The NFL team with the most bandwagon fans: The Arizona Cardinals?

When you see it...

In the lull of the NFL offseason, you may have noticed a recent study conducted by Emory University regarding fan tendencies in professional American football. The study came in several parts, with fans reacting strongest to the ranking of fan bases—no surprises there. 

Claiming that their ranking was based off of factors of fan behavior, such as attendances, price of tickets and revenue, the Emory team released results collected over the past three years to a pretty familiar tune, featuring the blue-bloods and heavyweights as the best fan bases of the NFL. Cowboy Nation can claim supremacy over NFL fandom. Deflate-gate has not deflated the Mass-holes' enthusiasm for their regional English team. The Giants won the battle of New York, but not by much. And surprisingly, the Ravens came in at fourth. It's not terribly surprising how the Emory crew rounded out the top of their list since the teams have enjoyed recent success, multiple Super Bowl championships, and relatively modern, large stadiums. The surprises in the list come later, featuring the Cheeseheads and Steeler Nation at seven and fourteen, respectively. I was personally surprised to find the 12th Man of the Seattle Seahawks at an alarmingly low number 26 spot on the list. Given the new Nike jerseys, Beats and Oberto beef jerky sponsorships for Richard Sherman, the loudest open-air stadium in the league, and not to mention successive trips to the Super Bowl including the SB XLVIII win, the Seahawks still find themselves in the 26 spot. The defense to this ranking was that on average, Seahawks fans relatively do not spend as much money on their team as other fans do.

I currently live in Seattle and I'll admit, I went from owning just a Marshawn Lynch jersey when he arrived in 2010 to a full wardrobe of Wilson, Sherman, Harvin and two Lynch jerseys since the team started winning the big games. But I'm not the only one. Wilson, Lynch, Sherman, Chancellor, Thomas III and now Jimmy Graham have all enjoyed extended periods of time on the NFL's top 25 selling jerseys, meaning that football fans in general are willing to spend at least $100 for one item of apparel for the Seahawks. The rise in jersey sales led me to two conclusions: A.) the true Seattle Seahawks fan base is relatively small and B.) there are most definitely Seahawks bandwagon fans, but they are not incorporated into the study, or else Seattle would be higher on this list. Perhaps this is a good thing since Emory is willing to scope out the true fan bases, but then again, not all fans can afford to go to games because of financial reasons and the stadium's natural capacity. Could this explain why the Cowboys that play in a stadium that seats 120,000 people have the "best fans" while the proud Raider Nation only comes in at number 30 because they play in the small O.co Coliseum?

This led me to question the credibility of the Emory study regarding the aspects of fan culture that they used. Are the fan bases in the study divided between the real and bandwagon fans? And if so, did they get it right? As a former Arizonan, I didn't think much of the list cause at least it meant that Arizona Cardinals fans are better than Seattle Seahawks fans, right?

Well not necessarily. While Emory was busy ranking all of the fan bases, they also took it upon themselves to find which team has the most bandwagon fans in the NFL. According to any sports fan you talk to, a bandwagon fan is someone who starts rooting for a team that has enjoyed recent success. According to their study, Arizona Cardinals "fans are most responsive to winning percentage in the NFL based on our [Emory's] statistical model of attendance." 

Upon reading a headline by CBSsports that a "Study says Arizona Cardinals have the most bandwagon fans in the NFL," I was honestly shocked. Recently before reading the aforementioned article, I saw a video on www.azcardinals.com titled "Arizona- Our State of Football." It is a pretty accurate crash course for anyone who is not familiar with the teams relatively short tenure in the desert which began in 1988, 90 years after the club's inception. Many people tend to forget that the Arizona/Phoenix Cardinals, previously the, St. Louis Cardinals, the Card-Pitt, and the Chicago Cardinals are the oldest professional football club in the NFL. But that is not why they have "bandwagon fans".

For many, the Red Birds have the feel of a team that showed up late to the dance. For example, they were the last NFL team to join twitter and as a result, they have the fewest followers (191.4K followers). The futility in the hot Tempe sun at Sun Devil Stadium in the 90's was forgettable. The new team in the desert performed in front of essentially thousands of Cowboys fans that saw a mediocre St. Louis team lose week in and week out. Because of 100+ degree heat, the Cardinals oftentimes had to resort to wearing their white uniforms, a slap in the face to the visiting Dallas Cowboys that couldn't wear their infamous white uniforms in front of masses of Cowboys fans at Sun Devil Stadium. 

