The Dallas Cowboys are Back on the Horse as America's Favorite Football Team

NEW YORK, Oct. 22, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Sometimes it's hard to have hope when things aren't going well, as with the Dallas Cowboys and all the player injuries already piling up this early in the season.  But there's some good news that might cheer them up: after a drop to fourth place last year, the Cowboys return to the top of the pile and are once again America's favorite football team!

Sharing the number two spot are two very popular "P"s: the Green Bay Packers (up from 3) and the New England Patriots (up from 8).  In fourth place, taking over the Cowboys' spot from last year, are the Denver Broncos – 2014's first place pick.  Holding tight to their 2014 positions, the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Seattle Seahawks remain in fifth and sixth place, respectively. 

Meanwhile, the Chicago Bears have worked their way up from ninth to seventh – swapping places with the San Francisco 49ers, who dropped two positions from seventh to ninth.  And falling from second place last year, the New York Giants now stand in eighth place.  Rounding out the top ten is the same team as last year, the New Orleans Saints.

These are some of the results of The Harris Poll® of 2,368 general population U.S. adults, along with representative oversamples of 511 Hispanic Americans (interviewed in English and Spanish) and 179 Asian Americans (interviewed in English), surveyed online between September 9 and 17, 2015.  Full results of this study, including data tables, can be found here.

Divided Loyalties

Just because the Cowboys swept the nation overall, doesn't mean they are the top pick across every demographic.

• The Dallas Cowboys are the favorite among adults 30-64, Southerners, Blacks, and Hispanics.
• The New England Patriots are the favorite team of American men and adults living on the east coast.
• Women, Midwesterners, and Whites are most likely to be found throwing their support behind the Green Bay Packers.  The same goes for the youngest (18-24) and oldest (65+) segments of U.S. adults.
• Americans between 25-29 stand alone in their dedication to the Pittsburgh Steelers, while Westerners and Asians^ are most likely to be found cheering for the San Francisco 49ers.

When should Super Bowl contenders take to the field?

Over half of Americans (54%) believe the worst part of Super Bowl Sunday is having to get up the next morning to go to work or school.  One suggestion for fixing this problem is moving the game to the Sunday of Presidents' Day weekend (one to two weeks later than its current schedule), since the Monday that follows is a national holiday when schools and many businesses are closed. 

• Six in ten Americans (59%) have an opinion on the subject, with 37% supporting the move and 22% opposing it; 41% have no preference on the matter.
• Football fans have even stronger feelings on the matter: 46% agree that the Super Bowl should move to President's Day weekend, while 27% each disagree or have no preference. 

Big expectations for the big game

And in case you're one of the 47% of Americans (including 23% of Football fans) who before now unaware, this season will mark the semi-centennial Super Bowl, and with this milestone comes some big expectations. 

74% of Americans say that knowing this season's Super Bowl will be the 50th gives them high expectations for the halftime show, and 65% (including 70% of those who don't follow professional football) say it makes them more likely to watch it.

Where will you watch?

Possibly more important than anything that might happen during the Super Bowl – especially if your own favorite team isn't in the running – is where you'll be watching it.  Three-fourths of Americans (74%) say they typically watch the Super Bowl, and over six in ten (63%) have a specific place where they typically watch it.  Almost half of Americans (46%) typically watch in the comfort of their own home with friends/family, while 14% usually watch the Super Bowl at someone else's home.  An additional one in ten Americans (11%) say they typically watch the Super Bowl, but that where they watch isn't set in stone.

And while the big game may be a few months away, it doesn't mean that it's too soon for pro football fans to start picking early favorites to take home the trophy.  The New England Patriots are the top early pick to win the big game this February (23%), followed by the Seattle Seahawks (15%) and the Green Bay Packers (13%).

Football fans

Back in January, Americans again crowned football as their favorite sport by a wide margin.  And seeing as the sport has held this position since (at least) 1985, it should come as no surprise that nearly three-fifths (58%) of Americans say they follow professional football.  Across regions (61% South, 58% East, 56% Midwest, & 56% West) and races (66% Blacks, 56% Whites, 53% Hispanics, & 51% Asians), the percentage of football fans doesn't vary much, but the same cannot be said across genders and ages.

• Far from shocking, men are more likely than women to identify themselves as football fans (69% vs. 50%, respectively).
• Meanwhile, adults 18-24 are less likely than their older counterparts to follow football (40% vs. anywhere from 55%-68% among older segments).

To see other recent Harris Polls, please visit our new website, TheHarrisPoll.com.

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Methodology

This Harris Poll was conducted online within the United States between September 9 and 17, 2015 among 2,368 adults (aged 18 and over). Additionally, oversamples were collected in English and Spanish among 511 Hispanic (representing Spanish-dominant, English-dominant and Bilingual profiles) respondents and in English among 179 Asian respondents. 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.

^Low base size (n<100); results should be interpreted as directional in nature

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^® #66, October 22, 2015
By Hannah Pollack, Harris Poll Research Analyst

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, please visit our new website, TheHarrisPoll.com.

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