Poll: Phillies now more popular than Eagles? Philly fans reveal their hometown preferences

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Are the Phillies really more popular than the Eagles? Has their success in recent years turned Philadelphia from a football to baseball town? What is the greatest Philly sports tradition or venue and does our current pro-Phillies bias really hold up against the hard data?

An expansive survey released today by the Philadelphia Daily News looks to answer those questions and many more. Today’s release was the first of a four part series titled the “Philadelphia Fan Project”. Collecting data of 2,300 subscribers on the philly.com website and with assistance from the Sport and Industry Research Center at Temple University the Daily News has presented an informed and thoroughly interesting piece. Below are some of the highlights and critique of a fan study that is sure to settle certain arguments while creating hot topics of discussion around the water coolers and drinking establishments of greater-Philadelphia.

Q: What is your favorite Philadelphia pro sports team?

1) Phillies – 54%
2) Eagles – 30%
3) Flyers – 12%
4) Sixers – 4%

As anyone who is involved in political polling for a living will surely tell you surveys such as these are relevant only within the specific time period they are taken. Surely this set of data collected by the Daily News in mid-March skews favorably towards the Phillies. Coming off of their second consecutive World Series appearance there was significant buzz for the local baseball franchise as they were gearing up for the 2010 season at Spring Training in Clearwater. Counter that with growing criticism of the Eagles who exited the NFL postseason with an embarrassing playoff defeat in January.

March also is not football season and good or bad it would be interesting to see what the results of this poll would have been if the data had been collected between the months of August (NFL preseason) and January (NFL postseason). Still the Phillies considerable advantage over the Eagles is notable and, while no prior studies can be used to compare, it has to mark a considerable turnaround in the appeal for both teams from just a few years ago.

Unsurprisingly the Flyers and Sixers trailed well behind. Not that Philly fans needed a survey to tell them that the Phillies and Eagles were the top dogs in town but that both the hockey and basketball seasons were in full swing by March, unlike football or baseball, ought to come with a growing sense of alarm for the occupiers of the Wachovia Center. The Flyers recent playoff surge belies a relatively disappointing regular season that nearly cost them a postseason appearance. The Sixers meanwhile are trending aimlessly backwards. The faceless franchise is in the bottom-third of NBA attendance, local TV-ratings while finishing high on its list of loses during the 2009-10 season. Amazing to think how different the landscape was for the local hoops team just six or seven years ago.

Q: Which team will win the next championship?

1) Phillies – 89%
2) Eagles – 5%
3) Flyers – 5%
4) Sixers – 0%

Energized by the recent success of their baseball team Philadelphia sports fans not only rate the Phillies as their current favorite but also by a landslide believe they have the best shot of any of the four teams to bring another championship parade to the City of Brotherly Love. In 2008 the Fightin’ Phils broke the city’s quarter-century title drought and nearly nine in ten responders to this poll believe they’ll also win the next title. The Phillies success, narrowly missing a World Series title repeat last fall, has seemingly embolden local sports fans with a sense of confidence. For whoever does wind up winning the next championship the average responder believes it will happen within the next two years.

The Eagles are coming off of an 11-5 season in 2009 and reached the Conference Title Game as recently as January of that year. Yet only one in twenty give the Birds, behind new starting quarterback Kevin Kolb, the best shot of winning a championship out of the four major pro teams occupying the sporting landscape in Philadelphia. Equaling their total are the Flyers who are a consistent playoff team but have failed to hoist the Stanley Cup since 1975. Again the Sixers trail the pack in fourth place. Virtually no one assumes an NBA Championship is in the cards anytime soon, much less before another World Series parade, Lombardi or Stanley Cup trophy comes to town.

Q: Philadelphia is a __________ town?

1) Football – 70%
2) Baseball – 27%
3) Hockey – 2%
4) Basketball – 1%

As a team the Phillies may be number one in the hearts of Philadelphians but the sport of baseball remains a distant second to their passion for football. Philly has recaptured some of its long lost recognition as a top of the line baseball city in recent years. In 2009 alone the Phillies had the highest attendance percentage in all of baseball and were third behind the Red Sox and Cardinals in local-TV ratings. Yet football is king in Philadelphia just as it is in most of the country.

