The Dallas Cowboys have returned as to its traditional position as America's favorite football team, according to a recent Harris Poll. Last year, the Denver Broncos came in first but this year ranked fourth.

Sharing the number two spot are the Green Bay Packers (up from 3) and the New England Patriots (up from 8).

Holding tight to their 2014 positions, the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Seattle Seahawks remain in fifth and sixth place, respectively.

Meanwhile, the Chicago Bears have worked their way up from ninth to seventh – swapping places with the San Francisco 49ers, who dropped two positions from seventh to ninth.  And falling from second place last year, the New York Giants now stand in eighth place.  Rounding out the top ten is the same team as last year, the New Orleans Saints.

These are some of the results of The Harris Poll of 2,368 general population U.S. adults, along with representative oversamples of 511 Hispanic Americans (interviewed in English and Spanish) and 179 Asian Americans (interviewed in English), surveyed online between September 9 and 17, 2015.  Full results of this study, including data tables, can be found here.

Divided Loyalties

Just because the Cowboys swept the nation overall, doesn't mean they are the top pick across every demographic.

  • The Dallas Cowboys are the favorite among adults 30-64, Southerners, Blacks, and Hispanics.
  • The New England Patriots are the favorite team of American men and adults living on the east coast.
  • Women, Midwesterners, and Whites are most likely to be found throwing their support behind the Green Bay Packers.  The same goes for the youngest (18-24) and oldest (65+) segments of U.S. adults.
  • Americans between 25-29 stand alone in their dedication to the Pittsburgh Steelers, while Westerners and Asians^ are most likely to be found cheering for the San Francisco 49ers.

When should Super Bowl contenders take to the field?

Over half of Americans (54 percent) believe the worst part of Super Bowl Sunday is having to get up the next morning to go to work or school.  One suggestion for fixing this problem is moving the game to the Sunday of Presidents' Day weekend (one to two weeks later than its current schedule), since the Monday that follows is a national holiday when schools and many businesses are closed.

  • Six in ten Americans (59 percent) have an opinion on the subject, with 37 percent supporting the move and 22 percent opposing it; 41 percent have no preference on the matter.
  • Football fans have even stronger feelings on the matter: 46 percent agree that the Super Bowl should move to President's Day weekend, while 27 percent each disagree or have no preference.

Big expectations for the big game

And in case you're one of the 47 percent of Americans (including 23 percent of Football fans) who before now unaware, this season will mark the semi-centennial Super Bowl, and with this milestone comes some big expectations.

74 percent of Americans say that knowing this season's Super Bowl will be the 50th gives them high expectations for the halftime show, and 65 percent (including 70 percent of those who don't follow professional football) say it makes them more likely to watch it.

Where will you watch?

Possibly more important than anything that might happen during the Super Bowl – especially if your own favorite team isn't in the running – is where you'll be watching it.  Three-fourths of Americans (74 percent) say they typically watch the Super Bowl, and over six in ten (63 percent) have a specific place where they typically watch it.  Almost half of Americans (46 percent) typically watch in the comfort of their own home with friends/family, while 14 percent usually watch the Super Bowl at someone else's home.  An additional one in ten Americans (11 percent) say they typically watch the Super Bowl, but that where they watch isn't set in stone.

And while the big game may be a few months away, it doesn't mean that it's too soon for pro football fans to start picking early favorites to take home the trophy.  The New England Patriots are the top early pick to win the big game this February (23 percent), followed by the Seattle Seahawks (15 percent) and the Green Bay Packers (13 percent).

Football fans

Back in January, Americans again crowned football as their favorite sport by a wide margin.  And seeing as the sport has held this position since (at least) 1985, it should come as no surprise that nearly three-fifths (58 percent) of Americans say they follow professional football.  Across regions (61 percent South, 58 percent East, 56 percent Midwest, & 56 percent West) and races (66 percent Blacks, 56 percent Whites, 53 percent Hispanics, & 51 percent Asians), the percentage of football fans doesn't vary much, but the same cannot be said across genders and ages.

  • Far from shocking, men are more likely than women to identify themselves as football fans (69 percent vs. 50 percent, respectively).
  • Meanwhile, adults 18-24 are less likely than their older counterparts to follow football (40 percent vs. anywhere from 55 percent-68 percent among older segments).

Methodology

This Harris Poll was conducted online within the United States between September 9 and 17, 2015 among 2,368 adults (aged 18 and over). Additionally, oversamples were collected in English and Spanish among 511 Hispanic (representing Spanish-dominant, English-dominant and Bilingual profiles) respondents and in English among 179 Asian respondents.