Longtime Arizona Cardinals fans will always remember the playoff run that the team embarked on during the 1998 season which saw Jake "The Snake" Plummer, an ASU product, lead the team past the Dallas Cowboys in the old Cowboys stadium during the Wild-Card round of the playoffs. That's the furthest the team got into the postseason until the 2008 season. By 2008, the Cardinals were already settled into their new University of Phoenix Stadium which opened in 2006, abandoning a shabby horseshoe stadium owned by a mediocre state school that held 12 sellouts in 18 seasons for a spaceship-looking, air-conditioned modern architectural marvel that has holdout every American Football game it has hosted. In terms of sellouts, the University of Phoenix Stadium has sold out every Cardinals' regular season game with an impressive streak of 92 games in a row, beginning with the first Cardinals game hosted at the stadium. 

Back to the Emory University study, the group mentioned that they based their rankings off of data that was mostly concerned with fan attendance to the responsiveness of winning and full stadiums. Considering that the Phoenix/Arizona Cardinals went 100-188 during their 18 seasons at Sun Devil Stadium with only 12 sellouts, it would be easy to draw a correlation between losing and poor attendance. However, it is important to look past the losing factor because that is not what drove Arizonans out of the stadium. Let me ask you a question: imagine that your favorite team did not play in your hometown, but a new team recently moved to town. The new team is quite mediocre and play during the same time as your favorite team in 100 degree heat in a suburb that is a pretty long drive from your home. So would you rather stay at home and watch your favorite team play on TV with your family for free or would you rather spend a whole day in the baking sun while forking over several hundred dollars to see a poor excuse of a professional team?

When the Cardinals moved to their new stadium, they had been in the greater-Phoenix area for a generation. As a result, they brought a new uniform look featuring a mean cardinal mascot to the air-conditioned, indoor grass stadium for young, lifelong Cardinals fans. In typical Cardinals fashion, they christened the new stadium with a 5-11 record in the 2006 season, leading to the firing of head coach Dennis Green. The following season, new head coach Ken Whisenhunt chose to stick with the veteran quarterback Kurt Warner instead of the Matt Leinart. The decision turned out to be a winning move as Warner led the team to records of 8-8, 9-7 and 10-6 including a run to Super Bowl XLIII and one of the greatest postseason performances against the Green Bay Packers in the Wild-Card round of the 2009 season. But then again, what else would you expect from a future Hall-of-Fame quarterback?

So how did the fans react? For starters, the rebranding of an angrier bird logo was a hit in the valley. With two iconic faces of the franchise in Larry Fitzgerald and Kurt Warner, many Cardinals fans bought their jerseys. Both of the players are true class acts and the Cardinals were blessed to have had them play together. Who could root against the unbelievably coordinated wide receiver who happens to be a single-father that donates $1000 to breast cancer research for every catch he makes in the month of October? What conservative Arizonan would root against a quarterback who loves Jesus more than football? Of course, the post-2006 Cardinals were not always peaches and cream, which brings forward the strongest argument against the Emory study. Kurt Warner definitely reinvigorated a mediocre franchise into winners, but when he did not start for the team, the team was it's usual wreck. In 2006, the Cardinals embarrassed themselves on Monday Night Football because "The Bears are who we thought they were!!" In 2010, a blow-out home loss on Monday Night Football to the rival 49ers was met with an agitated and repetitive, "That's fine" response by signal-caller Derek Anderson to the media. Two 5-11 seasons sandwiched a 27-21 regular season stretch, but you would not know it from looking at the capacity attendance attendance streak that remained intact at an impressive 40 home games.

Without Warner, Whisenhunt struggled in his last three season with the Cardinals, going 5-11, 8-8, and 5-11 as he failed to find a suitable replacement. The losing ultimately cost him his job, making way for Bruce Arians, a longtime assistant coach that finally got his shot at the head coaching spot during an interim period with the Indianapolis Colts. Arians is no fluke as he has led the Cardinals to 10-6 and 11-5 records during his two years with the team. 

Today, the Cardinals are a team that has experienced a brief period of consistent winning, a sharp contrast from how the team played in years past. They no longer hold an element of surprise to opponents and fans alike; however, I do not believe that these winning ways provide evidence of bandwagon fans. Sure, the 100-188 record with 12 sellouts at Sun Devil Stadium is put to shame by the 71-73 record with 92 consecutive sellouts at the University of Phoenix Stadium; however, that does not take into account that the team has undergone some major changes in recent years. The Bidwell family made winning decisions by building the University of Phoenix Stadium, signing Kurt Warner, hiring and firing Coach Whisenhunt and hiring Bruce Arians and Steve Keim. These are important decisions for a Benjamin Button-esque franchise that has been around forever but is only now going through its formative years.

