Atlanta Falcons Have The Second-Worst Fan Base According To Study

Jan 20, 2013; Atlanta, GA, USA; Atlanta Falcons fans react following their loss tot the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC Championship game at the Georgia Dome. The 49ers defeated the Falcons 28-24. Mandatory Credit: Daniel Shirey-USA TODAY Sports

According to a study done by two students from Emory University, the Atlanta Falcons have the second-worst fan base in the NFL.

What?

Yeah, you heard that right. Apparently, the Falcons sit in the dumpster of fan loyalty. Here are the last five teams on the poll:

• Detroit Lions
• Tampa Bay Buccaneers
• Arizona Cardinals
• Atlanta Falcons
• Oakland Raiders

You can check out the link above if you want to check out the whole list.

The Falcons not only sit behind almost every team in the NFL, but also every team in the NFC South. The Saints are first in the NFC South, at fifth overall followed by the Carolina Panthers at 15. As shown above, the Buccaneers are above the Falcons but just barely, at 29.

If you want to know a bit about the formula used to come up with these rankings, here is what the Emory Sports Marketing Program said about it:

"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. We provide more details on the method here and here."

So, do you buy this? Do the Atlanta Falcons really have the second worst fan base in the NFL? Personally, I have doubts that one of the better teams in the league can be behind teams like Cleveland, Carolina, Tampa Bay, and Jacksonville but I suppose you can make statistics say whatever you want these days. It all depends on what you use and how you use them.

Feel free to bash the results in the comments and rag on how the #1 team (Dallas Cowboys) basically choke season after season.