Fanalytics place Minnesota Vikings as the 24th-best NFL franchise
By Adam Carlson
Minnesota Vikings fans are passionate and vocal, but those who SKOL didn’t fare too well according to a recent study by Mike Lewis from Fanalytics.
All it takes is one visit to U.S. Bank Stadium to watch a Minnesota Vikings game in order to realize just how intense and passionate fans of the team are. Seeing oceans of purple make their way into the stadium and be roaring in the crowd are something that is never forgotten.
Not every fan base is equal. Some have a bigger market while others have massive stadiums or superstar players to help carry their fans and increase ticket sales and team visibility, as well as revenue.
Recently, Fanalytics with Mike Lewis shared a study on his Emory University scholar blog website shared a list of what he called the NFL Fan and Brand Report 2018 where he analyzed each fan base in three categories in order to rank them.
The findings placed Minnesota in the 24th spot on the list. Here are the rankings of the team in each of the three categories:
Fan Equity: 21st
Social Equity: 29th
Road Equity: 15th
Minnesota Vikings
Fan equity ranks the amount of money spent on the team by fans. This includes ticket sales, merchandise, and other revenues. Considering Minnesota is a smaller market with a lack of a superstar player in the national media, ranking 21st makes sense.
Social equity is the confusing one here. Whether it is Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, or other social media channels, the Vikings always seem to be well represented. It seems like the team is consistently interacting with passionate fans on a regular basis, so being the fourth worst team in the league in that category is confusing.
Finally, road equity proves a lot. Fans everywhere pack stadiums when Minnesota comes to their town and they know they are going to get a high-quality game with a strong defense featuring great players like Harrison Smith, Linval Joseph, and Everson Griffen as well as some big offensive plays from Adam Thielen, Stefon Diggs, and Kyle Rudolph. A ranking of 15th seems appropriate.
Next: 6 reasons why the Vikings will win Super Bowl LIII
Still, ending up in the bottom half of the league in the Fan and Brand Report seems a little crazy considering the Minnesota Vikings are a playoff team who plays in a massive stadium with extremely passionate fans. Hopefully, another study can come along to prove this one wrong.