be tempted to join in.

8. New York Giants

The sea of blue at MetLife Stadium when the Giants play at home is simply breathtaking. 

Giants fans are among the most devoted in the NFL, and with two Super Bowls in five years, they really have something to cheer about these days.

With a strong defense and one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL, the Giants give their fans something to hope for every year, and the fans reward them with a massive wave of support. 

7. New York Jets

The New York Jets have fans who just won't give up. 

Fireman Ed is one of them, and he has an uncanny ability to get the entire stadium fired up during key moments of the game. 

The Jets need to turn things around in 2012, though, or their fans will start to grumble.

6. Pittsburgh Steelers

As pretty as the sea of blue is at MetLife Stadium for the New York Giants, the Pittsburgh Steelers have something even better: an ocean of terrible towels.

There isn't a spectacle much more intimidating than this. When the entire stadium starts waving those towels, it's one of the best sights in all of sports. 

It's going to be interesting to see how well the Steelers do in the upcoming years, though, as Troy Polamalu, Casey Hampton and James Harrison are getting close to the end of their careers. The Steelers have always been a defense-oriented team, but they may be forced to shift gears if they don't retool their roster.

5. Dallas Cowboys

Jerry Jones has built himself a whale of a stadium, which averaged over 85,000 fans per home game. The place is plush, and Dallas Cowboys fans shell out an inordinate amount of cash to watch their beloved team perform.

Imagine how much more they'd be willing to pay if the Cowboys were to win a Super Bowl.

But I digress.

Cowboys fans make the stadium, not the other way around, and they make Dallas Cowboy Field one of the best game-day environments in the NFL.

4. New England Patriots

There's nothing more American than Gillette Stadium in the middle of winter when it's snowing. Fans there get toasty warm sipping on beverages of their choices, and the stadium gets rocking.

New England Patriots fans are one of the biggest reasons why the team recently put together a 20-game home winning streak that was broken by, you guessed it, the New York Giants. 

Tom Brady and the Pats have a few good years left to try to bring another Lombardi Trophy home to New England, and they have some of the league's best fans to cheer them on while they do it.

3. Seattle Seahawks

Seattle Seahawks fans get so loud that the ground literally shakes. 

Imagine how loud they'll get if their team starts winning again. 

The Seahawks are lucky that their fans don't have much else going on in Seattle other than a bunch of rain, because they let out all their pent-up emotions at games. 

2. Green Bay Packers

Lambeau Field is the NFL's most hallowed venue, and rightly so. 

The entire town of Green Bay is either at home watching the game, or they are in Lambeau Field cheering their guts out for the Packers.

Gas stations don't even stay open.

I hate the Packers, being a 49ers fan, but I would love to see a game at Lambeau Field one day, even if the 49ers aren't the opponent.

1. New Orleans Saints

The New Orleans Saints have the best game-day environment in the NFL.

Their fans never fail to give everything they have to the games, and many of them show up in full costume. One of the coolest things I've ever seen is when they had a home game on Halloween. There was hardly anyone there not in costume.

This upcoming season will test the team and their fans, though, as they deal with the suspension of their head coach and some of their key defenders—not to mention the fact that Drew Brees still doesn't have a deal.

Nevertheless, the Saints have the best fans and the best game-day environment in the NFL, and those two things alone will give them a few wins.

Follow @JesseReed78