America's favorite football teams?

[ouflak]

Saw this statement in a USAToday article the potentially low ratings for the BCS games (http://www.usatoday.com/sports/columnist/hiestand-tv/2010-12-28-bcs-ratings_N.htm).


... In ESPN's own ongoing, scientific polling of the U.S. population's favorite college football teams, only two BCS teams — top-ranked Ohio State and 10th-ranked Wisconsin — are among America's 10 favorite teams. ...

Anybody know where to find this 'ongoing' poll or its results? I've searched ESPN and Googled to no avail. Thanks!

[soonerloyal]

Try justpulleditoutoftheirarse.com. ;)

[bmjlr]

Try justpulleditoutoftheirarse.com. ;)

That link didn't work :D

[OhU1]

"Eyeball-grabbers like Alabama, Penn State, Texas, Nebraska and Florida are in bowls, but not BCS bowls."

This writer really knows his stuff. Did Texas get the Beef O'Brady invite afterall? I must have missed it.

[...sooner]

"Eyeball-grabbers like Alabama, Penn State, Texas, Nebraska and Florida are in bowls, but not BCS bowls."

This writer really knows his stuff. Did Texas get the Beef O'Brady invite afterall? I must have missed it.

-this? i was confused.

[KantoSooner]

I'm glad to see that USAToday's sports writing is on par with the rest of their 'journalism'.

Must be where all the Mizzou grads get jobs.

[MyT Oklahoma]

Missouri has a journalism school? No kidding.. as in "really"?

[LiveLaughLove]

For the life of me, I don't understand the appeal of the bowl games beyond tradition.

An 8 or 16 team playoff would give them astronomical ratings regardless of whom the teams are playing and how they are matched up.

Let the other 50-60 teams play in those traditional boring money losers but let the top teams make a killing and have a freaking playoff!

If our game was a playoff game both schools would have sold their allotment in hours and would be begging for more.

And no one would give a crap about those eye popping teams not being in it.

[BajaOklahoma]

Wisconsin is one of the Top Ten favorite teams? Really? What did they do, poll the hotel where the Badger band is staying?

[RUSH LIMBAUGH is my clone!]

For the life of me, I don't understand the appeal of the bowl games beyond tradition.

An 8 or 16 team playoff would give them astronomical ratings regardless of whom the teams are playing and how they are matched up.

Let the other 50-60 teams play in those traditional boring money losers but let the top teams make a killing and have a freaking playoff!

If our game was a playoff game both schools would have sold their allotment in hours and would be begging for more.

And no one would give a crap about those eye popping teams not being in it.Apparently, at least some of the bowls make money, with the "guarantees" they impose on the participating schools. The key to getting a playoff might be finding a way to remove those requirements for money from the participating teams, and putting the hurt on the bowls, instead of the colleges.

[Jason]

Great, so now ESPN will lobby to have popularity ratings factored into the BCS formula.

[LiveLaughLove]

Apparently, at least some of the bowls make money, with the "guarantees" they impose on the participating schools. The key to getting a playoff might be finding a way to remove those requirements for money from the participating teams, and putting the hurt on the bowls, instead of the colleges.

Yeah, I'm sure the bowls make money, but the schools don't. So I am mystified as to why the schools would want to keep this system.

It's a Svengali/Lemming hypnotism these bowls seem to have over the schools where they do what's best for the bowls at their own detriment.

Anyway back to the topic, I don't buy Wisconson as a top ten nationally popular team.

[TMcGee86]

Wisconsin is one of the Top Ten favorite teams? Really? What did they do, poll the hotel where the Badger band is staying?

This.

there is no freaking way that Wisconsin is one of the top ten favorite teams in the nation. That is the stupidest thing I have evar heard. They'd be lucky to be in the top ten favorite Big 10 teams.

[WichitaSooner]

It's about TELEVISIONS guys... lol. You are totally missing the point.

[ouflak]

It's about TELEVISIONS guys... lol. You are totally missing the point.

Ok fine. Anybody have a link to this supposed poll on popular college football teams in terms of TV viewership? I'd really like to see this.

[KantoSooner]

google top 100 television markets or something similar.
I did last summer during the great debate over realignment. You have to make judgement calls. For instance, splitting up Iowa, or how much to discount St. Louis as a B12 city, etc.
But the numbers are instructive and do not bode well for the B12 in terms of revenue. We're essentially "Texas and six dwarves".
If that is any measure of 'popularity' then I can understand their point. I don't put a great deal of faith in their model, however, if Wisconsin is listed as a top ten.