Harris polls surveying fans nationwide have shown the NFL as a two to one favorite over the MLB for favorite sports league. Those numbers are even more lopsided in favor of football when the college ranks are included. In Philly football is the choice of seven in ten responders when asked what they consider to be the “biggest” sport in town. The Eagles success in spite of not having won a championship in five decades reflects this passion for pigskins. The Birds have the highest attendance percentage in the NFL since 1990, a season ticket waiting list that stretches over decades and local television fan base that is routinely among the top-tier of the league.

Both Sports Illustrated and the Sporting News have ranked Philadelphia as either the best or one of the top-three hockey cities in America in recent years. None the less the locals defer heavily to football and baseball as the two prominent sports in the City of Brotherly Love. Just 2% of the overall crowd sees Philadelphia as a hockey town. Only 1% consider it to be a basketball-first city despite many great 76ers moments, players and teams and the fabulous local college basketball tradition of the Big-5. The disparity between football and baseball remains large but it’s probably as close as it has been in recent memory. Fueled by the Phillies success baseball has convinced 27% of local sports fans that it is the top sport in Philadelphia.

Q: What is your favorite Philadelphia sports venue?

1) Citizens Bank Park – 74%
2) Lincoln Financial Field – 8%
3) Wachovia Center – 8%
4) Palestra – 8%

Postseason baseball in Philadelphia has become a familiar occurrence in recent years and the fans have responded by routinely packing the seats at Citizens Bank Park. The Phillies soaring popularity as reflected in this study has made the “Bank” the place to be in recent years. Yet the success of the team that plays there does not completely explain the massive disparity between it and the other venues as Philadelphia’s favorite place to watch a sporting event.

Nearly three-quarters of responders chose the Phillies home park as their favorite place to watch a game. The accessibility of baseball as a cheaper and more family oriented option always gives baseball an edge in this department. Even during lousy attendance seasons for the Phillies at the often reviled Veterans Stadiums 1.5 to 2-million fans routinely passed through the turn styles each season. Even those totals dwarfed figures for the Eagles, Flyers and Sixers who have fewer games, sell pricier tickets and in the case of hockey and basketball play in a far smaller venue.

Dismissing Citizens Bank Park as merely the product of a championship caliber team’s success or its accessibility as the home of a fan friendlier sport would be missing the point however. In truth the “Bank” is widely considered one of the best stadiums in all of Major League Baseball. Opened in 2004 the beautiful baseball-only park instantly gave droves of fans a better excuse to attend a baseball game than ever before. Whereas the foreboding Vet was hardly a choice venue even in years when the Phillies played well, Citizens Bank with its beautiful design, fan-friendly arrangements and caveats in tow encourages Philadelphia fans to enjoy a night at the park even if the baseball team is performing below par.

Another state of the art facility is Lincoln Financial Field, home of the Eagles since 2003. Rarely do football stadiums exude the same type of charm or distinction as their baseball-only counterparts however which immediately places the “Linc” behind the eight ball. Furthermore the fan experience while riveting when the local football team is playing well touches far fewer fans. Most of the attendees during each game of each season are among the few dozen thousand season ticket holders and with only eight regular season games scheduled there are ten-times less the opportunities to catch the Eagles than the Phillies. If that weren’t enough the ticket prices surely are. Lower-level tickets at the “Linc” average $95. That’s a far pricier option for a family of four than grabbing decent seats at a Phillies game.

Q: What is the best Philadelphia sports tradition? (Responders allowed to choose up to three)

1) Kate Smith singing “God Bless America” – 43%
2) E-A-G-L-E-S chant – 42%
3) The Big-5 – 39%
4) Army-Navy Game – 29%
5) Penn Relays – 21%
6) Dave Zinkoff intros – 17%
7) Booing – 16%
8) Fireworks night at the Phillies – 16%
9) Tailgating – 14%
10) “Let’s Go Flyers” chant – 12%

Perhaps nothing is more identifiable with the Philly sports scene than a fan “booing” or an E-A-G-L-E-S chant breaking out yet it’s a patriotic anthem that stirred emotions at Flyers games which comes out on top.

Allowing responders to choose up to three famous Philly traditions, fifteen received votes, but none more than 43% who choose Kate Smith’s famous rendition of “God Bless America” at Flyers games. The hockey team went an amazing 81-21-4 when Smith belted out the patriotic standard rather than a Star Spangled rendition at the Spectrum. Smith has been immortalized by a statue outside the famed Philly arena and will also have her likeness placed on a stamp on May 19th – the 36th anniversary of the Flyers first Cup clinching victory in 1974.

