Ravens Fans More Loyal Than Steelers Fans
Bandwagons don't get respect. Loyalty gets respect.
There's a certain pride that comes from knowing that your fan base is the most loyal.
But how can you prove it?
That's what two students in Emory University’s Sports Marketing Analytics program set out to do in an NFL fan base study. They developed a revenue premium model of fan equity to rank the loyalty of all 32 NFL fan bases.
Their results say Ravens Nation is more loyal than Steelers Nation.
It doesn't stop there. Ravens fans are also more loyal than Bengals and Browns fans, giving the Ravens top honors in the AFC North. Overall, purple and black addicts are the eighth-most loyal group in the NFL.
The top five are Cowboys, Patriots, Jets, Saints and Giants enthusiasts. Supporters of the Steelers are No. 9, just one spot behind the Ravens. Cincy and Cleveland fanatics come in at Nos. 19 and 20, respectively.
It's a little suspect to see some fan bases so low on the list. Green Bay and all those "Cheeseheads" at No. 14? Really? They have one of the smallest local TV markets and yet Lambeau Field has sold out every year since 1960. Those crazy-intense Raiders fans at No. 32? Not buying it. And as much as I hate to give an AFC North rival credit, the Brownies stick by their team despite losing season after losing season.
Still, a study that rates the Ravens fan base above the Steelers base must be rock solid, right?
Just in case you're skeptical, here's the method the students used to arrive at their conclusion:
"A ranking based on attendance would be skewed toward teams that play in more populated metropolitan areas, and a ranking based on profitability or revenues would be biased in favor of teams that are currently enjoying more on-field success.
"In our series of* *fan base analyses across leagues, we adjust for these complicating factors using a revenue premium model of fan equity. The key idea is that we look at team box office revenues relative to team on-field success, market population, stadium capacity, median income and other factors. The first step in our procedure involves the creation of a statistical model that predicts box office revenue as a function of the aforementioned variables. We then compare actual revenues to the revenues predicted by the model. Teams with relatively stronger fan support will have revenues that exceed the predicted values, and teams that under perform have relatively less supportive fan bases."
Sooooo, that essentially means they compared their predicted revenue for each team to the actual revenue. The more a team exceeds their predictions, the more loyal the fan base is.
Here are the full rankings:
- Dallas Cowboys
- New England Patriots
- New York Jets
- New Orleans Saints
- New York Giants
- Indianapolis Colts
- Chicago Bears
- Baltimore Ravens
- Pittsburgh Steelers
- Tennessee Titans
- San Diego Chargers
- Denver Broncos
- Washington Redskins
- Green Bay Packers
- Carolina Panthers
- Houston Texans
- Philadelphia Eagles
- Minnesota Vikings
- Cincinnati Bengals
- Cleveland Browns
- Kansas City Chiefs
- St. Louis Rams
- Seattle Seahawks
- Buffalo Bills
- Miami Dolphins
- San Francisco 49ers
- Jacksonville Jaguars
- Detroit Lions
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Arizona Cardinals
- Atlanta Falcons
- Oakland Raiders
Clark: Ravens Offense A Lot Like Colts
Newly signed tight end Dallas Clark didn't sign with the Ravens in time to get enough practice to play against the Falcons last Thursday night.
But with just over a week of practice under his belt, Clark is starting to look more comfortable in his new offense and expects to play against Carolina tomorrow. He says he feels like he's picking up the offense as quickly as he hoped.
That's because it's very familiar to the one he played in for eight years.
"The more I'm looking at [the offense] and the more I'm learning it, it's a lot of familiarity with the Indy offense – what we had up at the Colts," Clark told Comcast SportsNet in the video below. "So, it's just learning the verbiage and Joe [Flacco] has been fantastic."
Dumervil Ravens' Most Pivotal Player
The team. The team. The team.
That's the Ravens motto, and it will never change under Head Coach John Harbaugh. It takes all 53 men working together to win.
That said, Bill Polian, a former NFL executive, believes the performance of a single player can be the difference between title contention and missing the playoffs.
And as the Ravens attempt to make the playoffs for the sixth-straight year, the person who could make or break that goal (excluding Flacco) is outside linebacker Elvis Dumervil, say Polian.
"The popular notion seems to be that the Ravens are going to fall back after their Super Bowl victory. I beg to differ," wrote Polian. "I think this season's defensive unit can be better than the unit that won the Super Bowl ... if Dumervil can perform up to his standards.
"Over the last three seasons Dumervil has averaged 12.5 sacks. If he can put up a double-digit sack count opposite a presumably healthy and revitalized Terrell Suggs, I think the Ravens' D takes a step forward. The personnel losses seem staggering from this offseason, but in truth some of those players weren't playing up to the level of their reputations. In particular, with this pass-rushing role, while they lost Paul Kruger (9.0 sacks in 2012), they've brought in Dumervil, who more than fills the void. While he's not as long as Kruger, Dumervil is more explosive and more talented. An improved pass rush will mean more hurries by quarterbacks and more bad decisions upon which the Ravens' secondary can capitalize."
Bart Scott's Career Over?
Former Ravens and Jets linebacker Bart Scott was hired by CBS Sports to work on "The Other Pregame Show," which will debut this fall.
So much for the reports last week that said Scott was drawing interest from teams and was planning to choose one soon.
"And so ends, presumably, the career of a [defensive] player who spent seven seasons with the Ravens and four with the Jets," wrote ProFootballTalk.com's Mike Florio. "Scott hadn't drawn much interest, and last week's report may have simply been the equivalent of a Hail Mary effort to see if an NFL team wanted to sign him."
Scott will always be remembered as another one of the Ravens' great finds in undrafted rookie free agency. He only missed three games in his seven-year run in Baltimore, then he followed Ravens former defensive coordinator Rex Ryan to the Jets for a big pay day.
I remember Scott walking the halls of the Under Armour Performance Center like it was yesterday. He was charismatic, funny* *and always had something to say.
#Cantwait to see him give a TV career a shot. It could be very entertaining.
Quick Hits
- "Counting down to the all-important third preseason game of the summer, the Ravens were once again looking promising from a health standpoint as tight end Ed Dickson, linebacker Elvis Dumervil, and defensive end Marcus Spears were all practicing for the second straight day [Tuesday]," wrote Luke Jones. While Dickson likely won't play Thursday against the Panthers, Dumervil, Spears, cornerback Lardarius Webb (knee) and right guard Marshal Yanda (shoulder) may all get some action. [WNST]
- @mattvensel: According to @PFF, Joe Flacco has attempted just one pass beyond 10 yards during the preseason. Proof the #Ravens are holding back? [Twitter]
- @gdowning14: The Ravens' highest-graded offensive starter in the preseason, per @PFF: LT @BryantMckinnie [Twitter]
- @Ravens: Terrell Suggs wants a piece of new Hall of Famer @jonathanogden75: "Get down here I'm going to try my luck!" [Twitter]
- @CliftonBrownCSN: Asked what he didn't know about Suggs & Ngata, Michael Huff said, "I didn't know how much they laugh, joke, make fun of people." #RavensTalk [Twitter]
- @Ravens: Boston Marathon victim & #Ravens fan Paul Norden is visiting practice today. #Inspirational [Twitter]
- @ElamVsElo: #EatGreedy for the heck of it..! #UA @UnderArmour [Twitter]
