By Kevin Wilkerson, PubClub.com Nightlife Blogger
A survey released after the first weekend of games reveals the booziest NFL fans that drink the most and the least.
According to this survey, which “looked into pregaming and stadium drinking habits,” according to a press release, the booziest fans are those of the Arizona Cardinals. The next-booziest fans are Buffalo Bills followed by the Houston Texans. Packer fans drink the least followed by the Seattle Seahawks, the Pittsburgh Steelers and Miami Dolphins.
You can see the full survey here, which was conducted by Action Network.
Now, as PubClub.com surveys the survey, a few things stand out to me. I do know the survey was focused on the stadium and tailgating and did not include fans at sports bars and watching elsewhere, where there was some heavy drinking going on for fans of some teams. But still…
For starters, Chicago Bears fans are ranked 26th out of the 32 teams. I am not sure what Chicago Bears fans the survey talked to but as someone who knows a lot of people from Chicago and is even a member of a Los Angeles-based organization called WACCO (Western Association of Crazy Chicagoans and Others, me being an “other”), I can tell you from personal experiences and observations that people from Chicago are not light drinkers. Especially when it comes to watching thier sports teams, the Cubs, Bears and Blackhawks. So I strongly disagree with the survey on this one.
Now, I’m not sure exactly when this survey was conducted but regarding the Miami Dolphins it was most certainly not during or after the team’s first game, a complete flop 33-7 loss to Indianapolis, which is hardly an NFL juggernaut that will contend to make it to the Super Bowl. I spent much of that Sunday with a long-time Dolphins fan who was belting out “oh GEEZ,” one turnover and bad play after another. At a bar, he at first ordered a stiff one, then after a couple more “oh GEEZs,” make it a double tall one. “Drinking helps,” he explained. This fan frustraton has been going on for quite some time – Miami has not won a playoff game in 25 years – and I’m pretty sure my friend is not alone in his “drinking helps” game-day philosophy.
Which brings me to another former glory franchise that has fans hitting the bottle – or the bars – the Dallas Cowboys. They have not reached the NFC Championship game in 30 years, since 1995. The survey has them listed only at #11 as heavy drinkers.
The Steelers, whose last playoff win came in 2016, next to least in drinking? Plus, how can you NOT drink when the weather is freezing and there’s nothing else to do in Pittsburgh on Sunday? The survey showed that Steelers drink the least in stadiums: 49% of Pittsburgh fans said they drink at all during games, and 7% reported 5+ drinks.
And how could the New Orleans Saints not be #1? I’ve been to New Orleans many times as well to a = Saints game, and with Bourbon Street and a team that is so historically bad, along with those crazy Cajuns “laissez les bons temps rouler” mentality well, thats a winner to me.
I don’t really have anything to say about Cardinals fans being at the top of the list although there is a lot of partying that goes on in Scottsdale. And I do know about Buffalo Bills fans as there’s a Bills bar right out my door and considering the team is known for losing four straight Super Bowls, losing lately in frustating fashion to even get to the Super Bowl and being located in a freezing cold and windy city which creates huge snowfalls and miserable weather, well, there’s a lot do drink about if you’re a Buffalo Bills fan.
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