It's probably time to turn the America's team label over to the Green Bay Packers. PPP's newest national survey finds that no matter how you measure it the Packers are more popular than the Dallas Cowboys, and in fact the Cowboys are actually America's least favorite team.
22% of voters say the Packers are their favorite team in the NFL to 11% for the Cowboys, 8% for the Bears, Giants, and Steelers, 7% for the Saints, 6% for the Patriots, 4% for the Redskins, and 2% for the Jets. 24% say someone else is their favorite team or that they don't have a favorite.
We also asked favorability questions about both the Cowboys and Packers. The Packers are seen positively by 57% of voters in the country to only 13% who have negative opinion. Their positive image is pretty universal- every subgroup we look at by ideology, gender, party, race, and age has a strong favorable opinion of them. The Cowboys meanwhile are generally viewed negatively, with 29% of voters having a favorable opinion of them to 41% with a negative one.
Finally we also asked a straight up 'horse race' style question about whether people like the Cowboys or Packers better. The Packers come out ahead 49-28 on that one. In an era of unprecedented political divisiveness liking the Packers better than the Cowboys is something Americans across the political spectrum can agree on- Democrats prefer the Packers 44-26, Republicans do 60-29, and independents do 44-30.
The Cowboys did come out first on one question in our poll: Americans' least favorite NFL team. 22% pick the Cowboys on that front to 11% for the Bears, 8% for the Packers, 7% for the Patriots and Redskins, 6% for the Steelers, 4% for the Jets and Giants, and 1% for the Saints. The Cowboys may deliver awesome tv ratings but these numbers suggest that's in large part because people are watching them and hoping they lose.
It's a murkier picture when it comes to crowning America's most popular quarterback. When you just ask straight up who's your favorite quarterback Tim Tebow comes out ahead by the narrowest of margins with 15% to 14% for Eli Manning, 12% for Peyton Manning, 10% each for Tom Brady, Drew Brees, and Aaron Rodgers, 6% for Michael Vick, and 4% for Ben Roethlisberger and Tony Romo. The Mannings are clearly very popular but since they're 'splitting the vote' it allows Tebow to finish first.
When you look at it in terms of ranking the quarterbacks by their net favorability though Peyton Manning emerges on top at +42 (51/9), followed by Brees at +40 (46/6), Tebow at +35 (50/15), Eli Manning at +32 (44/12), Aaron Rodgers at +31 (39/8), Tom Brady at +18 (35/17), Tony Romo at -4 (23/27), Ben Roethlisberger at -11 (20/31), and Michael Vick at -19 (24/43).
The crosstabs expose some more interesting divisions on the quarterbacks:
-Tim Tebow is viewed favorably by 68% of Republicans but only 39% of Democrats. Just to put those numbers into some context, none of the Republican Presidential candidates are even seen positively by 68% of Republicans. He's more popular than any of them.
27% of GOP voters pick him as their favorite QB, putting him in first place by a mile, but among Democrats he's only tied for 6th at 9%. The Mannings are the preferred quarterbacks of Democratic voters. 13% pick Eli as their favorite and Peyton has the best net favorability with them at +39 (49/10).
-Michael Vick's numbers are incredibly polarized along racial lines. African Americans see him positively 75/10, but whites see him negatively 16/52. 41% of blacks name him as their favorite quarterback with no one else above 13%, but only 2% of whites say he's their favorite.
Vick wins the dubious distinction of least popular QB with 26% picking him on that question to 15% for Roethlisberger, 11% for Eli Manning, 8% for Brady, 6% for Romo, 5% for Tebow, and 3% each for Rodgers, Brees, and Peyton Manning.
Methodological note: we picked the 9 teams to include based on this year's Harris poll of NFL team popularity, except we swapped in the Saints for the Colts because of the Colts' rough season. We chose the quarterbacks to include based on our best guess of who the 9 most well known currently in the NFL are.