The Eagles were a close second on this list with 42% choosing the never mistaken “E-A-G-L-E-S” chant heard for decades. Also prominently positioned was the great Philly college basketball tradition of the Big-5 particularly its history of games at the iconic Palestra. The Army-Navy Game (29%) is a yearly Philadelphia tradition and also cracking the 20% barrier are the nationally recognized Penn Relays. Former 76ers P.A. announcer Dave Zinkoff is remembered fondly by at least 17% of responders most notably for his famous starting lineup introductions including one “Julius Errrrrrvvvvvving”.

If this were a national survey the Philly fan “boo” would have to be the front runner for the top-spot. Local fans disagree however with only 16% identifying the classic phrase as either self defining or worthy of a great local sports tradition. Tailgating, primarily before Eagles games, is highly regarded by 14% of the audience and “Let’s Go Flyers” chants (12%) while popular are around three and a half times less immortalized in the hearts of Philly fans as roars of “E-A-G-L-E-S, Eagles”. Missing the top-ten but also receiving votes were streamers and rollouts at the Palestra (10%), Businessperson Specials at Phillies games (9%), boxing fights at the Blue Horizon (4%), the recently participated Broad Street Run (3%), and the Pennsylvania Derby in horse racing (1%).

A: Most popular teams and topics online (Philly.com webpage views for March, 2010)

1) Eagles – 36.8%
2) Phillies – 29.0%
3) Flyers – 17.4%
4) High School Sports – 8.9%
5) Sixers – 7.9%

The Phillies may be the most popular team in town according to polls but the real action shows the Eagles are still getting more attention. The figures above were taken from the Inquirer and Daily News accompanying website www.philly.com. The percentages represent the breakdown of “sub-front” page views by team or topic. There were more than 2.5-million of these page views during the month of March and despite it coming in the midst of the NFL offseason the Eagles remained the topic generating the most attention online.

How that translates into overall popularity is the subject of debate. News for an organization can be good, bad or just plain interesting. Although their season was over by two months during this online measurement cycle the Donovan McNabb trade situation had remained a hot topic on the minds of local sports fans well before he was officially dealt to Washington. Still the Eagles impressive showing beating the Phillies by nearly eight-percentage points despite being up against Spring Training fever is revealing. It also perhaps serves as a counterpoint to the perception that the Phillies are now the city’s most popular team based off of ever changing fan polling.

The Flyers stretch run began in earnest during the month of March meanwhile. It was as previously eluded to a rather ordinary and uneventful regular season for the Flyers yet a significant percentage of Philly sports fans still kept up with the latest news on their team. Sadly for the Sixers when it comes to this measurement of fan enthusiasm they couldn’t even crack the top-four. That position goes to the philly.com section titled “Rally” that focuses on local high school sports. With their lifeless 2009-10 season winding down the Sixers ultimately scored 7.9% of the total page views in March. That’s more than four and a half times less the attention the Eagles received despite it being arguably the least eventful of NFL months.

PHOTO CREDIT: ASSOCIATED PRESS / Matt Slocumb

Poll: Only 7% of baseball fans pick Phillies to win World Series, public critical of McNabb trade

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Just 7% of baseball fans think the Phillies will win their second World Series title in three years this season. Joe Torre is the early favorite to be the new baseball commissioner, Duke is narrowly favored to win their fourth ever NCAA championship and fans react to the Donovan McNabb trade.

With the Major League season underway as of last night Rasmussen Reports surveyed baseball fans on their championship picks and who they would like to see succeed Bud Selig as the league’s commissioner. An additional poll asked adults to predict who will win tonight’s NCAA Championship Game in men’s basketball, as well as share their preferences for either Duke or Butler. Turning the attention to unscientific fan polling on ESPN Sunday’s Donovan McNabb trade from Philadelphia to Washington is being viewed, by and large, as a mistake for the Eagles and an upgrade for the Redskins.

The New York Yankees who defeated the Phillies last season to capture their 27th World Series title are the pick of 29% of MLB fans to win it all again in 2010. Following the “Bronx Bombers” in second place are the Boston Red Sox (17%) who defeated New York 9-7 to open the season last night. Despite not winning a single playoff game in 2009 the popular St. Louis Cardinals are the pick of 11% of baseball fans. The Phillies meanwhile capture just 7% of the public’s confidence in spite of their great success from recent seasons.

