What recent data shows about Cowboys popularity

[Risen Star]

At some point we have to rein in this guy's hate.

 

[john van brocklin]

In 1979, NFL Films famously created the moniker “America’s Team” for the Dallas Cowboys because of their tremendous popularity across the entire American landscape. Over 40 years later, the Cowboys are still enormously popular. Every Cowboys road stadium still contains a significant number of Cowboys fans. For decades, the Cowboys have usually continued to be a big draw for national TV ratings.

Despite 25 years of mediocrity and only 4 playoff wins- none beyond the wild card round- the Cowboys have remained popular. It’s a testament to the power of its brand that had been built since the success of the team in the 70s and 90s.

However, looking at some recent data from a couple of studies done at Murray State University and Emory State University about the popularity of sports teams, shows the Cowboys national popularity dipping. Among the all all important demographic of 18-34 year old fans, the Cowboys have dropped from their once dominant position.

Here’s some interesting data collected on the popularity of the Cowboys comparing its popularity in 1996 to 2020. Some interesting tidbits:

• In 1996, the Cowboys were the most popular pro football team for fans in the 18-34 demographic. That year, a whopping 25% of fans listed the Cowboys as their favorite football team. The 49ers were a distant 2nd at 11.4%.
• By 2020, the Cowboys were still in the top 5 most popular football teams, but their popularity among 18-34 year olds had dropped to 7.5%. (The pats were #1)
• The NFL as a whole has become less popular among younger fans, although the reasons are not as clear.

Again, the Cowboys are still a very popular team in America. It shows the power of the iconic brand built over 60 seasons. If this team can ever get another deep playoff run going again, imagine how popular they would be. Winning cures all ills.

Here’s a link to the article that has a lot of this info. Most of the stats are toward the end.
https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/the...Y8xyvYZ1621y0zhBep6eJDkEIEZBGydRHsOUp5mVlPbOD

Jerry keeps meddling, popularity is gonna continue to drop.
People like winners

 

[Reid1boys]

Here’s a good article from the Aspen Institute on kids sports and participation numbers. It shows the most popular sports among younger kids to be baseball, basketball and soccer. It also shows that participation numbers have dropped about 4% for football while showing numbers up for other kids sports. I think that has a lot to do with concussion research.

Here’s the article link:
https://www.aspenprojectplay.org/youth-sports-facts/participation-rates

There are many reasons for those numbers.

Would you agree that baseball used to DOMINATE the landscape in this country back in the 30s, 40s, 50s, and 60s? What was the reason for that? As things change in the country, internet, video games, general attitudes towards hard work, sensitivity levels....as all those change, it changes how sports are viewed. At 13 playing football, it was damn hard. Coaches pushed you in practice in heat to do things you didnt enjoy doing. I remember our coach telling us that we could be home drinking a Dr. Pepper, but we chose to be here in the heat, busting our ***. He would also yell and scream at you.... those days are OVER. You yell at today's kids and they would go straight home to mom and dad and cry about how mean the coach was. They would quit football and go home and play video games.
It is no shock, when you add in concussion studies as to why participation in youth football is dropping like a rock. I dont expect that trend to change much. The sport is too tough for today's young kids.

The NCAA is actually talking about allowing athletes to UNIONIZE. When that happens, it will be the end of NCAA sports. Hey coach.... I cant run today, it violates our contract as we have already ran 2 days this week......smh

 

[Bobhaze]

Just curious.... do you think Robert Kraft is doing things the "Right way?" I assume yes...... so lets see how much his "Right ways," continue with his wonder boy gone. Amazing how having the right QB turns the owners into good ones, same with coaches and GMs.

Yes…Having a great QB is huge. But obviously not everything. Why hasn’t Aaron Rodgers won more than one SB? Drew Brees has only won one. How about Russell Wilson? Is he ever going to win another? Was Tony Romo not “good enough” to have at least ever won a divisional playoff game? Or is it more than that?