Full results here
So now that the Packers have been crowned 'America's Team' what do they win?
Posted by: TheRealTacoKid | December 21, 2011 at 12:44 PM
Some fun stuff here. The sports polls are always a nice change of pace. Brady and the Patriots have some unusual crosstabs on the breakdown by race - he's got a lot of support among black respondents and surprisingly high negatives among Hispanic respondents, but the Patriots as a team get no black votes at all for 'favorite team' and only three percent of Hispanics have the Pats as their least favorite? That's odd, considering how tightly coupled teams and quarterbacks tend to be. I wish there was a geographic breakdown as well to see regional variations, but that's a lot of questions already.
Posted by: realnrh | December 21, 2011 at 01:49 PM
I wonder where the "poll" was done. I bet they did not include anyone from Texas in the poll.
Posted by: Lord Vader | December 21, 2011 at 03:52 PM
Question: Was this poll done last year? and the year before that? Given that the Packers won the SB last year and were undefeated at the time of the polling (I assume it was done prior to this Sunday's loss), what is the "winning team" bias? Basically, all this poll tells me is that the favorite team of approx. 14% of the people polled is the bandwagon.
Posted by: joe | December 21, 2011 at 05:21 PM
The Tebow and Vick polls confirm what in our hearts we already knew.
Posted by: Bearsfan | December 21, 2011 at 08:06 PM
Michael Vick must still have credibility problems DOGging him in all CATegories. (I am going to leave it up to your imagination why cat-lovers have as much cause as dog-lovers to despise... enough said!) But he is still more popular than Congress, which says that it is easier to get away with cruelty to animals than with cruelty to people.
Posted by: pbrower2a | December 21, 2011 at 10:49 PM
the poll is meaningless if you don't include the other 23 teams and their QBs
Posted by: chaney89 | December 22, 2011 at 10:36 AM
The dumbest, most laughable kind of nonsense you can imagine!!! All the stinking band wagon fans is why the Packers are picked!! What a joke!!!! Many people aren't even loyal to any team, they just pick the flavor of the month!!
Posted by: Swanny | December 22, 2011 at 10:42 AM
I agree that Texans did not get a fair notice of the voting. I for one am still and have always been a Cowboys fan and I did not get an opportunity to vote here. Who did this poll? And 22% of what total number of votes?
Posted by: Dixiedaisy | December 22, 2011 at 10:42 AM
ppl only lyke green bay because dey havnet loss that many games and that they won da superbowl dats da omly reason y ppl r paying attention to green bay watch if dey win or loose da superbowl no ones going to pay dem any mind at all there r alot of ppl out there dat really DNT GIVE A FUCK about green bay i mean where wuz all of this attention last year ubtil dey won da superbowl im nt lying either FUCK GREEN GAY PACKERS!!!!!!!!!!!
Posted by: sweethoney12 | December 22, 2011 at 10:59 AM
PPP surveyed 700 American voters from December 16th to 18th. This is NOT a fair or accurate take on the entire country!
Posted by: Kevin Croyle | December 22, 2011 at 12:16 PM
Cowboys may be the most disliked team in America but it's funny everytime I watch a Cowboys game and they are playing at an opposing teams stadium you can see 25 to 30 percent of the crowd wearing Cowboys gear. I suppose that is inexplicable to these poll takers on that one or maybe they forgot the majority of true football fans are blue collar people around the nation that could careless about politics. I guess it would be a good idea next time for poll takers to ask real football fans (the ones that actually will spend hard earned money on a ticket) across America to gather a more accurate opinion who America's Team really is.
Posted by: Alan | December 22, 2011 at 12:50 PM
Colin Cowherd blasted this poll on his show this morning.
Maybe this could be polled again in May (after the draft, in the middle of the offseason).
Posted by: mikeel | December 22, 2011 at 01:01 PM
The cowboys were the team of the 90s. It's almost 2012, so I can see the shift. I was wondering if the Steelers would've been a close second to Green Bay.