So to address Emory, it is important to use data to measure fan tendencies; however, it is also important to understand and appreciate what it takes to win in the NFL and what makes the NFL the greatest American show on television. The move into an air-conditioned stadium undoubtedly helped raise attendance rates for the Cardinals, which just so happened when the team improved their talent. Lacking a high level of play in a few seasons at their new home, the Cardinals still managed to sell out 24 games when the team went a meager 5-11 for three seasons at the University of Phoenix Stadium. With the Red Sea guaranteed to make a full appearance in support of a greatly improved NFL franchise, these next few years will be the true indicators of whether or not more fans jump on the Cardinals bandwagon and if they in fact have the most bandwagon fans in the NFL.

Cards fans, find it in your heart to give Kevin Kolb another chance... cause you're stuck with him

This guy will still be a Cardinal

Yep Cards fans, that's right. We're stuck with Kevin (Corn on the) Kolb. We wanted him so badly and we got him, for only half of last season. Kolb received a $7 million roster bonus on Friday at 1:00 PST, which ended the Cardinals pursuit of Peyton Manning. I do agree that a Manning signing would've been great for both parties since Manning would have a nice place to retire in a relatively weak division, throwing to the league's best receiver in Larry Fitzgerald. Unfortunately, things didn't work out since it took Manning too long to make up his mind. Anyways, Cardinals fans better suck it up and accept Kolb. At least he's better than this guy. "That's fine. That's fine. That's fine. That's fine. That's fine." ===>

Linsanity is Linsane!!!

In case you haven't heard of him yet, Jeremy Lin is the first Asian-American to play in the NBA. He is an undrafted point guard from Harvard University. He played for the Golden State Warriors near his home town Palo Alto, but was released after his rookie season. What makes Lin stand out is that... well... he's Asian. He's also steady at running the point, which is why the New York Knicks took a gamble on him and put him in the starting line-up. Lin is also the key to the Knick's four game winning streak as they topped the Lakers, 92-85 on ESPN. Lin scored 38 points- 4 more than the infamously selfish Kobe Bryant (or Kobe Bryanl in China). Lin's rise to the top was extremely rapid, but for a reason. First off: again he's Asian, secondly it's a New York team that's supposed to break through this year, thirdly he's doing it without Melo and Amare, and lastly he's an Asian that's not named Yao Ming who can dunk. I don't see the Lin hype slowing down anytime soon, because he's what the NBA needs: a feel-good story that has tremendous marketing value for a struggling big market team in a conference that is owned by the Miami Heat. Jeremy Lin, best of luck.

Cardinals finish the season with an OT win against the Seahawks, 23-20

Fitzgerald left his best for last and started 2012 off with a bang. The Japanese Fighting Fish snagged two of the greatest catches this NFL season in a 9 catch 149 yard performance against the Seattle Seahawks. The Cards pushed out first to a Get a comfortable 20-10 4th quarter lead, however the Seahawks were the team that forced OT with a late comeback. In OT, Fitzgerald made a great one-handed catch to set up a 28-yard Jay Feely game winning FG. The Cardinals finish the season with an 8-8 record and 2nd place in the NFC West. Arizona showed vast improvement in close games as they were 1-6 in the first 7 games, but finished 7-2 with an improved defense and some fourth quarter/OT magic from Skelton. If Skelton can improve his accuracy, he'll give Kolb a run for his money in the off-season. If Kolb can stay healthy, the offense will improve. If the Cards can keep most of their roster and coaches and get a few offensive linemen, they should really improve next year.

Cards rally falls short, lose to the Bengals 23-16

The Cards came out flat against the Bengals, which was discouraging since both teams were playing a must-win game for their playoff hopes. John Skelton got the start once again with an injured Kevin Kolb sitting out, but the second-year man out of Fordham was pestered all day long. He was sacked five times and threw three picks, putting the Cards in a 23 point hole. The game seemed decided, but when the fourth quarter rolls around, the Cards are unpredictable. They had a quick score from a 30 yard TD to Fitzgerald, putting the game at 23-7. The defense remained stout and Skelton took advantage by tossing another TD to Jeff King. Their two-point conversion attempt failed, but Cedric Benson fumbled the ball, giving the Cards another shot. Down by only a TD, Skelton threw a ball to the Endzone at a wide open Doucet, but the WR slipped and the ball was turned over. Skelton had a last gasp opportunity, but the Card's playoff hopes winded down to a sad and painful end. The season is truly a tail of two tale: the Cards started 1-6, but a mix of Skelton heroics and a stout defense brought the Cards back into the playoff hunt. The team has a lot of potential for next season, but this season is essentially over.

