Americans rooting for the 49ers Sunday

Raleigh, N.C. – PPP's 4th annual Super Bowl poll finds Americans rooting for the 49ers over the Ravens on Sunday by a 33/25 margin, although a 42% plurality don't care one way or the other who wins the big game.

The preference for the Niners holds true across party lines. Democrats (36/24), independents (29/21), and Republicans (34/28) are all pulling for San Francisco. The only groups we track who are rooting for the Ravens are African Americans (30/24), young voters (31/25), and the incongruous ideological groupings of 'somewhat liberal' voters (36/35) and 'very conservative' ones (27/23).

Having the upper hand in the court of public opinion has boded well for the eventual Super Bowl winning team in the three years we've been doing this poll. In 2010 we found Americans pulling for the Saints over the Colts 32/22, in 2011 we found a 43/27 preference for the Packers over the Steelers, and last year the Giants beat out the Patriots 37/27.

“Americans are more closely divided about the Super Bowl this year than any year since we started polling it,” said Dean Debnam, President of Public Policy Polling. “But a larger than normal number of voters also just don’t care who wins this year.”

We also asked Americans what they thought about retiring Ravens star Ray Lewis. Despite the massive amount of press coverage he's received in the last month, only 42% of voters have an opinion about him. When we did a poll about 9 different Quarterbacks in December, more than 50% of voters were familiar with every single one of them. That's a good measure of how hard it often is for defensive players to get the respect they deserve.

Lewis is not a terribly popular figure with 18% of voters holding a favorable opinion of him to 24% with a negative one. There's a pretty big ideological divide about him with liberals giving him positive marks by a 26/20 spread, but conservatives rating him down 10/26.

PPP surveyed 500 Americans on January 31st. The margin of error for the survey is +/-4.4%. This poll was not paid for or authorized by any campaign or political organization. PPP surveys are conducted through automated telephone interviews.

Topline results are below.  Full results, including crosstabs, can be found here.

Q1 In the Super Bowl on Sunday, are you rooting
for the Baltimore Ravens or the San Francisco
49ers, or are you not sure?
Ravens............................................................ 25%
49ers............................................................... 33%
Not sure .......................................................... 42%

Q2 Do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion
of Ray Lewis?
Favorable........................................................ 18%
Unfavorable .................................................... 24%
Not sure .......................................................... 58%

Q3 In the last presidential election, did you vote for
Barack Obama or Mitt Romney?
Barack Obama................................................ 49%
Mitt Romney.................................................... 46%
Someone else/Don't remember ...................... 4%

Q4 Would you describe yourself as very liberal,
somewhat liberal, moderate, somewhat
conservative, or very conservative?
Very liberal ...................................................... 13%
Somewhat liberal ............................................ 15%
Moderate......................................................... 29%
Somewhat conservative.................................. 26%
Very conservative ........................................... 17%

Q5 If you are a woman, press 1. If a man, press 2.
Woman ........................................................... 51%
Man................................................................. 49%

Q6 If you are a Democrat, press 1. If a Republican,
press 2. If you are an independent or identify
with another party, press 3.
Democrat ........................................................ 40%
Republican...................................................... 35%
Independent/Other.......................................... 26%

Q7 If you are Hispanic, press 1. If white, press 2.
If African-American, press 3. If other, press 4.
Hispanic.......................................................... 12%
White .............................................................. 70%
African-American ............................................ 10%
Other............................................................... 8%

Q8 If you are 18 to 29 years old, press 1. If 30 to
45, press 2. If 46 to 65, press 3. If you are
older than 65, press 4.
18 to 29........................................................... 15%
30 to 45........................................................... 25%
46 to 65........................................................... 40%
Older than 65.................................................. 20%