Posted by: DesignToads | December 22, 2011 at 04:24 PM
MY DALLAS COWBOYS WILL ALWAYS BE AMERICAS TEAM......... I BLEED BLUE, WHITE ND SILVER.......
Posted by: Jazmin Beucher | December 22, 2011 at 05:20 PM
What is a joke is the comments that all you haters are posting out here. It's a meaningless poll that has nothing to do with winning or losing - yet some of the comments make it sound like this poll is life or death and their team or player were screwed and deserved this meaningless award. GET OFF YOUR FRIGGIN SOAP BOX AND DO SOMETHING MEANINGFUL WITH YOUR LIFE.
Try something good for a change and stop all the hating: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qc8ZbVcdHpg&sns=fb
Posted by: PackerBacker | December 22, 2011 at 06:06 PM
I added the %ages and they add up to 84. What's the deal?
Posted by: ... | December 22, 2011 at 09:18 PM
Someone nas to much time on their their hands
Posted by: Robert w Cawthon sr | December 22, 2011 at 10:16 PM
When and where was this so called poll done? Know one I know in Texas knew about this so called "poll"! Bet there will be a backlash from Cowboys fans around the United States!
Posted by: Eva | December 22, 2011 at 10:28 PM
13 NFL Championships. 'Nuff said.
Posted by: Dustin | December 22, 2011 at 11:17 PM
are you kidding me!!? where and when was this BS compiled?
By far Pittsburgh is America's Team... you fools
Posted by: Mike Federinko | December 22, 2011 at 11:41 PM
This guy loves the packers. Doesn't matter who says what.
Posted by: Yes | December 22, 2011 at 11:44 PM
Some of you people who are pissed make me laugh. You are in a make beleive world by believing that your teams were dissed because they were not numer one. You may believe that the Cowboys, Steelers, etc are America's favorite team but outside of your area people hate your team!!
Posted by: George | December 23, 2011 at 06:58 AM
Can't people read anymore... the poll was done all over the country by phone... suck it up cowboy fans... America is sick of your crappy team... lol
Posted by: Dave | December 23, 2011 at 08:21 AM
I just want to say Dallas has lost many times before and has always been American Favor Team Green Bay Packers Just came up Last year. They can never replace a Legacy tean like the Cowboys never. We will always be Americans favor Like Apple Pie.
Posted by: Dallas Cowboy Fan Till I Die | December 23, 2011 at 08:27 AM
Yay! Finally.. Dallas really is an aweful team.. Who coined them America's team in the first place... it certainly wasn't America!
I agree that Green Bay stands more for this country!
Posted by: Jim | December 23, 2011 at 09:38 AM
That's ok that the Green Bay Packers are America's team. The Steelers have their own nation.
Posted by: Dave | December 23, 2011 at 11:19 AM
Haha. Reading all these comments reminded me just how much I hate Cowboys fans. They're like small children with how ridiculous they get!
Posted by: Nathan | December 23, 2011 at 11:21 AM
First of all, for those of you who don't already know, polls have limited accuracy and a margin of error already, so I don't know where the "THIS poll is crap" and "this guy clearly favours the Packers" is coming from, because that makes absolutely no sense. For Cowboys fans, I bet if it said Cowboys were America's favourite team, you'd be drooling all over it, despite the fact it would have the same chance of accuracy as this one.
Also, it's a national survey, meaning they could have called any 700 residents in America. "None of my friends in Texas knew about this poll." So you really believe that many of your friends are going to be called when the chance of one of your friends getting called is way less than 1%? Give me a break. If you don't know anything about survey methods, save yourself the embarrassment. Also, if it was supposedly biased towards Green Bay, then wouldn't have Rodgers won the QB poll as well? There's nothing in this poll to suggest that it's clearly biased. Maybe Green Bay is most favourable now because they win more games than any other team? People like to support a team that wins. Why do you think they decided to keep the Colts out of the options? Also notice that in the least favourable category, 28% are in the other/not sure category (more than the cowboys 22%). That is most likely due to people hate their favourite team's rival more than the options given. For example, Steelers fans probably picked Ravens, Cowboys fans probably picked Eagles or Giants, etc.