Regarding Kraft…he changed how he ran his organization- from being Jerry like to delegating football decisions to football experts. So yes, “his way” of doing things has produced better results. Results always speak for themselves.

And back to my question for you…do you have some evidence in the form of an article regarding football being as popular as ever with youth sports? If not, that’s fine. I’m open to being wrong.

 

[CouchCoach]

The NFL and Cowboys aren't concerned as long as the NFL leads in live TV and the advertisers need that. However, the future could be a little different as these people that don't use the NFL now aren't going to when they turn 35 and those 18-34 parents aren't raising their kids on the NFL like some of us did.

The options today for entertainment are not just more than when I was 18-34, they are 5 fold more and continuing to grow. If I had the choices back then that I have now, I do not think my NFL time spent watching would have been close to what it was. Hard to compare Pong to the video game offerings today and that is going to continue, that business is just going to continue to dominate. In 2020, the video game industry matched the NFL with hard sales in the 15B arena. However, they did 10X that in the digital, that's 173B total. Think they're watching the NFL and playing video games at the same time?

The saving grace for the NFL was the creation of fantasy football because without that, they would be hand wringing about the future of their business. I know some don't like it but that one creation is responsible for any growth. Go to any sports bar and listen in on the conversations of the under 40 crowd, fantasy ball is the difference between the NFL being what it is or like MLB, NBA and NHL.

Technology leads the way but just how has that benefitted the NFL? Sunday Ticket? The numbers decline every year. The experiment with interactive elements and controlling the camera shots failed miserably, the NFL is a passive entertainment only accompanied by the 12 oz curls.

I don't ask why the 18-34's don't like the NFL, I ask why should they? The first sign was when ABC moved MNF to ESPN because they were losing 18-34 males to Turner's wrestling. That demographic has never returned.

 

[Kwyn]

They are living off olds. Most young people view them as a joke. In Dallas, they take a back seat to Luka and the Mavs with the youth.

If you think the Mavs are more popular in Dallas then you are crazy

The Cowboys were more popular than the Mavs the year after the Mavs won the title and had Dirk at the pinnacle of his career

This is a Cowboy town and always will be.

Also, your take on the demographics is wrong

They are the most popular team in the country for fans ages 12+ and 2nd in the 18-24 demo. That hardly qualifies as a “joke”.

I think you are projecting your own negative feelings about the team onto the entire fandom.

 

[Bobhaze]

At some point we have to rein in this guy's hate.

But it’s so much fun!

 

[Redball Express]

In 1979, NFL Films famously created the moniker “America’s Team” for the Dallas Cowboys because of their tremendous popularity across the entire American landscape. Over 40 years later, the Cowboys are still enormously popular. Every Cowboys road stadium still contains a significant number of Cowboys fans. For decades, the Cowboys have usually continued to be a big draw for national TV ratings.

Despite 25 years of mediocrity and only 4 playoff wins- none beyond the wild card round- the Cowboys have remained popular. It’s a testament to the power of its brand that had been built since the success of the team in the 70s and 90s.

However, looking at some recent data from a couple of studies done at Murray State University and Emory State University about the popularity of sports teams, shows the Cowboys national popularity dipping. Among the all all important demographic of 18-34 year old fans, the Cowboys have dropped from their once dominant position.

Here’s some interesting data collected on the popularity of the Cowboys comparing its popularity in 1996 to 2020. Some interesting tidbits:

• In 1996, the Cowboys were the most popular pro football team for fans in the 18-34 demographic. That year, a whopping 25% of fans listed the Cowboys as their favorite football team. The 49ers were a distant 2nd at 11.4%.
• By 2020, the Cowboys were still in the top 5 most popular football teams, but their popularity among 18-34 year olds had dropped to 7.5%. (The pats were #1)
• The NFL as a whole has become less popular among younger fans, although the reasons are not as clear.

