But, if there is one thing that is constantly debated amongst EPL and NFL fans, alike, it's which fan base is stronger, more enthusiastic, and most importantly, more passionate.
A recent study attempted to answer this long awaited debate, after surveying 300 EPL fans living in the U.K., as well as 300 NFL fans residing in the U.S. Whether the results of this study come to you as a shock, or not, here is a compiled list of the study's findings:
1. EPL Fans Consistently Demonstrated A Tendency To Be More Passionate About Their Club, Spending More Time & Money Supporting It Than An NFL Fan
Now, this finding may be one of those that doesn't necessarily come as a shock to football fans. According to the study, "the majority of EPL fans are defined by the support for their team," so these fans are more likely to invest time and money in leu of this idea. The study actually found that, on average, EPL fans attend 30% of home matches, while the average NFL fan only attends relatively 15% of home games.
2. NFL Fans Are More Likely To Watch Games On TV
Overall, the study found that the average NFL fan will view 79% of their teams' games on TV, which is roughly equivalent to watching the entire regular football season on TV. On the contrary, EPL fans watch an average of two-thirds of their teams' games on TV.
3. Home, Sweet Home Advantage: EPL
Unlike NFL games, which heavily rely on cheerleaders and big screens to generate enthusiasm, the EPL has mastered the art of entertainment. According to the study, the atmosphere of a home field advantage is one of the primary reasons a fan is driven to attend a game.
4. EPL Fans More Likely to Spend Income On Club-Related Expenditures
Although both fans of the EPL and NFL are likely to spend an average of 12% of their money income on club/team-related items, fans of the EPL have a tendency to spend more. According to the table above, roughly 51% of EPL fans spend 6% or more of their monthly income, while only 40% of NFL fans do the same.
5. EPL Fans More Likely To Search For Club-Related Information Online
With the growing age of technology, information relating to sports teams have become increasingly more accessible for fans. Even so, fans of the EPL far surpass their NFL counterparts in terms of seeking team information online. While 44% of NFL fans engage in online interaction, nearly 61% of EPL fans readily seek information regarding their favorite club.
So, it's clear from the data above that, on more than one account, fans of the EPL seem to surpass fans of the NFL with respect to individual club and league enthusiasm. Even though the facts may be concrete, does this data truly prove that EPL fans are more passionate? Yes, they may clearly invest more time and money in their clubs, but is that truly a measurement of passion?
Futbol is the only truly dominate sport in England. Therefore, nearly everyone is a futbol fan and has support towards one team or another. This is no debate between which sport to watch, only which team to support. On the other hand, the US has multiple sports that dominate the industry such as football, basketball, baseball, and hockey. Therefore, the fan base of these areas have a wider range of sports and teams to split up between. Comparing the amount of passion between these two is impossible. There are too many factors that are not shared between the two which do not make it an accurate comparison.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with your argument, which is why I posed the question in the first place. When I came across this article I found it very interesting that the study focused so narrowly on comparing NFL fans to EPL fans. While I understand the similarities between the sports, you're right. There are a number of sports that dominate in American culture, as compared to football in Europe, which is the single dominating sport. In that respect, I, too, think it's impossible to compare the passion.
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