Study Finds Cowboy Fans are the Best and Dolphin Fans are the Worst

The Dallas Cowboys have the best fans, a new study boldly concluded. Two professors from Emory University, Manish Tripathi and Mike Lewis, conducted the study based on several factors, such as team performance and ticket prices.

"We create statistical models of box office revenue, and then see which teams over- and under- perform the model's predictions," Tripathi explained. "We create statistical models of box office revenue, and then see which teams over- and under- perform the model's predictions."

In regards to why the Cowboys have the best fans, Tripathi said, "The Cowboys have a storied history, a market that loves all forms of football, and a world-class stadium. Deflategate hasn't hit the window of our analysis yet (it is after the 2014-2015 season), but the Pats' strong showing in our ranking suggests that the impact will be small. The Jets position might be somewhat surprising, but this team draws well, and has great pricing power without a lot of winning on the field."

The Pittsburgh Steelers and the Green Bay Packers also have great fan bases.

"The Seahawks are slowly developing a great fan base. And these teams will do better when we switch to non-financial metrics such as social media following. But for the current 'revenue premium' model these teams just don't price high enough. In a way, these teams with massive season ticket waiting lists are the most supportive of their fans," Tripathi said.

The professors concluded that Miami Dolphin fans are the worst.

Teams that made it to the top 10 - in order - were the Cowboys, Patriots, Giants, Ravens, Jets, Bears, Packers, Saints, Colts and 49ers.

The bottom ten teams, starting from the bottom, were the Dolphins, Browns, Raiders, Jaguars, Bills, Chiefs, Seahawks, Lions, Bengals and Rams.