Study calls loyalty of Broncos Country into question
Sep 23, 2021, 5:18 PM | Updated: 5:21 pm
When debating the loyalty of Broncos Country, one need only to point to the team’s consecutive home sellouts.
Denver owns the NFL record for such a streak — 415 games, including 393 regular season bouts — which began in Week 1 of the 1970 season and will likely continue with Sunday’s home opener against the New York Jets.
“Broncos Country — no matter what, they’re going to support and be out there,” said defensive end Malik Reed on Wednesday. “Having won these last two games, we’re expecting a big turnout on Sunday and we’re expecting the crowd to be rocking.”
However, a recent survey conducted by lineups.com has called Broncos Country’s loyalty into question.
According to the study of 1,500 self-reporting NFL fans, the Denver Broncos come in at the bottom of the barrel with the least loyal fanbase in terms of transplants.
Coming up behind Denver was the Seattle Seahawks, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Indianapolis Colts and Jacksonville Jaguars.
On the flip side, supporters of the Dallas Cowboys were labeled the most loyal fanbase, followed by the Green Bay Packers, Buffalo Bills, Carolina Panthers and New England Patriots.
One possible reason for the dubious title of “least loyal” could be Denver’s on-field woes during the past few seasons.
When asked why fans support local teams instead, 29 percent of responders said their “hometown” squad is playing poorly. Denver hasn’t had a winning record since the 2016 season, when they followed up a Super Bowl 50 victory with a 9-7 season.
However, there seems not to be a clear determination on what makes a fanbase loyal or disloyal.
For instance, 71 percent of respondents said they cheer for more than one team. More than half (58 percent) felt pressure to cheer for a local team that’s not their favorite.
It seems like a big swing to call a venerable fanbase like the Broncos’ disloyal, and it’s not hard to imagine the orange and blue faithful proving this study wrong.