[AlboSooner]

Orange Bowl-bound Connecticut

:rolleyes:

[texaspokieokie]

puttin down WI is gonna hurt feelins of Badger.

[SoonerLB]

Surely they mean Wisconsin is one of the top ten 'feel good' teams. You know, it just makes ya feel good if they win five games in a season. ;)

[Leroy Lizard]

Apparently, at least some of the bowls make money, with the "guarantees" they impose on the participating schools. The key to getting a playoff might be finding a way to remove those requirements for money from the participating teams...

It's a free country. If the bowls and the schools want to agree to such terms, that's their choice.

[Leroy Lizard]

google top 100 television markets or something similar.

That would give Columbia and Rutgers huge popularity ratings. The problem is that a huge tv network doesn't guarantee fan appeal. USC, for example, is not nearly as popular as their local tv market would suggest.

[KantoSooner]

Not necessarily, Leroy.
You'll note a little clause I put in my full message about the use of 'judgement', right?
Thus, when considering any particular market, you need to look at what share of that market to 'award' to a given school. Sometimes this may be due to several schools sharing a given market (UCLA and USC, for instance), sometimes it may be due to the lesser popularity of football and/or college football there. That would certainly be the case in NYC and arguably Baltimore/DC.
But, you already knew that, didnya?

[BajaOklahoma]

It's about TELEVISIONS guys... lol. You are totally missing the point.

Even taking into account the population concentration in Big 10 country, it's a reach to considr badgers in the Top Ten. Yes, they are going to the Rose Bowl. But there are going to be a lot of people saying "Badgers? Really."

Next you are going to tell me tcu was in the Top Ten also. And they have fewer graduates each year than my local high school.

[Leroy Lizard]

Not necessarily, Leroy.
You'll note a little clause I put in my full message about the use of 'judgement', right?
Thus, when considering any particular market, you need to look at what share of that market to 'award' to a given school. Sometimes this may be due to several schools sharing a given market (UCLA and USC, for instance), sometimes it may be due to the lesser popularity of football and/or college football there. That would certainly be the case in NYC and arguably Baltimore/DC.
But, you already knew that, didnya?

How in the Hell do you pull that off? What percentage of the New Jersey population do you assign Rutgers?

[OUthunder]

Wisconsin is one of the Top Ten favorite teams? Really? What did they do, poll the hotel where the Badger band is staying?

No way that they're top ten. I can see Ohio State and Texas being up there, but Wisconsin? No way!

[Leroy Lizard]

I can't recall encountering anyone wearing Wisconsin gear.

[delhalew]

Don't Google tv markets. Google ratings. The only game with higher rankings than the big 12 champ game this year was the SEC game.
OUs big games always lead in the ratings.

[ELP Sooner]

I noticed something concerning travel of fans. Wiskey has had about 9 charter passenger jets go from Madison to LAX...impressive. Nebraska had about 6 go from Lincoln to San Diego. Any bowl would be glad to have those schools.

[John Kochtoston]

I did a story a couple of years ago that touched on the top teams as far as merchandise sales, and OU was No. 10. Of course, that was the year OU went to the BCS title game and the Elite Eight, so I don't know if we're up there year in, year out.

[Soonerson1975]

I'd rather be one of the 10 most hated teams in America than one of the 10 most loved. It means your doing something right.

[KantoSooner]

How in the Hell do you pull that off? What percentage of the New Jersey population do you assign Rutgers?

Oh, for Heaven's sake! First off, we're essentially agreeing with each other and second my "point" was painfully obvious. Why do you insist of turning every exchange into an argument?

You can/could choose whatever logic you wish in terms of 'awarding' some percentage of the New Jersey teevee market to Rutgers to determine some mythological 'popularity' rating. It's got to be above 0% because some people there went to Rutgers and it's fair to assume more than 1 would be a Rutgers fan. It's also fair to assume that at least 1 could not care less; so it's under 100%.

The same sort of logic would indicate the unliklihood, in my opinion, of Wisco-Disco being a 'top ten' 'popular' team. Which was, long ago, where this thread began.

That'll be me on this fascinating issue. If you wish, peem me and we can continue our semantic bantering in private. I get the feeling we bore our audience when the exchange gets beyond 4-5 rounds. Cheers.

[proudsoonergal]

:pop:

[SpankyNek]

Oklahoma City is consistently a Top 5 college football market (By share..not total viewership) according to Nielsen.

Bedlam is traditionally one of the top 3 broadcasts on FSN yearly.

I no longer pay to see these numbers, and OUI no longer lets me access my old "thesis" on the subject, but about 1/4th of all households in the state of OK watch OU football games (About HALF watched the 08 title game).