Baseball insiders seem to like the Phillies chances of winning it all more than the general pool of big league fans. Sports Illustrated’s Tom Verducci picked the Phillies to win the World Series in the magazine’s feature article and baseball preview from last week. ESPN the Magazine meanwhile is picking Philadelphia to advance to the “Fall Classic” for the third straight season but lose to the Red Sox in the Series. Of the 36-analysts who made their season predictions on ESPN.com no team was given a better chance to win their division (33-picks), reach the playoffs (34), capture their league’s pennant (20), or win the World Series (11) than the Phillies.

What is particularly interesting about the fairly low percentage of baseball fans thinking Philadelphia will win another title is the lack of confidence coming from Phillies fans themselves. Whereas Yankees (83%) and Red Sox (82%) loyalists are overwhelmingly confident about their team’s chances barely more than half (52%) of Phillies fans think their favorite team will be the last standing this fall. Prior to last season the Boston Red Sox at 22% were the team most predicted to win the World Series. Boston reached the playoffs but they were ousted in the first round by the Los Angeles Angels.

Fewer baseball fans are rooting for the Yankees (21%) to succeed in their quest for back-to-back championships than those who think they will win. 15% are pulling for the Red Sox meanwhile, 12% the Cardinals, 6% for both the Phillies and Minnesota Twins and an additional 5% are rooting for the Atlanta Braves.

In another polling done by Rasmussen on the topic of baseball 30% of fans would like to see former player and current manager Joe Torre succeed the aging Bud Selig as MLB commissioner. Former home run king and baseball legend Hank Aaron is the next most popular choice at 23%. Former President George W. Bush (14%) also receives consideration. Bush was the former owner of the Texas Rangers. Senator George Mitchell who released a report in 2007 detailing his 21-month investigation of steroids in baseball is the pick of 8% of the public for the job. Lastly Hall of Fame journalist and longtime ESPN baseball analyst Peter Gammons receives 6% of the support from fans.

Switching gears to college basketball Friday polling from Rasmussen showed that the Duke Blue Devils were favored to win the NCAA Championship Game even before they defeated West Virginia to reach the Finals. Duke earned the confidence of 31% of the public while their opponent Butler attracted 13%. Recently ousted West Virginia came in second with 28% meanwhile and Michigan State, the other defeated Final Four team, was third with 15%. The Duke-Butler matchup does represent the most attractive final game scenario involving any of the four teams. 33% would like to see Butler, a relatively low number five seed in the tournament, come away as winners. Duke earns the support of 24% of the public while 18% were previously cheering for either West Virginia or Michigan State to win the championship.

Lastly we head to ESPN.com and check out some fan polling on the subject of the recent Donovan McNabb trade from the Eagles to their division rival Washington Redskins.

Over 53,000 votes were cast as of earlier today on the question of who is the best team in the NFC East. Even with the McNabb acquisition by Washington a large plurality (46%) believes the Dallas Cowboys, last season’s division champions, are still the team to beat. The Redskins who finished in last place in 2009 have spring boarded into second position at 24%. The New York Giants are in third place meanwhile attracting 17% of the vote with the Eagles lingering in last at 13% despite tying the Cowboys with eleven-wins last season. The Redskins were the most popular choice in the states of Maryland, Virginia and Wyoming as well as Washington D.C. The Cowboys meanwhile were the top choice in every other state including Pennsylvania where, not surprisingly, the Eagles did their personal best attracting 33% of the early predictions.

In other polling a whopping 80% of the sports public on ESPN thinks the Eagles will come to regret their decision to trade McNabb to a division rival. There was no question that asked whether the Eagles would regret trading McNabb in general as it appeared before the weekend that the out of conference Oakland Raiders were the front runners to obtain the veteran quarterback. Personally McNabb is viewed as a borderline Hall of Fame QB by most. 39% believe him to be good enough for induction to Canton already but 43% thinks he needs to make at least one more Super Bowl appearance to solidify his position as an all-time great. Just 19% don’t consider him Hall worthy either way.

