FanPost

Academic Study: Colts Fans Some of the Most Loyal in the League

If you were to take the opinions of our dearly beloved leader Brad Wells (who I actually like quite a bit) as absolute truth, then you would believe that Indianapolis Colts fans are "fair weather" and simply not loyal to their team. He points to things like a reduction in demand for season tickets after a poor season and Peyton's departure, in spite of the fact that the games were sold out every single day.

Now, with any study one must take the analysis with a grain of salt, and I do in this one as well. However, a recent study using a scientific and rather objective metric that ranked each of the NFL fan bases. While I have a slight problem with some of the metrics (for example, a team with high revenue but poor quality of play is favored, resulting a higher ranking for the Jets than Giants, which I don't buy into), for the most part it is a logical way of analyzing fan loyalty because, as they say:

A ranking based on attendance would be skewed toward teams that play in more populated metropolitan areas, and a ranking based on profitability or revenues would be biased in favor of teams that are currently enjoying more on-field success.

...we adjust for these complicating factors using a revenue premium model of fan equity. The key idea is that we look at team box office revenues relative to team on-field success, market population, stadium capacity, median income and other factors. The first step in our procedure involves the creation of a statistical model that predicts box office revenue as a function of the aforementioned variables. We then compare actual revenues to the revenues predicted by the model. Teams with relatively stronger fan support will have revenues that exceed the predicted values, and teams that under perform have relatively less supportive fan bases.

Using a primarily revenue based model, which is defended here, the professors from Emory University have determined that our very own Indy Colts have the sixth most loyal fans in the NFL.

Nfl-brand-equity_medium

via blogs.emory.edu

Now, Colts fans, let's celebrate the fact that accounting for things like metro area and affluence of fans, we are some of the most loyal fans in the NFL.

This is a FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of Stampede Blue's writers or editors. It does reflect the views of this particular fan though, which is as important as the views of Stampede Blue's writers or editors.