Thank you! The list by itself was worthless.
OK, so they looked at Home Attendance/Road Draw, Merchandise Sales and Surveys of in-market popularity. Since the article doesn't say they weighted one as more important than another, they must have given each equal weighting and then, presumably, added up the rankings for each category to produce a list. The article doesn't say, but implies, that the teams were measured against others in their Sport and not all others.
All I can say is that Hockey is either a lot more popular than I thought or there's a "Hockey Bias" in the analysis. Other than the Hockey teams, the list makes sense I guess.
I was surprised that the Colts were up so high, but I guess Peyton generates a lot of merchandise sales, like Brady, nationwide. Both the Pats and Colts pack stadiums at home and on the road and are very popular in their local markets so, using the criteria, it doesn't surprise me that they come in high and near each other. Judging by the number of Red Sox caps and Jerseys I see all over the country and in airports everywhere, it makes sense they're at the top. The Steelers, at least until Big Ben's latest nonsense, have always had a national following, as have the Cowboys. Kobe generates a lot of sales for the Lakers. They Yankees sell a lot of merchandise locally but are hated nationally.
OK, thanks. Except for the hockey teams, considering the methodology, the list makes sense.