Kevin Kolb will take over the reigns as the Eagles starting QB heading into the 2010 season. Kolb has already had periodic success playing in place of an injured McNabb in the past but much of the sports world remains skeptical as to whether the Eagles can continue to have success under his guidance. Envisioning the rest of his career in Philadelphia 39% of the public actually believes Kolb will never be able to lead the Eagles back to the postseason. 37% think he more or less will match McNabb’s recent production as having “minor postseason successes”. Just one in four (25%) think the Eagles will eventually reach the conference championship or Super Bowl again so long as the new QB Kolb is at the helm.

PHOTO CREDIT: ASSOCIATED PRESS / SHARON ELLMAN

Poll: Sports fans closely divided on winner of upcoming Eagles-Cowboys game

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As football fans prepare themselves for the four NFL playoff match ups this weekend here is some quick is quick, fun and thoroughly unscientific polling compliments of ESPN’s SportsNation program.

Fans throughout the country routinely cast their votes on a range of sports related topics each day. In addition to their recently premiered TV program humorously tracking and analyzing the opinions of sports fans nationwide, ESPN.com goes one-up on most other websites. Their criteria for the straw poll-style questions is similar but their colorful maps indicating where support for a particular response is coming from is rather unique. Each state is represented, the whole numbers of votes and selection percentages show. Answers are colored by responses allowing for a map that delivers an affect similar to Electoral College projections shown by publications come election time.

With the start of the NFL playoffs looming this weekend today’s big topic on ESPN is of course football. The four match ups are against the Eagles and Cowboys who will tangle in Big ‘D’ tomorrow night, the Bengals and Jets earlier in the afternoon. On Sunday fans can check out highly touted contests between the Patriots and Ravens in addition to the Packers and Cardinals. Here are some of the results according to “Sports Nation”.

Which team will win the NFC Wild Card game in Dallas?

Total Votes: 87,833 (11:15 AM, Friday)

Dallas Cowboys: 53%

Philadelphia Eagles: 47%

Notes: The narrowly favored Cowboys received a majority of votes in 32-states in addition to the 55% of the vote from nearly 6,100 residing outside of the United States. Not surprisingly 78% of the 9,165 voters from the Cowboys home state of Texas pick them to win – their highest level of support in the country. They break 60% in four other states as well; Arkansas (69%), Oklahoma (67%), South Dakota (65%) and Minnesota (64%). The Eagles meanwhile are the choice in fifteen states including the District of Columbia. Logically Philadelphia draws its highest level of support in Pennsylvania (68%) and neighboring states such as Delaware (60%) and New Jersey (56%). Saints fans who saw their team suffer their first defeat at the hands of the Dallas Cowboys four weeks ago are picking the Eagles by 57% in Louisiana. Wisconsin where the Packers could potentially host a home game versus Philly in the NFC Championship also like the Eagles 54% of the time. In both instances the level of preference for a particular team to win probably outweighs the unbiased pick of who will win. Four additional states; Alaska, Illinois, Michigan and Massachusetts are split about 50-50 between each opponent.

Which team will win the NFC Wild Card game in Arizona?

Total Votes: 36,860 (11:30 AM, Friday)

Green Bay Packers: 70%

Arizona Cardinals: 30%

Notes: Far less sports fans lent their opinion on the upcoming Packers-Cardinals game than the Eagles showdown in Dallas. Perhaps this contributes to a Packers landslide victory through ESPN polling as a result. Seven in ten fans chose Green Bay, one of the hottest teams in football to pull off the modest road upset against the defending NFC champion Cardinals in Arizona. Only the state of Arizona has confidence in the home team’s chances of victory this week as 74% of the current 1,662 pick the Cardinals. By comparison Wisconsin received a far higher number of votes (4,583) in spite of being a smaller populated state. Their beloved Packers pulled in a whopping 94% of the vote in the land of Cheese Heads. Confidence in the Cardinals chances was pretty marginal all over the country. The Cards break the 40% threshold in only three states away from home; Arizona neighbors Utah (42%) and New Mexico (42%) in addition to Wyoming (40%) where just 65-votes have been cast from the smallest U.S. state. Conversely 21-states pick the Packers by more than 70% of the vote. In seven states that percentage exceeds three-quarters of the voting population led by the 78% in Delaware.

Which team will win the AFC Wild Card game in New England?

