I want to add to the fan base discussion earlier. Here is 2014 map of USA broken down by NFL fans. Could not find a newer one. I have lived in the upstate of SC prior to the Panthers being awarded a franchise. The next two sentences are anecdotal. At the time the two main fan bases in the upstate were Dallas and Washington. The Atlanta fan base was big in the Greenville area which was more to do with their Furman University training camp facility than their proximity to Atlanta (150 miles).
When the Panthers started they played their first season home games at Clemson (140 miles from Charlotte). Jerry Richardson the owner was a graduate of Wofford in Spartanburg, SC and the location of their training camp facility. For a few years until the Falcons built there new facility, the training camps were 40 miles apart. Up until the Panthers made it to SB in 2004, Panther home game tickets were given out by vendors. After that season free tickets were rare.
Now the fan base in the Upstate is overwhelmingly Panthers. My anecdotal (license plate holders, shirts, baseball caps) accounting has the Cowboys, Falcons, Steelers as 2-4 in that order. My point is that fans in areas that did not have an NFL team will go with a winner. If the Raiders start wining they will own Nevada.
A couple of things about the map. On my recent trips to Wyoming, Utah and NW Arizona the fast food restaurants were serving drinks with plastic Bronco’s cups. On a trip to Gallup, NM in 2008, I had the pleasure of talking to Cliff Branch while he was selling autographed photo’s and flashing his 3 Super Bowl rings at a Walmart. There must have been Raider fans and/or Colorado Buffalo fans or he would not have been there.
In the all important media market listings. Las Vegas is at #40. Cincinnati (#36), Jacksonville (#47), Buffalo (#53) and Green Bay (#68).
When the Panthers started they played their first season home games at Clemson (140 miles from Charlotte). Jerry Richardson the owner was a graduate of Wofford in Spartanburg, SC and the location of their training camp facility. For a few years until the Falcons built there new facility, the training camps were 40 miles apart. Up until the Panthers made it to SB in 2004, Panther home game tickets were given out by vendors. After that season free tickets were rare.
Now the fan base in the Upstate is overwhelmingly Panthers. My anecdotal (license plate holders, shirts, baseball caps) accounting has the Cowboys, Falcons, Steelers as 2-4 in that order. My point is that fans in areas that did not have an NFL team will go with a winner. If the Raiders start wining they will own Nevada.
A couple of things about the map. On my recent trips to Wyoming, Utah and NW Arizona the fast food restaurants were serving drinks with plastic Bronco’s cups. On a trip to Gallup, NM in 2008, I had the pleasure of talking to Cliff Branch while he was selling autographed photo’s and flashing his 3 Super Bowl rings at a Walmart. There must have been Raider fans and/or Colorado Buffalo fans or he would not have been there.
In the all important media market listings. Las Vegas is at #40. Cincinnati (#36), Jacksonville (#47), Buffalo (#53) and Green Bay (#68).