Raleigh, N.C. – The Dallas Cowboys get touted as “America’s Team,” but PPP’s latest poll shows that, at least right now, the until-recently undefeated Green Bay Packers deserve that moniker, with twice as many fans nationally as the Cowboys. 22% say the Packers are their favorite team, from a list of nine, while 11% prefer the Cowboys, 8% each the Chicago Bears, New York Giants, and Pittsburgh Steelers, 7% the New Orleans Saints, 6% the New England Patriots, 4% the Washington Redskins, and 2% the New York Jets. 24% root for someone else or are not sure.
The Cowboys are, if anything, America’s most hated team. Twice as many (22%) say Dallas is their least favorite team as that they are #1. That is also twice as many as hate the next challenger, the Bears (11%), followed by the Packers (8%), Pats and Redskins (7%), Steelers (6%), Giants and Jets (4%), and Saints (1%). Indeed, in a head-to-head, even more fans line up with the Packers against the Cowboys. Between the two, 49% of American voters like Green Bay more, and only 28% prefer Dallas.
Despite his team’s prominence in fans’ hearts right now, and despite his astronomical numbers in a recent PPP poll of Wisconsin, the Packers’ Aaron Rodgers is the most anonymous of nine QBs tested nationally, and not the most beloved. 53% have no opinion of him, 39% see him favorably, and only 8% unfavorably—strong numbers, but not compared to the injured Peyton Manning’s 51-9, Drew Brees’ 46-6, Tim Tebow’s 50-15, or Eli Manning’s 44-12. He does best Tom Brady’s 35-17, the Cowboys’ Tony Romo’s 23-27, Ben Roethlisberger’s 20-31, and Michael Vick’s 24-43.
The numbers are much less clear when the quarterbacks are listed than when the teams are, but among the nine, Tebow is America’s favorite right now (15%), followed closely by the Mannings (14% for Eli and 12% for Peyton), 10% for each Brees, Rodgers, and Brady, 6% for Vick, and 4% for Big Ben and Romo. At 26%, Vick is by far their least favorite, followed by Big Ben (15%), Eli Manning (11%), Brady (8%), and Romo (6%).
PPP surveyed 700 American voters from December 16th to 18th. The margin of error for the survey is +/-3.7%. This poll was not paid for or authorized by any campaign or political organization. PPP surveys are conducted through automated telephone interviews. PPP is a Democratic polling company, but polling expert Nate Silver of the New York Times found that its surveys in 2010 actually exhibited a slight bias toward Republican candidates.
Topline results are below. Full results, including crosstabs, can be found here.
Q1 Now we’re going to ask some questions about
football. Do you have a favorable or
unfavorable opinion of Tom Brady?
Favorable……………………………………………….. 35%
Unfavorable ……………………………………………. 17%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 48%
Q2 Do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion
of Drew Brees?
Favorable……………………………………………….. 46%
Unfavorable ……………………………………………. 6%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 47%
Q3 Do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion
of Eli Manning?
Favorable……………………………………………….. 44%
Unfavorable ……………………………………………. 12%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 43%
Q4 Do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion
of Peyton Manning?
Favorable……………………………………………….. 51%
Unfavorable ……………………………………………. 9%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 40%
Q5 Do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion
of Aaron Rodgers?
Favorable……………………………………………….. 39%
Unfavorable ……………………………………………. 8%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 53%
Q6 Do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion
of Ben Roethlisberger?
Favorable……………………………………………….. 20%
Unfavorable ……………………………………………. 31%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 49%
Q7 Do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion
of Tony Romo?
Favorable……………………………………………….. 23%
Unfavorable ……………………………………………. 27%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 50%
Q8 Do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion
of Tim Tebow?
Favorable……………………………………………….. 50%
Unfavorable ……………………………………………. 15%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 35%
Q9 Do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion
of Michael Vick?
Favorable……………………………………………….. 24%
Unfavorable ……………………………………………. 43%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 33%
Q10 Given the choices of Tom Brady, Drew Brees,
Eli Manning, Peyton Manning, Aaron Rodgers,
Ben Roethlisberger, Tony Romo, Tim Tebow,
and Michael Vick, who is your favorite NFL
quarterback?
Tom Brady ……………………………………………… 10%
Drew Brees…………………………………………….. 10%
Eli Manning…………………………………………….. 14%
Peyton Manning………………………………………. 12%
Aaron Rodgers………………………………………… 10%
Ben Roethlisberger ………………………………….. 4%
Tony Romo……………………………………………… 4%
Tim Tebow ……………………………………………… 15%
Michael Vick……………………………………………. 6%
Someone else/Not sure ……………………………. 15%
Q11 Given the same list of choices, who is your
least favorite NFL quarterback?
Tom Brady ……………………………………………… 8%
Drew Brees…………………………………………….. 3%
Eli Manning…………………………………………….. 11%
Peyton Manning………………………………………. 3%
Aaron Rodgers………………………………………… 3%
Ben Roethlisberger ………………………………….. 15%
Tony Romo……………………………………………… 6%
Tim Tebow ……………………………………………… 5%
Michael Vick……………………………………………. 26%
Someone else/Not sure ……………………………. 19%
Q12 Given the choices of the Chicago Bears, Dallas
Cowboys, Green Bay Packers, New England
Patriots, New York Giants, New York Jets, New
Orleans Saints, Pittsburgh Steelers, and
Washington Redskins, which is your favorite
NFL team?
Bears …………………………………………………….. 8%
Cowboys………………………………………………… 11%
Packers………………………………………………….. 22%
Patriots ………………………………………………….. 6%
Giants ……………………………………………………. 8%
Jets ……………………………………………………….. 2%
Saints…………………………………………………….. 7%
Steelers………………………………………………….. 8%
Redskins………………………………………………… 4%
Someone else/Not sure ……………………………. 24%
Q13 Given the same list of choices, which is your
least favorite NFL team?
Bears …………………………………………………….. 11%
Cowboys………………………………………………… 22%
Packers………………………………………………….. 8%
Patriots ………………………………………………….. 7%
Giants ……………………………………………………. 4%
Jets ……………………………………………………….. 4%
Saints…………………………………………………….. 1%
Steelers………………………………………………….. 6%
Redskins………………………………………………… 7%
Someone else/Not sure ……………………………. 28%
Q14 Do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion
of the Dallas Cowboys?
Favorable……………………………………………….. 29%
Unfavorable ……………………………………………. 41%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 30%
Q15 Do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion
of the Green Bay Packers?
Favorable……………………………………………….. 57%
Unfavorable ……………………………………………. 13%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 30%
Q16 Which team do you like more: the Dallas
Cowboys or Green Bay Packers?
Cowboys………………………………………………… 28%
Packers………………………………………………….. 49%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 22%
Q17 Would you describe yourself as very liberal,
somewhat liberal, moderate, somewhat
conservative, or very conservative?
Very liberal ……………………………………………… 12%
Somewhat liberal …………………………………….. 18%
Moderate………………………………………………… 27%
Somewhat conservative……………………………. 24%
Very conservative ……………………………………. 19%
Q18 If you are a woman, press 1. If a man, press 2.
Woman ………………………………………………….. 50%
Man……………………………………………………….. 50%
Q19 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…………………………………… 24%
Q20 If you are Hispanic, press 1. If white, press 2.
If African-American, press 3. If other, press 4.
Hispanic…………………………………………………. 8%
White …………………………………………………….. 74%
African-American …………………………………….. 12%
Other……………………………………………………… 7%
Q21 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………………………………………………….. 16%
30 to 45………………………………………………….. 28%
46 to 65………………………………………………….. 36%
Older than 65………………………………………….. 20%