Totals Votes: 37,339 (11:45 AM, Friday)

New England Patriots: 52%

Baltimore Ravens: 48%

Notes: The closest vote in any of the four games this weekend comes out of New England where the home team Patriots edge the Baltimore Ravens 52-48%. Voting is so close in fact the five states; New York, Ohio, South Carolina, New Mexico and California essentially split 50-50 between the two teams. Furthermore if these results were reflected in a Presidential election there would currently be no winner in the Electoral College. The Ravens with a lower percentage of the popular vote would take home 24-states and 223 “electors”. The leading Patriots meanwhile with 22-state wins would collect 196-votes with 119 remaining “too close to call”. Support outside of the country is more decisively in favor of New England (59%) probably due to their higher profile as a three-time Super Bowl champion in the decade. Not surprisingly the Patriots are most popular in New England. 90% of votes in Massachusetts, 89% in Maine, 88% in New Hampshire and 84% in Rhode Island believe the Pats will win Sunday. 81% of Maryland residents and 63% in Washington D.C. think it will be a Ravens victory meanwhile. Pennsylvania was narrowly split 51-49% in favor of Baltimore as well.

Which team will win the AFC Wild Card game in Cincinnati?

Total Votes: 40,320 (12:00 PM, Friday)

Cincinnati Bengals: 60%

New York Jets: 40%

Notes: The Jets may have crushed the Bengals in last week’s season finale but a clear majority of “Sports Nation” believes Cincinnati will come out on top of Saturday’s playoff contest. Six in ten nationwide are choosing the Bengals and the Jets receive majority support from none outside of New York’s tri-state area of New York state (74%), New Jersey (69%) and Connecticut (59%). The Bengals meanwhile generate support for their postseason chances from better than 70% of voters in Ohio (81%) and three of its neighbors; Kentucky (79%), West Virginia (77%) and Indiana (70%). Of the 2,645 fans who cast votes from outside the United States the Bengals were the pick by a similar 61-39% margin. Like the other AFC match up between New England and Baltimore the Bengals-Jets contest features a team with a 10-6 record hosting a 9-7 club. The NFC meanwhile has two 11-5 teams going head-to-head in Dallas this weekend and a 10-6 Cardinals team hosting an eleven-win Packers squad. All four games are close-calls according to sports betters. The Eagles as being favored to lose by a mere four-points are the biggest underdog of the first playoff round.

Poll: Football fans down on the BCS, rank Eagles 7th most popular NFL team

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College football fans are down on the BCS and the Eagles are the seventh most popular team in the NFL.

According to a new poll from Quinnipiac University 63% of adults who identify as being a fan of NCAA football would like the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) replaced with a playoff format in vein of the popular “March Madness” college basketball or other systems used to determine a champion in pro sports. However nearly as many hold a favorable view of the current BCS format (43%) as those who see it unfavorably (45%).

Americans are also split on the role of government intervention into the college league. 45% think it to be a good idea for Congress to force the NCAA to declare a national champion on the field by way of a playoff format but 48% disagree. Overall 18% of adults according to the Quinnipiac poll of 1,849 surveyed say they are “very” interested in college football. An additional 28% suggest they are at least somewhat interested with more than half (54%) not interested at all.

Broken down by political party there are close similarities between those NCAA football fans when offering their opinion on the current state of the BCS and whether it ought to be replaced. The number of Republicans who are in favor of a new format to decide national champions (63%) is identical to the overall number. Democrats and independents are in favor of a systematic change by 65%. Similarly the 43% of adults overall who hold a favorable view of the BCS are broken down by 43% of Democrats and 39% of independents and Republicans. (That the poll is able to generate a total of 43% from three components equaling just 43, 39 and 39% is likely a reflection of the +/- 3.2% margin of error.)

There is a difference in the number of adults considering themselves to be college football fans by political affiliation however. 55% of Republicans are at least “somewhat” interested in the sport against 49% of Democrats and just 47% of independents who claim to be fans. Older adults 55-years and up tend to be slightly more interested than young adults under-35. Men on average (55%) are also more interested in NCAA football than women (38%).

The more partisan issue is not surprisingly reflected by the number of those for or against government intervention. Considerably more Democrats (54%) than Republicans (38%) would like to see Congress essentially force the NCAA to adopt a playoff format for football. Interestingly independents are less likely (35%) than either party to believe Congress playing a role in the issue to be a good idea. President Obama is on the record as stating he favors a playoff system. Most observers believe it possible for at least a four team tournament take place. Pro football uses a twelve team format to decide its Super Bowl winner each season with six teams from each conference reaching the postseason.