Cowboys fans should just be glad they even got the term coined on them for awhile without any data to back it up.
Posted by: Steve | December 23, 2011 at 01:13 PM
This poll is crap. They include a handful ofteams and even the results show that the majority were picking teams not listed. The Only reason the Packers got it are because of the fair weather fans.
I'm a 100% true die hard Oakland Raiders fan. And I hate knowing that Americas favorite team was put together with a selected team vote by 700 people...
Posted by: Raiderstruest | December 23, 2011 at 01:15 PM
Well it doesn't really matter what anybody says Dallas will always be Americas Team.
Posted by: Dallas fan | December 23, 2011 at 02:02 PM
The headline is plain old BS, and just has to have been written by a diehard Packer fan. The best, actually only good, measure of a favorite team would have to be the sales of logoed merchandise. Last time I saw it mentioned the Cowboys merchandise sales totaled close to the entire rest of the league combined.
Posted by: CC Rider | December 23, 2011 at 02:02 PM
Packers are not Americas team. Who ever wrote this got paid under the table. The Dallas Cowboys will ALWAYS be Americas team. Not some team that had a good season.
Posted by: carlos | December 23, 2011 at 02:53 PM
What kind of Americas teaam looses to the Kansas City Chifs. And plus packers don't even have a start they have cheese. Cowboys will always. Be Americas team no matter what. All you Cowboys haters can kiss ALL 5 Super Bowl Rings.
Posted by: carlos | December 23, 2011 at 02:58 PM
Not all Texans are Cowboys fans n of course all the Dallas fan are cry babies cuz their team is lousy! New York Giants, now that's a great team!
Posted by: M. Tellez | December 23, 2011 at 02:59 PM
so what you are saying is that the reason packers went so high this year is because most american's are bandwagoner's? they cant stay with one team so they always have to pick the team that wins.... i bet if the packers lose this year all these articles are going to be thrown right out the door
Posted by: garrett | December 23, 2011 at 03:16 PM
Dude ARE YOU SERIOUS? The C O W B O Y S ALWAYS HAVE & ALWAYS WILL BE DEEMED AMERICA'S TEAM. THE COWBOYS WERE KNOWN OVERSEAS BEFORE THEY EVEN WENT OVERSEAS THANX TO THE COWBOYS CHEERLEADERS GOING OVERSEAS TO ENTERTAIN OUR TROOPS THROUGH THE USO TOURS. APPARENTLY THIS STUPID POLL WAS NOT TAKEN IN TEXAS & WAS TAKEN IN WISCONSIN. EVERYBODY THAT WAS POLLED PROBABLY JUST JUMPED ON THE BANDAGON, WIN, LOOSE OR TIE, I'M A RYDE OR DIE COWBOYZ FAN TIL THE DAY I DIE. ONLY THE COWBOYS CAN GO TO ANOTHER TEAMS FIELD & YOU SEE 30-40% OF THE FANS WEARING COWBOYS GEAR. PLEASE RE-DO THE POLL & MAKE THE POLL NATIONWIDE, INCLUDING THE VIRGIN ISLANDS, & HAWAII. THEN & ONLY THEN CAN THE POLL BE ACURATE. DCB4L= Dallas CowBoys 4 Life !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Posted by: DCB4L | December 23, 2011 at 03:24 PM
and also does anyone have any idea why they named the cowboys america's team? it has nothing to do with winning football games... we drafted someone who had to go do a year over seas for our military and came back and played qb for us! i really dont see GB sending rodgers over seas for a year and come back.... sounds like GB is scared to fight for america
Posted by: garrett | December 23, 2011 at 03:26 PM
I think the true poll in whose america's team is probably more accurately guaged by the franchise paraphenalia that is sold each year; given that the Cowboys year in and year out usually end up on top that list I would think they are still America's team. I don't blame the others for being jealous of all the attention the cowboys get. It hurts when your team is not loved. Its just sad. :-)
Posted by: texrj | December 23, 2011 at 04:07 PM
The Cowboys will always be known as America's Team, sorry haters that's just the way it is. Polling 700 people is kind of an inacurate waste. The Cowboys have the highest merchandise sales and highest TV ratings almost every year even after over a decade since winning a superbowl. If the steelers had won last year they would have been the favorite in a halfa$$ poll like this one.
