Power Ranking All 32 NFL Teams: Loudest and Loyal Fanbases
No professional sports association in America brings out the best (and in some cases, the worst) from its fans than the National Football League.
Sure, baseball games have moments that make fans delirious. But a lot of the time, there's a lull between pitches and innings when nothing eventful happens and fans get a chance to check their Blackberry's or grab a few more drinks.
Basketball probably has the most "wow!" moments in any game. But several fanbases around the league are either weak, don't care enough to show up to games or are so despondent from years of losing that they can't get too fired up during games.
But in the NFL (and college football as well), fans never take a play off. Most of them are standing and screaming the entire game.
Every play seems to have giant ramifications, and momentum swings can happen at any second.
And some fanbases are just more rabid than others. Maybe they're starving for a championship, or maybe there is too much going on in the city for fans to get too carried away about a game.
So which fans are the loudest and most boisterous when it comes to supporting their teams? Not necessarily the loudest at the game, but the ones who you'll see scattered across the country (and not bandwagon fans who love wearing the jerseys—we're talking about the ones who are the most dedicated to their team).
Let's count 'em down, starting at the bottom at No. 32 with...
32. Jacksonville Jaguars
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...the Jacksonville Jaguars.
As you'll see throughout this slide show, sometimes fans in warm-weather cities just aren't dedicated to their team because there is so much else going on.
Not suggesting there is endless amounts of fun to have in Jacksonville. But the city and football just don't seem to go hand-in-hand.
Maybe that's why their fanbase is so small.
31. Arizona Cardinals
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Maybe they're beat down from years of losing.
Or perhaps it's the fact they've never really had an elite franchise player.
But by the time the franchise was instituted in Phoenix in 1988, fans in the area had already latched on to other teams. One playoff win in 20 years didn't help attract attention, either.
30. Carolina Panthers
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Carolina fans are dedicated to the Panthers, since there are so few professional sports teams in the state.
But it's hard for expansion teams to gather a rabid fanbase in such a short period of time. And since there are often times when the opposing teams' fans are almost as loud as the home crowd, they lose major points.
29. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
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When the Bucs are having a strong season, Raymond James Stadium is a tough place to play.
The fans get decked out in pirate gear and leave all inhibitions at the door.
When they're not...well, it's Florida.
28. St. Louis Rams
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Other than the Kurt Warner days when St. Louis was a Super Bowl contender for a few consecutive seasons, Rams fans haven't really made their voices heard.
The product hasn't always been great. The six-year stretch where they lost a team to Arizona before claiming one from Los Angeles didn't help.
Fans just aren't willing to dedicate themselves to a losing team when they know it could be taken from them at any time.
27. Miami Dolphins
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Three of the bottom seven fanbases listed so far are in Florida.
What does that say?
Like most groups, the Dolphins fans are always loud and supportive when the team is doing well. But after a few losing seasons, the seats started to empty.
Can't blame them, though—there's a lot going in Miami. They can't get people out to an NBA game on time when the home team boasts two of the five best players in the league.
26. Houston Texans
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Texans fans have grown frustrated over the past few years.
They've had enough talent to at least make the playoffs once or twice, but instead have finished as just an average team.
Losing the franchise to Tennessee was heartbreaking for many fans. With many other professional teams in Texas, as well as the fan-favorite college Longhorns, some didn't come back.
25. Cincinnati Bengals
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I know I'm a little biased against Cincinnati.
But what strikes me is how fair-weathered some of their fans are.
When they're winning, you can't walk around the streets of Columbus (place of residency) without seeing 20 Chad Johnson jerseys and a bunch of people yelling, "who dey!"
And when they're losing, you never see these people again.
I'll give the die-hard fans credit, though—they always stick around and are desperate for a consistent winner.
24. Atlanta Falcons
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Atlanta has never been known as a die-hard sports town.
Those that are typically dedicate themselves to the Braves or college football.
Falcons fans don't really do anything to dispute that claim.
23. Detroit Lions
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Give Detroit fans credit—there's not much going on in the city, or with the team.
But they're still some of the most loyal supporters in the league.
You can't punish them for not selling out every game. The economy is suffering.
Until they start to turn the corner, you can't blame fans for not wanting to shell out hundreds of dollars for tickets to see a perennial losing team.
22. Indianapolis Colts
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Colts fans have been spoiled in the last decade, getting treated to many years of Peyton Manning leading the team to 12 or more wins and a brand new, state-of-the-art stadium.
Still, the old RCA Dome was one of the quietest places in the league in the mid '90s when Indianapolis struggled mightily.
21. San Diego Chargers
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Almost every week, it seems like the Chargers are on the verge of having a TV blackout because they haven't sold enough tickets to the game.
A lot of people in San Diego aren't natives to the city and don't have a real connection with the Chargers. And you see this a lot in warm-weather cities, but the outcome of games just don't mean as much.
There are die-hards. But the fanbase is more or less watered down with fair-weathered fans.