Cards top the Browns in OT, 20-17

Playing against the Cards must be annoying: they have a stingy blitzing defense, a dangerous punt returner, and a comeback mentality. Thats what the Cards showed against the Browns as John Skelton put up 10 points in the fourth quarter to send the game to OT. Patrick Peterson had a lengthy return and Jay Feely punched in the game-winning FG. After a 1-6 start, the Cards have pushed their way to .500

Cards stun the Niners, 21-19

The Cards defense has strung together an impressive slew of performances, including Sundays' win against the rival Niners. Both offenses looked a bit flat, but mostly because the defenses showed up. On the first Cardinals possession, Kevin Kolb lost a fumble and seemed to be concussed, so John Skelton once again stepped in. The Niners consistently had great field position, but the Cards defense held them to FGs. On one attempt, John Harbaugh elected to call a fake FG, but Whisenhunt out did him by throwing a challenge flag before the play was executed. The Cards would then score a 60 yard TD on the next play. Fitzgerald had a great game as he caught six passes for 146 yards including an electrifying TD catch and run. This win ends a 5-game losing streak to the hated Niners.

Cardinals top the Cowboys, 19-13 OT

The Hyphen's 52 yard catch and run for TD in OT topped the Cowboys in another thriller in this West rivalry. The Cards defense and Kolb's return to the starting line-up truly fueled the intensity For Sunday's game. Romo and the Cowboys were contained until a Dez Bryant TD catch, but Kolb and the Cards offense responded with a 3 yard Beanie TD run. Romo and the Cowboys could've won the game with a last second FG, but the Cowboys iced their own kicker with a timeout. The TO negated the 55 yard kick and Dan Bailey missed his second chance. The Cards got the ball in OT and scored off a bubble screen to LaRod Stephens-Howling for the winner.

Beanie Wells!!! Cards run past the Rams, 23-20

Just look at this dude's arm! How is his nick-name Beanie when his arm is as big as a leg? The Cardinals neede every ounce of his strength to push past the Rams on Sunday as Skelton had another bad game and Fitz only caught three balls for 55 yards. Who need passing when you have a guy run for 228 yards? Beanie broke the frachise record for rush yards in a single game, formerly held by LeSean Johnson. Rush yards in a single game wasn't the only record met as rookie Patrick Peterson returned his fourth punt for a TD. He tied Devin Hester for the most punt return TDs in a single season, and he's only a rookie. The defense turned in another solid performance as they silenced Beanie's counterpart, Steven Jackson.

Cardinals snap losing streak, beat Rams 19-13 OT

Cards fans haven't had too much to cheer about this season. An opening win to the Panthers followed by six demoralizing losses isn't fun for any football team, but emotions ran high on Sunday as the Cardinals snapped their losing streak. After tying the game at 13 all, the Cardinals had chances to win the game in regulation, but they surrendered the ball to St. Louis. Sam Bradford led a drive to set up a 42-yard FG at the end of regulation, but Calais Campbell blocked the Josh Brown attempt and the game went to OT. The Rams had a short offensive series and punted the ball to Patrick Peterson. The rookie out of LSU would return the kick 99 yards for the walk-off win as Arizona moves to 3rd in the NFC West. There isn't much left for the team to do this season since the 49ers are 7-1, but Arizona can work towards the future and give a few more starts to John Skelton instead of an injured Kevin Kolb.

Cardinals blow big lead to the Ravens, lose 30-27

If you saw this final score, a fan would think "Cardinals hung in there against the Ravens, nice job!", but if you saw the game, you'd think that the Cardinals are in a downwards spiral to ending their season early. After taking a comfortable lead at 24-3, the Ravens slowly climbed back and capped off the biggest comeback in team history. The officials helped Baltimore quite a bit, but the loss is pretty much the death sentence on the Cards playoff hopes.

Cardiac Cards collapse, Manning leads comeback, 31-27

The Cardinals managed to lose again in Glendale as the Giants ousted them with 21 points in the final quarter and 2 TDs within a minute to come away with a 31-27 victory. Arizona was plagued with Red Zone inefficiency in the first half and lost due to defensive miscues in the second half. After taking a commanding 27-17 lead in the 4th quarter, Eli Manning orchestrated a long drive capped off with a Brandon Jacobs TD. On their next possession, Manning found an open Victor Cruz who stumbled and lost the ball which was recovered by the Cardinals, however the officials considered the slip and letting go of the ball "giving himself up" so the Cardinals could not challenge for a fumble. Manning threw a TD pass to Nicks on the next play as the Giants went ahead with 2:56 left in the game. Kevin Kolb would lead the Cardinals down to the Giant's 30, but Cory Webster batted down a pass for Fitzgerald on 4th down and New York won the game. Despite the Giant's luck, the Cardinals should have walked away with a win, but instead drop to 1-3.