Posted by: Jack | December 23, 2011 at 04:08 PM
IT just gos to show the cowboy haters dont have a clue what is what!So for real to all them is the truth cowboys WILL always be the great AMERICAS team..
Posted by: Eric | December 23, 2011 at 05:10 PM
The term America's Team didnt come from a vote or poll. It was given by the NFL Films archives, so there is no vote. Sorry haters
Posted by: Scott | December 23, 2011 at 05:32 PM
This is CRAZY! If you guys ONLY new how TIRED of the label "AMERICA'S TEAM" Cowboys Fans are it would surprise you. If GB, Pitts, New England or even the 49ers want the title of "AMERICA'S TEAM", you can have it! It you have to take a polls just to take they title you really dont deserve the title though. The Cowboys have this title not because of WINNING but because of their FAN BASE in every city they play in during the football season. You either HATE the Cowboys or Love the Cowboys but no matter what you have an OPINION on the Cowboys if your a NFL fan and this is the difference between the Cowboys and other teams. Until these other teams can DOMINATE all the sports news show in a BAD year like the Cowboys the title will remain on the Dallas Cowboy. Ok, here is a quick test to see if your team is WORTHY of the title for "AMERICA'S TEAM"! When your team was SUBPAR(non-playoff team), did your starting QB's personal life still make the front page of the news paper or the top story in the national news? If your answer is NO, then your team is not equal to the Cowboys and you should just SHUT UP & SIT DOWN!
Posted by: MARCUS DEAN | December 23, 2011 at 05:47 PM
I don't understand this poll, I'm from American and the the cowboys have never been and never will be my team but neither are the Packers.....GO SF 49ers!!!
Posted by: Frank | December 23, 2011 at 07:12 PM
Just look at the condition of our country! It's a MESS! People are losing their jobs, their homes, the economy is bad, unemployment high, Americas team lousy! What more could we want! Cowboys do represent us well :(
Posted by: M Tellez (Giants) | December 23, 2011 at 07:20 PM
So all of you know, this title was bestowed upon us in the 70's by NFL Films. No one can take this away. The title "America's Team" means you either love us or hate us. Those of you who are indifferent to us are not privy to the intense rivalry we shared with, pretty much the entire NFL at the time. We wear the title proud. Just because you go undefeated for a season doesn't mean you are taking the title away. New Orleans tried by being heroes from Katrina and now the Packers. It's not a title given to whoever has the most outstanding record at the end of the season NOR is it given in a "National Survey." This is OUR title to have and hold. GO COWBOYS!!!!
Posted by: CMIC | December 23, 2011 at 08:50 PM
garrett and every other cowgirls fans r suckers and just plain ignorant asses!!!!! I know u wish Drew Brees was ur qb but damnnnnnn....shut up!
Posted by: BG | December 23, 2011 at 08:55 PM
And, Dave, last time I checked, America IS a nation.
Posted by: CMIC | December 23, 2011 at 09:20 PM
I am white, 67 years old (in other words the MAN). I love Michael Vick and believe he is the best thing to happen to the NFL in ages. He is a multi-dimensional QB who brings excitement to the QB position. That's why opposing defenders aren't content with just trying to stop him - they want to injure him out of football.
