Falcons head coach Dan Quinn wants Atlanta fans to be louder at the Georgia Dome. He may be want them to be more vocal outside the home stadium.
According to a study by a pair of Emory professors, Atlanta fans are middle of the road.
Through a calculation called the "Dynamic Fan Equity," which takes into account fans' willingness to spend and social media banter -- read, 15 years of attendance figures, plus 4 years of social media mining -- the professors pit Falcons fans as 19th best (of 32 teams) in the NFL.
Here's how they explain it:
Fan Equity is based on the most important consumer trait – willingness to spend. Social Equity captures fan support that occurs beyond the walls of the stadium and skews towards a younger demographic. The key insight that allows for the two measures to be combined is that there is a significant relationship between the Social Media Equity trend and the Fan Equity measure. Social media performance turns out to be a strong leading indicator for financial performance.
Supporters of the reigning 'Deflategate' champions New England Patriots top the list of best fans. The Dallas Cowboys. Denver Broncos, San Francisco 49ers and Philadelphia Eagles round up the top 5.
Fans in Miami, Buffalo, St. Louis (is this why the Rams left for L.A.?), Kansas City, Oakland and Jacksonville do less spending and less cheering than those in any other NFL city.
Training camp is right around the corner, so start crowing about the Birds and Matt Ryan. It's your duty, Atlanta.
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