Cards give Hightower a reunion present, hand the game to the Redskins

During the week, Tim Hightower guaranteed the Washington Redskins would beat his former team, the Arizona Cardinals. The Richmond running back had 96 rushing yards against the Cards as tHe Redskins scored 12 points in the final quarter for a 22-21 win. The Cardinals intercepted Washington QB Rex Grossman twice in the first quarter but trailed 10-7 at the half. A stable running game from Beanie Wells and a 73-yard Kolb to Fitzgerald TD pass gave Arizona a 21-13 lead in the fourth quarter. Washington would come back to score an 18-yard TD to Santana Moss (failed 2pt conversion) and a 34-yard field goal punched in by Graham Gano. With about a minute left, the Cardinals came out rolling but the momentum was suddenly stopped when Chansi Stuckey fumbled at midfield and Washington closed out the game in a victory formation. The Redskins are a surprising 2-0 as they continue their dominance over the Cards by winning the past 8 match-ups. Arizona falls to 1-1 with a game against Seattle next week at Qwest Field.

Newton falls short of comeback, Cardinals win 28-21

With a game full of big plays, Cam Newton's Carolina Panthers fell a yard short of forcing their match up against Arizona into overtime. Newton excelled in his NFL debut game by going 24-37 with 422 yards and 2 TDs. Despite throwing an interception, Newton became the first NFL Rookie QB to throw for 400 yards in their debut. Kevin Kolb also shined in his Arizona debut by going 18-27 with 309 yards and 2 TDs. The steady quarterback play was a breathe of fresh air for Cardinals fans. Arizona scored on a 70 yard TD pass from Kolb to Early Doucet to tie the game with 10:24 left in the fourth quarter. After a defensive stop, Arizona's Patrick Peterson returned a punt for an 89 yard TD. Carolina got the ball back as Newton, the 1st overall pick, attempted to lead a game-tying drive. Carolina fell a yard short of the end zone on 4th down, clinching the win for the Cards.

Punter Ben Graham among cuts for Cardinals 53-man roster

The punter Ben Graham was among the cuts for the Cardinals 53-man roster. The Aussie joined the team during their 2008 Super Bowl run. Graham has only had 12 punts for touchback out of his 200 punts as a Cardinal. Graham tied an NFL record with 42 consecutive punts without a touchback due to the spin he puts on the ball so it never bounces forward. Dave Zastudil won the punting job for the regular season. Among other cuts were Brodie Croyle, Isaiah Williams, Matt Ware, Fred Bennett, Jared Campbell, Ben Claxton, Will Davis, Marshay Green, Kenny Iwebema, Cliff Louis, Ricky Lumpkin, Reagan Maui'a, Jeremy Navarre, Aaron Nichols, Bryant Nnabuife, Cyril Obiozer, Kris O'dowd, Tom Pestock, William Powell, Stephen Skelton, Kendall Smith, Pago Togafau, Thad Turner, and DJ Young.

Toler out for season, Peterson thrust into starting role

Greg Toler tore his ACL on a non-contact play against the San Diego Chargers on Saturday. The number one cornerback on the Cardinals depth chart will be out for the season, putting rookie Patrick Peterson into a starting role. The rookie impressed as he scored a 34 yard INT for a TD after picking off Philip Rivers Saturday night. The Cardinals have depth at cornerback and they'll need it after a forgetful 2011 season which had many big passing plays that hurt the Cardinals.

Cardinals sign QB Croyle, waive Max Hall

The Arizona Cardinals signed QB Brodie Croyle Wednesday afternoon after fourth-string QB Max Hall suffered a shoulder injury at practice on Monday. Croyle signing gives Arizona three active quarterbacks for Saturdays match-up against the San Diego Chargers at University of Phoenix Stadium as John Skelton is out with a high-ankle sprain. Croyle has spent the last five years in Kansas City which made him an attractive quarterback after spending the past two years under former Cardinals offensive coordinator Todd Haley.

Larry Fitzgerald Contract Extension

Source: sbnation.com

Larry Fitzgerald -- now officially the highest paid non quarterback in the NFL -- accepted a $120 million, 8 year contract extension with a $50 million guarantee from the Arizona Cardinals.