Switching to the topic of pro football for a moment a Harris Interactive poll from October rated the Dallas Cowboys as the most popular team in the NFL and the Philadelphia Eagles seventh. Those two teams will meet Sunday in Dallas to decide the winner of NFC East and perhaps who will be awarded a first round bye week in the playoffs. Slightly more than half (51%) of adults say they regularly follow professional football making it the nation’s most popular sporting league. Baby boomers aged 45-63 are most likely to follow the NFL (55%) and men do so more than women by a margin of 64-39%. African American adults (63%) top both white’s (50%) and Hispanics (51%) in the number of pro football fans with Republicans (59%) seemingly a bit more interested than Democrats (50%) or independents (51%).

Results from the Harris poll surveying the popularity of teams dates back to 1998. Over that period the Eagles were most popular in 2004 and 2005 in the midst of their most recent Super Bowl run ranking them fifth. Their lowest ranking of 21st was in 1999, the first season of Coach Andy Reid and quarterback Donovan McNabb as the Eagles were regrouping from a franchise worst thirteen loses the previous season. The Cowboys meanwhile rank as the league’s most popular team for a third-straight year and since 1998 they have never dropped below fourth in the survey.

Rounding out the top-ten are the Pittsburgh Steelers, Chicago Bears, Indianapolis Colts, New England Patriots, Green Bay Packers, Eagles at seven, New York Giants, Tennessee Titans and Minnesota Vikings. The Jacksonville Jaguars who have struggled with their attendance this season despite being in the playoff hunt are ranked as least popular team for the fourth time in five years. The biggest jump in positioning was a whopping fourteen spots by the Atlanta Falcons from 27th to 13th. The biggest fall was sustained by the Brett Favre-less New York Jets dropping eleven positions from a ninth place tie to number twenty. The Eagles meanwhile are up one spot from the last two years and currently at number seven rank as the most popular NFL team to have never won a Super Bowl.

Lastly Harris asked the question in October who fans thought was the team most likely to win this season’s Super Bowl. At the time 19% thought the Steelers were poised for a repeat, 17% considered the Patriots most likely with the Indianapolis Colts at seven-percent and a distant third place. The Dallas Cowboys were next at six-percent and rounding out the top-five were the Eagles, Giants and Bears all at five-percent. The NFL landscape has changed considerably since then however. The Steelers at 8-7 are battling for their playoff lives and the Patriots have had an inconsistent 10-5 season that none the less has won them a division title. The Colts at 14-1 meanwhile have the best record in football, the Cowboys and Eagles as previously mentioned will battle for their division crown this weekend and the Giants and Bears are both officially eliminated from the playoff picture.

PHOTO CREDIT: ASSOCIATED PRESS / MICHAEL PEREZ

Poll: Yankees are World Series favorites, Patriots or Steelers to win Super Bowl

For certain sports fans September is the most wonderful time of the year.

This weekend the college football season begins, followed quickly by the start of the 2009 NFL campaign. For baseball fans September also marks the stretch run where pennant races heat up and great divisional match ups are plentiful. Rasmussen Reports recently conducted some annual surveys on pro-football and baseball as we move closer to the fall.

Heading into the last month of the regular season the New York Yankees have eclipsed the Boston Red Sox as the team most baseball fans interview in this poll of 1,797 responders think will win the World Series. This represents a large shift from mid-July when the Bo Sox were the choice of 20% of MLB fans against just 11% for the Bronx Bombers. Now the two arch rivals are shown to have swapped positions. 25% of responders pick the Yankees to win the Fall Classic and confidence in Boston’s chances has dropped to 10%.

The Red Sox are in a distant second place three-way tie with the Philadelphia Phillies and St. Louis Cardinals. The Phillies good play of late and addition of starter Cliff Lee has no doubt bolstered their chances in the court of public opinion as their percentage has increased two-points to 10% since mid-July. That’s also three percentage points better than the results gathered in a July Harris poll. Like Philadelphia the Cardinals enjoy a comfortable lead in their division and have been the National League’s hottest team over the past month. The Red Sox meanwhile linger 6.5 games behind a Yankees team who has posted baseball’s best record at 84-48. The Los Angeles Dodgers who have struggled since the All Star break have dropped to 9% in the poll.

