The NFL's Best and Worst Fans Online

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By Sam Laird2013-08-07 19:43:39 -0700

Rejoice, fellow sports fans. September is almost here, delivering us from the slow and ploddingly uneventful summer months. Soon enough, we'll welcome the NFL back into our homes and hearts when the league's regular season kicks off on Sept. 5.

But let's play a fun game in the meantime. Which NFL teams have the best fans bases? Which NFL teams have the worst fan bases? Such topics are nearly impossible to truly answer — after all, fandom is felt more than figured — but one tech company thinks it's found a way to quantify the question of quality support.

See also: Ailing Child's NFL Wish Will Melt Your Heart

Online ticket broker TicketCity recently used an algorithm to rank the most engaged fan bases in college football, and now it's applied the formula to the pro ranks.

Its secret sauce analyzes fans by both online and IRL metrics to spit out a list of rankings. Twitter follows, Facebook Likes and "talking about" data, game attendance, ticket prices and percentage of stadium capacity filled at home games are all taken into account.

Is this formula the ultimate and final measure of team fandom? No way. Is it a fun way to account for both digital and real-world support, while possibly giving you some bragging rights over your NFL-addicted friends? No doubt. Here below is TicketCity's rankings of NFL fan bases from top to bottom:

1. 
   

   Dallas Cowboys

   
   


2. 
   

   New England Patriots

   
   


3. 
   

   Green Bay Packers

   
   


4. 
   

   New York Giants

   
   


5. 
   

   Pittsburgh Steelers

   
   


6. 
   

   Chicago Bears

   
   


7. 
   

   Denver Broncos

   
   


8. 
   

   New Orleans Saints

   
   


9. 
   

   Houston Texans

   
   


10. 
    

    Philadelphia Eagles

    
    


11. 
    

    Baltimore Ravens

    
    


12. 
    

    San Francisco 49ers

    
    


13. 
    

    Washington Redskins

    
    


14. 
    

    Seattle Seahawks

    
    


15. 
    

    New York Jets

    
    


16. 
    

    Atlanta Falcons

    
    


17. 
    

    Indianapolis Colts

    
    


18. 
    

    Carolina Panthers

    
    


19. 
    

    Tennessee Titans

    
    


20. 
    

    Detroit Lions

    
    


21. 
    

    Minnesota Vikings

    
    


22. 
    

    Arizona Cardinals

    
    


23. 
    

    San Diego Chargers

    
    


24. 
    

    Buffalo Bills

    
    


25. 
    

    Cincinnati Bengals

    
    


26. 
    

    Cleveland Browns

    
    


27. 
    

    Oakland Raiders

    
    


28. 
    

    Jacksonville Jaguars

    
    


29. 
    

    Miami Dolphins

    
    


30. 
    

    Kansas City Chiefs

    
    


31. 
    

    St. Louis Rams

    
    


32. 
    

    Tampa Bay Buccaneers

    
    

How does your team stack up? Let us know in the comments.

Image: Ronald Martinez/Getty Images

Topics: Entertainment, NFL, Sports