Posted by: Achilles | December 25, 2011 at 09:56 AM
What a misleading article. It SHOULD read the Eagles are the most popular team.
"Why" you ask.....well I'll tell you. Of the 24% of people polled who said 'another team was their favorite', what the article failed to mention was that 23 out of that 24% was for the Eagles. Sooooo 23% Eagles, 22% Packers, 11% Cowboys and so on.
Otherwise, nice article!
=)
Posted by: Stroh | December 25, 2011 at 04:12 PM
Cowboys have been, still are , and Will be America's team wether people like it or not !! That title was given to the Dallas Cowboys and will remain the same despite of any poll. Is the most hated and loved team worldwide . The packers ?? I highly doubt the people likes the " Cheeseheads" as America's team .
Posted by: Ben | December 26, 2011 at 09:10 AM
Whatever !! How come I didn't get to vote?? Bunch of bandwagons for sure!!
Posted by: Silveradohd | December 27, 2011 at 09:07 AM
To CMIC: sorry to break this to you, but there is no "title" for you to "have and hold" here, just a silly, meaningless 40-year-old designation by NFL films. On the field, your team hasn't been relevant since the mid- 1990s, but America continues to despise the Cowgirls, primarily because they're owned by a singularly obnoxious, self-indulgent jackass and because their fans are the most tiresome, annoying and comically insecure in all of professional sports.
Of course, if you're proud of that, so be it, but bear in mind that only title that really matters in the NFL is Super Bowl wins, and Dallas remains zero for the 21st century in that department. America's team? Sorry, Cowgirl fans, but America doesn't root for losers.
Posted by: BSM | December 27, 2011 at 02:25 PM
the team that won super bowl XLV in jerrys new stadium is americas team. they always have been and always will be
Posted by: marty | January 02, 2012 at 06:37 AM
Look how disgraceful the Packers played the Giants in Playoffs. Sorry when its time to really play they stink. GO COWBOYS
Posted by: Dan | January 15, 2012 at 07:33 PM
Of course the Cowboys are the most hated team. It's because they get all the attention in the world, thats what makes them Americas team. If you did a poll in basketball and baseball the most hated teams would be the Lakers and the Yankees. America's team is supposed to be the most hated team.
Posted by: Bob | January 22, 2012 at 03:33 AM
Go to a Pittsburgh Steelers game ANYWHERE in the NFL and tell me they're not Americas team! We TAKE OVER stadiums! I CAN'T STAND the announcers when they say "Pittsburgh fans travel well." We don't travel well...WE'RE ALREADY THERE!!! I went to a Steelers/Cards game in Arizona and I felt like I was @ Heinz Field! A local Cardinals fan told me the only other team that came close to the amount of Steelers fans present were Dallas fans.
Posted by: mike c | January 22, 2012 at 11:30 AM
Steelers have the most Super Bowl wins...there was only between 10-12 teams in the LEAGUE for 6 of G.B.'s "championships" up to 1960. They won another 3 with only 14 teams in the league between '60-'65...you can't compare em until '67, when the Pack won two "playoff games" and then went on to beat Oakland in the bowl, comparable to a team getting a 1st rd bye in today's era. Before that, it was win your 6 or 7 team CONFERENCE, and then play for the title. G.B. played only one "playoff" in '66 (the Ice Bowl) before winning the first SB vs the Chiefs.
I do give them the title of "the People's Champions" due to the fact that Lambeau field is the only stadium in the league where you can go to a game WITHOUT BEING SEARCHED LIKE YOUR AT THE AIRPORT! Sadly to say, the Rooney's are big time Obama supporters...he duped them just like everyone else....and Alex Jones says football nuts are not informed!
Posted by: mike c | January 22, 2012 at 12:17 PM
Yeah, I guess that means most of America likes fudge packing it then if they like the Greenbay Fudge Packers!!!! WORST team ever!!!!
Posted by: Mark | February 02, 2012 at 04:56 PM