Again, the Cowboys are still a very popular team in America. It shows the power of the iconic brand built over 60 seasons. If this team can ever get another deep playoff run going again, imagine how popular they would be. Winning cures all ills.

Here’s a link to the article that has a lot of this info. Most of the stats are toward the end.
https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/the...Y8xyvYZ1621y0zhBep6eJDkEIEZBGydRHsOUp5mVlPbOD

Only the Jones worry about this. The average fan could care less. It's all about the game on the field not the one in the background. This will be a short thread.Who cares ?

 

[Reid1boys]

Jerry is a master salesman. He uses the formula or turning players into personalities and then using those personalities to sell his team. I don't know Jerry well enough to know if he chooses branding over winning, but he is brilliant at the former.[/Q

Well I certainly agree with you that casual fans come and go usually depending on if the team is winning. I don’t consider my sons to be “fair weather fans”. Their giving up on the Cowboys hasn’t been based on wins and losses. It’s been based on their lack of respect for who’s running it. My sons have stayed very loyal to the Mavericks through thick and thin. Why? Because they believe the people running it are doing things the right way.

Can you show us any data on football staying as popular? You seem confident, so I assume you have some evidence.

.

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/tv-long-view-nfl-ratings-dominance-2020-4124795/
This is just 1 article, not a study. The thing the broadcast networks "Ratings," dont account for is the ton of people watching games online. People are streaming games illegally like crazy as to avoid paying for the NFL sunday ticket.


https://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/ct-spt-nfl-revenue-super-bowl-20190128-story.html


So looking at ratings as a way to determine NFL popularity doesnt tell the whole story. Im trying to look at overall revenue.... and that is skyrocketing. The new TV deal was a MONSTER for the NFL. Would all those networks and online sites be shelling our record numbers for a sport that is starting to "Wane," in popularity? I think not

 

[Reality]

I still believe ...

 

[12+88=7]

Bob, I responded to you on another thread about Dallas being "America's Team".

I listed TV ratings, road attendance, and social media followers as categories that Dallas led all NFL teams. And the category of social media Dallas was well ahead of #2 Pittsburgh.

The social media category might be the most important catergory these days(even though I have ZERO social media). This is where the fans share their thoughts, views, and love for their team.

Dallas will continue to be America's Team, not just in football, but all sports. The only team that can challenge them are the New York Yankees.

 

[Reid1boys]

Jerry keeps meddling, popularity is gonna continue to drop.
People like winners

meddling is what people do when they try to put themselves into SOMEONE ELSES business.

Jerry owns the team... him making decisions is not meddling.

 

[9darter]

meddling is what people do when they try to put themselves into SOMEONE ELSES business.

Jerry owns the team... him making decisions is not meddling.

 

[Reid1boys]

Bob, I responded to you on another thread about Dallas being "America's Team".

I listed TV ratings, road attendance, and social media followers as categories that Dallas led all NFL teams. And the category of social media Dallas was well ahead of #2 Pittsburgh.

The social media category might be the most important catergory these days(even though I have ZERO social media). This is where the fans share their thoughts, views, and love for their team.

Dallas will continue to be America's Team, not just in football, but all sports. The only team that can challenge them are the New York Yankees.

yep, and the Yankees are the only team that is even remotely close. Facts.... they are stubborn.

 

[Zordon]

If you think the Mavs are more popular in Dallas then you are crazy

The Cowboys were more popular than the Mavs the year after the Mavs won the title and had Dirk at the pinnacle of his career

This is a Cowboy town and always will be.

Also, your take on the demographics is wrong

They are the most popular team in the country for fans ages 12+ and 2nd in the 18-24 demo. That hardly qualifies as a “joke”.

I think you are projecting your own negative feelings about the team onto the entire fandom.

Where did I say that the Mavs were more popular than the Cowboys in Dallas? Fix your reading comprehension next time you address me.

