And Jets are popular in USA as well. Interesting read. Thanks donkey. What do our friends from UK can say about this?
That surprises me a bit. Top half I could see easily, maybe just scraping top 10 - but not 7th. Miami tends to be #1 because of Florida holidays and they were successful in the mid 80s when the game first became popular. 9ers, Raiders, Bears and Giants for similar reasons. The Pats because of all the newbies. Finally Steelers, Pack and Cowgirls for their higher profiles historically and in the US. Then the Jets would be in the next group fighting it out with the more established NFL teams like Eagles, Skins, Broncos. Though I've got to say the in the last decade I've discovered there are far more Jets fans in the UK than I thought there was. Until then I had never found another one!
I started following The Jets in the mid 1980’s when the UK started getting regular TV coverage. Teams which were successful up to and around that point got most of the first wave of support, eg Steelers, Cowboys, 49ers, Raiders, Giants. New England have picked up a lot over the last 20 years from younger fans. The Jets have become comfortably one of the better supported teams in the UK. I can’t really put my finger on why to be honest. It might just be British stubbornness. It can’t be results!! A decent run of Jets success will see the team over the edge as the most popular in the UK.
Steelers yes, the Jags thing was and is completely overblown. UK fans weren't ever going to suddenly adopt them just because they played here regularly. A few new fans might be attracted over time but not established ones - and frankly most of the people who are going to like the games already do and have a team. When the Jags first started playing here regularly I think I saw one person who thought they might change allegiance. This is one the (many) reasons a franchise here might be unworkable.
As mentioned above, many of the UK fans come from the mid-eighties when the Jets were exciting to watch, on free-to-air TV and usually good for a 9-7 to 11-5 season. It's telling that 6 of the top 7 were "eighties" teams, with only the more recent glory-hunters choosing the Pats.
Honestly the Jets may be just as popular IN MIAMI as the Dolphins with all the NY/NJ transplants that find their way down there. Snowbirds
That was the case in the late 80s and 90s. Not so much anymore. They have all moved on to central Florida and North Carolina. The demographics have really shifted. The New Yokers who remain are elderly remnants from those days .Broward has large Cuban populations and Caribbean islanders, Miami has shifted to south Americans.
Had a couple of Playoff appearances in the 80's when the sport first took root over here, Then there's the lure of the New York moniker. If they were the Brookly or New Jersey Jets then they'd probably be down nearer the bottom.
We must have been fucking stupid. We also like underdogs, weird cunts Brits at times, hence the fact the Dolphins top the poll? I am not surprised to see the Bears up there though as they were the team along with the Giants and I thought the 49ers that everybody knew as they were successful, Bears for The fridge who got quite famous over here oddly. I surprised to see Miami top though.
I'd suggest Miami's popularity is down to the fact it was and is a popular holiday destination for Brits, and when Channel 4 started showing it they had Marino and the Marks Brothers. Exciting offense. Anyway, two of their most famous games are defeats to us. ;-)
