Miami Dolphins fans are not the best in the NFL according to Emory University
By Brian Miller
Emory University once again is spending money to research a power poll for NFL fan bases so they can argue who is the best fan base. It is not the Miami Dolphins fans.
Miami Dolphins fans are scattered all over the globe. I have met fans from Australia and a couple of guys from a Dolphins fan club in Germany. There is DolfansNYC, another club in Connecticut, and one way out west in California. And let’s not forget our brothers and sisters south of the border!
Still, according to Michael Lewis from Emory University which by the way is in Atlanta, I had to look it up I admit, NFL fans can be ranked according to non-emotional data. Lewis uses three variables. Fan Equity, Social Equity and Road Equity. Which means what exactly?
Well you can read the parameters he used here, but what it basically comes down to is will the fans pay for merchandise and games (fan equity). Are there is a lot of them on social media and active (Social equity). And do they travel to see games on the road? Road equity.
If you buy into the variables of what he is using then you might be pleasantly surprised by the Dolphins fan rankings this year. Miami fans actually rank 14th overall among the entire NFL. That actually isn’t bad but I do question the individual “equity” rankings.
Overall Rank – 14
This is probably a good spot for Dolphins fans since let’s face it, we can be a bit finicky at times. The overall rank is based on the findings in the other three equity areas and that gives the average weight to the fan base.
It’s not a surprise that the Cowboys are on top along with the Eagles and Giants. The entire NFC East tend to travel outside of their home states well and the Super Bowl surely didn’t hurt the Eagles. The Patriots are number two but I can almost certainly guarantee a major drop once the Belichick/Brady/Patriot Way comes crashing down.
Packers, Steelers, and Broncos all make sense as well but I do question the validity of the Lions, Saints, Colts, and 49’ers ahead of Dolphins fans.
Fan Equity
This is you. The fan. What are you willing to spend on tickets and merchandise? Miami came up 15th overall and that really isn’t a big deal. For one thing the lack of ticket price increases over the last six years hurts a little as some fans pay a lot more for seating. I’m sure the indexing of this metric was taken into account.
Dolphins fans do spend money and the stadium is getting more and more full for games which helps this increase.
Social Equity
This is where I blame the Miami Dolphins themselves and have a problem with this metric. First and foremost the Dolphins home webpage has drastically dropped off and that has led to a less than perfect social media and internet presence.
My problem here however is that the Dolphins have more privately owned fan web-sites than almost all other NFL teams. The Dolphins fan-sites number in the 30’s and more as some are a lot less known and recognized. On social media there is a huge group on Facebook and Twitter. More than any other team? I would like to see actual numbers that show fan to fan comparisons on social media that are active.
The Dolphins fan base ranked 23 in this area and that is way below average for a team that is well represented in social media and private web-sites.
Road Equity
Remember when I pointed out the “fan-groups” from around the world? Well thanks to those groups the Dolphins fans rank 9th overall in the league and that is a HUGE statement. The Dolphins fans travel well and it shows on Sunday’s when Miami fans can fill large portions of opponents stadiums.
Nothing is concrete and as much as they would like to use physical calculations there are always variables that can not be accounted for. Regardless if memory serves, the Dolphins are doing much better than they were last year. See where all the teams rank here.