 

[Bobhaze]

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/tv-long-view-nfl-ratings-dominance-2020-4124795/
This is just 1 article, not a study. The thing the broadcast networks "Ratings," dont account for is the ton of people watching games online. People are streaming games illegally like crazy as to avoid paying for the NFL sunday ticket.


https://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/ct-spt-nfl-revenue-super-bowl-20190128-story.html


So looking at ratings as a way to determine NFL popularity doesnt tell the whole story. Im trying to look at overall revenue.... and that is skyrocketing. The new TV deal was a MONSTER for the NFL. Would all those networks and online sites be shelling our record numbers for a sport that is starting to "Wane," in popularity? I think not

Thanks for sharing these. I read both. Each article mentioned both the continued popularity of the NFL along with some decline in popularity. The NFL and the Cowboys remain very popular. The NFLs ratings are still great. But as the articles both point out, they have lost some younger fans. And the NFL’s embrace of gambling is a sign of their need to add that to their tool box to remain as financially stable.

Anyway good stuff. Btw, when I was talking about articles and evidence, I was referring to anything you might have read regarding youth sports.

 

[Jake]

If you think the Mavs are more popular in Dallas then you are crazy

No one said that. Bob said his kids like the Mavs and think the Cowboys are a joke.

Not hard to understand how a young person could see things that way. They're going by what they've seen, rather than stuff that happened decades ago.

 

[MarcusRock]

This is not great news for our resident conspiracy theorists. When the NFL starts to falter and our popularity is still declining they can't just order up a few Cowboys Super Bowl victories to jump start public interest like they did for us back in the 90s.

Lol.

 

[Creeper]

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/tv-long-view-nfl-ratings-dominance-2020-4124795/
This is just 1 article, not a study. The thing the broadcast networks "Ratings," dont account for is the ton of people watching games online. People are streaming games illegally like crazy as to avoid paying for the NFL sunday ticket.


https://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/ct-spt-nfl-revenue-super-bowl-20190128-story.html


So looking at ratings as a way to determine NFL popularity doesnt tell the whole story. Im trying to look at overall revenue.... and that is skyrocketing. The new TV deal was a MONSTER for the NFL. Would all those networks and online sites be shelling our record numbers for a sport that is starting to "Wane," in popularity? I think not

First, TV networks are not infallible. AT&T shelled out tons of money for DirecTV which shelled out billions for NFL Sunday Ticket. DirecTV is losing money on Sunday ticket, and losing subscribers, and AT&T is losing money on DirecTV. If NFL ratings are truly declining as some speculate, then the networks will suffer from reduced revenues - though this does not mean they will not still make a profit. If ratings drop, at some point advertisers will refuse to pay the asking rates for commercial time.

There are surveys showing that football popularity is in decline in the US. There are multiple reasons given, including the discussions about football injuries, and the NFL covering up concussion data. In some parts of the country, kids are not participating in football programs at the same rate they used to. This is clearly an early indicator of things to come. There are other reasons fans are leaving I cannot get into here. What we do not know yet is if the results of these surveys will translate into lower TV ratings and revenues. The NFL claims the lower ratings were from 2020 being an election year and COVID drawing everyone's attention. Perhaps, and maybe the networks are buying those excuses. I am sure the NFL presented them with some marketing strategies showing how the NFL will grow it viewership and boost revenues for the networks, and I am sure network lackeys did the same for network executives. Time will tell who is right but TV and streaming viewership for the Super Bowl in 2021 were the lowest since 2007. The Super Bowl was post election. I don't see how COVID could possibly effect TV viewership other than to boost it. I think the problem is there were two small market teams playing and not much fan interest. It is the lack of fan interest for its biggest game that should concern the NFL

I look at what happened to baseball and I think the same thing can happen to the NFL. Baseball was once the most popular sport by far in the US. But it was overtaken by the NFL. Baseball lost its audience. For me it became too boring. The games got too long. The time between pitches increased to an excruciating delay in the game. Baseball still draws millions of fans but it is clearly not as popular as it used to be.