In terms of confidence in their favorite team the Yankees also have baseball’s most optimistic fan base. 71% of Yankee fans think their team will win the World Series. Perhaps oddly 68% of Detroit Tigers fans, second most of any team, think their team will win it all in October. Only 4% of baseball fans league wide have confidence in the Tigers who never the less lead the mediocre American League Central division by 3.5 games. Majorities of Red Sox (58%) and Phillies fans (51%) have confidence in their team’s chances to take the crown. In spite of being in the heat of the NL Wild Card race just 7% of San Francisco fans meanwhile think their young Giants team can win the Series.

Shifting attention from the diamond to the gridiron NFL fans are split between reigning champion Pittsburgh and previously undefeated New England for who will win this season’s Super Bowl. Winners of two of the past four Lombardi Trophies the Steelers bring in 14% of football fans, whereas the Patriots no doubt benefiting from the return of star quarterback Tom Brady match that figure.

The tough NFC East features three teams garnering measurable confidence from observers. The 2007 Super Bowl champion New York Giants rank third in the survey overall with just over 8% of NFL followers thinking they can win their second title in three years. Perhaps do to their overall popularity the Dallas Cowboys also draw support from 8% of the football community. The Cowboys missed the playoffs last season and are without star receiver Terrell Owens for 2009. The Philadelphia Eagles meanwhile draw just 4% of those polled in spite of some big preseason expectations and the signing of QB Michael Vick.

2006 Super Bowl champion Indianapolis Colts rank fifth overall at 7%. Also now ahead of the Eagles are the Minnesota Vikings (5%) the team the Birds knocked off in the first round of last year’s playoffs and who have recently added future Hall of Fame QB Brett Favre. Last season the Arizona Cardinals nearly won the Super Bowl, but a 9-7 record didn’t instill much confidence that they can climb to the summit in 2009 as just 3% of football fans like their chances to win it all. In fact 82% of Cardinals fans think their team will take the title, the most optimistic lot in all of football meaning very few outside of the Arizona fan base give this team much of a chance.

In terms of fan base confidence, the Patriots and Steelers rank second and third with percentages of 79 and 77% respectively. The Giants and Cowboys also have very optimistic fan bases as 60% of each think their team will take the title. Lastly when asked the question of who NFL fans would like to see win the Super Bowl, the Pittsburgh Steelers were tops at 12%, followed by the Patriots and Cowboys at 10%, the Giants at 8% and 6% of football fans pulling for an Eagles or Colts victory.

Poll: NFL fans more receptive to Vick now than two years ago

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Two years, two polls and in between some apparent forgiveness for NFL star Michael Vick.

Recently the results of a Marist survey polling several hundred NFL fans were released. The hot topic this go round comes after the reinstatement and subsequent Philadelphia Eagles signing of quarterback Vick, convicted dog torturer. According to the poll 57% of football fans agree that Vick ought to be able to return to the NFL having served his time whereas 36% disagree and think the former Atlanta Falcons star should remain banned for his actions.

These are contrasting results with a two year old Gallup poll released in the wake of accusations of Vick’s involvement in dog fighting and animal cruelty. 40% of responders said they thought Vick should be allowed to return to the NFL after serving his time against 58% who disagreed. The Marist poll using similar samples sizes and methodology to the Gallup survey points to a considerable increase in forgiveness of NFL fans now that Vick has been forced to spend 23-months in prison and pay in the millions for his crimes.

Also on the rise are the percentage of NFL fans who would like to see Michael Vick play for their favorite team. The 2007 Gallup release indicated just 22% were in favor of Vick wearing their team’s colors after he served his sentence. The latest Marist poll has that figure up to 37%.

Controversy was bound to get stirred up regardless of where Vick was going to land, but in generally outspoken Philadelphia his presence on the Eagles has been greeted with wildly divergent views. While no poll of Philly fans was taken specifically the Marist survey indicates that residents of the Northeast are particularly against (62%) the idea of Vick playing for their beloved team.

In addition to the opinion gap amongst Eagles supporters there is wide gender gap regarding the reinstatement of athletes convicted of a crime according to the Marist poll. 64% of men against only 42% women agree that former athletes should be allowed to return their sporting profession after serving their sentence. Among fans of both genders NFL players may be facing an uphill battle in the war of perception, at least in comparison to most other sports according to the Gallup survey. Footballers rank sixth out of seven sports (golf, tennis, baseball, hockey, football, basketball) polled in terms of how positive individual players are viewed.