murksiderock
Superstar
...are any of the southern NFL teams bigger than their D1 college football counterparts?
The Cowboys are a major outlier in the South. College football is the premier sporting draw in most of the South, and if you go state by state, where is an NFL team bigger than the college programs?
Texas
The Longhorns are huge but not bigger than the Cowboys, though they are bigger than the Texans.
Oklahoma
No NFL team, the Sooners and OSU Cowboys run shyt out there.
Arkansas
No NFL team, these mf's love Razorbacks football.
Louisiana
The Saints are popular but they not fukking with LSU fandom in Louisiana.
Mississippi
No NFL team, the love Ole Miss and Mississippi State.
Alabama
No NFL team, mf's live and breathe Tide and Auburn football. I think Alabama the headquarters of the SEC, too.
Kentucky
Unique case. No NFL team, but they are more of a college basketball state than college football. Still, to my knowledge, UL and UK sports are major, major factors there.
Tennessee
The Titans are not nearly as popular as Tennessee Volunteer football.
Florida
The Dolphins have the most historic brand of the three NFL franchises, but they are not iconic and are outshined in their own city by U football/sports. If you take the entire trio of Dolphins/Bucs/Jags vs the trio of U/UF/FSU, the college football brands and popularity easily outshine the NFL ones.
Georgia
They love the Falcons, but they love the Bulldogs more.
South Carolina
No contest, mf's love USC football and USC sports more than the Panthers.
North Carolina
Similar to Kentucky, college basketball is more relevant than college football. First of all, all of the major college basketball programs (UNC, Duke, NCSU) are all more relevant in NC than the Charlotte Hornets.
The Panthers are probably a bigger brand than the college football programs at all three, but its by a slight margin, because while those programs aren't historically great football powers, the fandom and support of those programs is plentiful. I give the edge to the Panthers, but unlike the Cowboys, they aren't an iconic NFL brand.
They benefit from being in a state with no heavyweight college football programs and are still only slightly ahead of them at best, or drawn even at worst. The college basketball programs are bigger deals than the Panthers.
Virginia
No NFL team, and while there are alot if Commanders fans, there are a LOT of Cowboys fans in Virginia. Still, UVA and VT football programs run shyt out there.
West Virginia
No NFL team, heavy Steeler fandom. But they love the Mountaineers and Marshall football.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but the Cowboys are a real outlier in the South. The only NFL franchise that is the biggest sports brand in its state. The rest of the South is dominated by its NCAA programs.
The Cowboys are a major outlier in the South. College football is the premier sporting draw in most of the South, and if you go state by state, where is an NFL team bigger than the college programs?
Texas
The Longhorns are huge but not bigger than the Cowboys, though they are bigger than the Texans.
Oklahoma
No NFL team, the Sooners and OSU Cowboys run shyt out there.
Arkansas
No NFL team, these mf's love Razorbacks football.
Louisiana
The Saints are popular but they not fukking with LSU fandom in Louisiana.
Mississippi
No NFL team, the love Ole Miss and Mississippi State.
Alabama
No NFL team, mf's live and breathe Tide and Auburn football. I think Alabama the headquarters of the SEC, too.
Kentucky
Unique case. No NFL team, but they are more of a college basketball state than college football. Still, to my knowledge, UL and UK sports are major, major factors there.
Tennessee
The Titans are not nearly as popular as Tennessee Volunteer football.
Florida
The Dolphins have the most historic brand of the three NFL franchises, but they are not iconic and are outshined in their own city by U football/sports. If you take the entire trio of Dolphins/Bucs/Jags vs the trio of U/UF/FSU, the college football brands and popularity easily outshine the NFL ones.
Georgia
They love the Falcons, but they love the Bulldogs more.
South Carolina
No contest, mf's love USC football and USC sports more than the Panthers.
North Carolina
Similar to Kentucky, college basketball is more relevant than college football. First of all, all of the major college basketball programs (UNC, Duke, NCSU) are all more relevant in NC than the Charlotte Hornets.
The Panthers are probably a bigger brand than the college football programs at all three, but its by a slight margin, because while those programs aren't historically great football powers, the fandom and support of those programs is plentiful. I give the edge to the Panthers, but unlike the Cowboys, they aren't an iconic NFL brand.
They benefit from being in a state with no heavyweight college football programs and are still only slightly ahead of them at best, or drawn even at worst. The college basketball programs are bigger deals than the Panthers.
Virginia
No NFL team, and while there are alot if Commanders fans, there are a LOT of Cowboys fans in Virginia. Still, UVA and VT football programs run shyt out there.
West Virginia
No NFL team, heavy Steeler fandom. But they love the Mountaineers and Marshall football.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but the Cowboys are a real outlier in the South. The only NFL franchise that is the biggest sports brand in its state. The rest of the South is dominated by its NCAA programs.