In fact almost every major sport has had a peak in popularity followed by a steep decline. Bowling, tennis, basketball, hockey, and soon golf, once Tiger Woods retires, have all seen significant declines in popularity after record popularity. I don't think the NFL is immune to this same phenomenon. Some of these sports have been completely dropped by the major networks.

The NFL is attempting to build its markets by promoting American football overseas. Maybe it works. Professional baseball is immensely popular in Asia and in parts of Latin America. Major League Baseball has attracted some international attention by signing foreign players to MLB contracts. The NFL is toying with that too but there are few foreign countries where American football is played so integrating foreign players into the league is less of a possibility. Instead, the NFL is bringing the American players to other countries hoping the glimpse of American football will create some interest there. I don't see how that benefits US TV networks, but maybe they know more about that than I do.

In any case, I do not believe the Networks shelling out the money they have is a foretelling of the future of the NFL.

 

[Bobhaze]

First, TV networks are not infallible. AT&T shelled out tons of money for DirecTV which shelled out billions for NFL Sunday Ticket. DirecTV is losing money on Sunday ticket, and losing subscribers, and AT&T is losing money on DirecTV. If NFL ratings are truly declining as some speculate, then the networks will suffer from reduced revenues - though this does not mean they will not still make a profit. If ratings drop, at some point advertisers will refuse to pay the asking rates for commercial time.

There are surveys showing that football popularity is in decline in the US. There are multiple reasons given, including the discussions about football injuries, and the NFL covering up concussion data. In some parts of the country, kids are not participating in football programs at the same rate they used to. This is clearly an early indicator of things to come. There are other reasons fans are leaving I cannot get into here. What we do not know yet is if the results of these surveys will translate into lower TV ratings and revenues. The NFL claims the lower ratings were from 2020 being an election year and COVID drawing everyone's attention. Perhaps, and maybe the networks are buying those excuses. I am sure the NFL presented them with some marketing strategies showing how the NFL will grow it viewership and boost revenues for the networks, and I am sure network lackeys did the same for network executives. Time will tell who is right but TV and streaming viewership for the Super Bowl in 2021 were the lowest since 2007. The Super Bowl was post election. I don't see how COVID could possibly effect TV viewership other than to boost it. I think the problem is there were two small market teams playing and not much fan interest. It is the lack of fan interest for its biggest game that should concern the NFL

I look at what happened to baseball and I think the same thing can happen to the NFL. Baseball was once the most popular sport by far in the US. But it was overtaken by the NFL. Baseball lost its audience. For me it became too boring. The games got too long. The time between pitches increased to an excruciating delay in the game. Baseball still draws millions of fans but it is clearly not as popular as it used to be.

In fact almost every major sport has had a peak in popularity followed by a steep decline. Bowling, tennis, basketball, hockey, and soon golf, once Tiger Woods retires, have all seen significant declines in popularity after record popularity. I don't think the NFL is immune to this same phenomenon. Some of these sports have been completely dropped by the major networks.

The NFL is attempting to build its markets by promoting American football overseas. Maybe it works. Professional baseball is immensely popular in Asia and in parts of Latin America. Major League Baseball has attracted some international attention by signing foreign players to MLB contracts. The NFL is toying with that too but there are few foreign countries where American football is played so integrating foreign players into the league is less of a possibility. Instead, the NFL is bringing the American players to other countries hoping the glimpse of American football will create some interest there. I don't see how that benefits US TV networks, but maybe they know more about that than I do.

In any case, I do not believe the Networks shelling out the money they have is a foretelling of the future of the NFL.

Well said. The major old school TV networks are desperate for any kind of reliable ratings because their regular programming has taken a ratings node dive. The NFL gives them some reliable programming that other broadcasts can’t.