20. Tennesse Titans
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Titans fans are right in the middle of SEC country, where almost everyone is crazy about their football.
They were treated to a great team right off the bat when Tennessee made the Super Bowl in '99. The stadium can be one of the loudest in the league when the Titans are in a close game.
19. Minnesota Vikings
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Why do the Vikings have such loyal fans?
Because they're desperate for a Super Bowl winning team...and what else is there to do in Minnesota in the middle of fall and winter?
18. Dallas Cowboys
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There are countless amounts of die-hard, dedicated, loyal Cowboys fans across the country who want to see their team do nothing but win.
Unfortunately for them, their voices get drowned out by the bandwagon fans and people who show up at Cowboys Stadium because it's "the place to be."
17. San Francisco 49ers
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Even though their stadium is considered one of the worst in the league and there is plenty else to do in a city as beautiful as San Francisco, the 49ers' faithful keep selling out week in and week out.
16. Baltimore Ravens
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AFC North beat writer James Walker summed up Ravens fans the best.
He said (paraphrasing) that they're a combination of old-school Baltimore Colt fans that are really passionate about the game. And a new wave of people that are just adopting the sport in Baltimore.
Mix those together, and you've got a middle-tier fanbase—right where Baltimore is ranked.
15. Seattle Seahawks
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It almost seems criminal to have a fanbase as dedicated as Seattle's this low on the list.
But I really couldn't move them up any higher.
Since losing the Sonics, fans are more dedicated to the Seahawks than ever. And Quest Field is probably the loudest stadium in the league.
They deserve a team that's as dedicated to winning as they are.
T-13. New York Giants/New York Jets
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Giants fans are probably a little more loyal than Jets supporters.
But the two will almost always be grouped together since they share a city and a stadium.
No sense in trying to break them up now.
12. New England Patriots
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Boston fans are more than dedicated to their four professional teams.
The Patriots have sold out Gillette Stadium ever since its inception. Even if the team were to fall off some, you know the fans aren't going anywhere.
11. Denver Broncos
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Like Seattle at No. 15, the No. 11 next to the Broncos just looks funny.
Seems like they should be so much higher.
Denver fans put up with all the elements: rain, sleet, snow, whatever. You don't just battle the altitude and the weather—you battle the brutally hostile environment.
10. Chicago Bears
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Similar to Denver, the Chicago faithful put up with anything to get to the games and sell out Soldier Field.
9. New Orleans Saints
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Not always known for a rabid fanbase, the Saints faithful moved up a little on the list because of their unwavering support since Hurricane Katrina.
They view the Saints not just as their home team, but representatives of the entire city. If a team that's been notorious for losing can right the ship and become one of the league's elite teams, it serves as a glimmer of hope for the residents of the city.
It's a feel-good story, but they've always rallied around their team.
8. Washington Redskins
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It's hard to find a group of people that put up with more nonsense than Washington Redskins fans.
Even with a new-age stadium that's located away from the city—and even with an owner that's done nothing to make the franchise relevant in the postseason—'Skins fans pack the seats every game and cheer with relentless passion...and it expands beyond the D.C. area as well.
7. Oakland Raiders
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They don't lose any points because of struggles in the last few years.
The Raiders group is still some of the most fierce, hostile and faithful supporters in the entire league.
6. Buffalo Bills
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Football games aren't just "games" in Buffalo—the whole weekend is an event.
Despite being mediocre at best this decade, Bills fans are always hoping this is the week they start to turn things around and build themselves back towards relevancy.
And I have a soft spot for franchises that haven't won anything, yet their fans remain as dedicated to winning as ever.
5. Cleveland Browns
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The Dog Pound is one of the best venues to watch a football game anywhere in the country.
Browns fans are used to losing—other than Detroit, they're the only team that wasn't part of expansion in the '90s and '00s that have yet to make a Super Bowl.
And yet their fans are fiercely loyal.
When Art Modell callously moved the team to Baltimore, people were devastated. And they had so much pride and history that, when they got an expansion team, they kept the entire history of the team that had moved away.
Even with a 46-year championship drought over the city, Clevelanders still remain the in the top two or three when it comes to fanbases in the Midwest.
4. Kansas City Chiefs
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Few in-game atmospheres can match the one at Arrowhead Stadium, where Chiefs fans can almost will their team to victory.
3. Pittsburgh Steelers
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As a Browns fan, I am opposed to anything Pittsburgh.
But you can't deny how great their fans are.
No team is more accepted and embraced by its city than the Steelers.
2. Philadelphia Eagles
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Pennsylvanians really love their football, right?
Eagles fans aren't shy about sharing their opinions toward the team. But that's just because they want to win so badly.
Few teams affect the mood and culture of their fans more so than Philadelphia.
1. Green Bay Packers
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The Lambeau Leap.
The Cheeseheads.
Even the Lombardi Trophy, handed to the Super Bowl winners, is named after a Green Bay legend.
Almost no two words are more synonymous in sports than "football" and "Green Bay."
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