Once upon a time, the New England Patriots were a fun little underdog story that captured the hearts of a football nation. Not any more. In fact, more people are likely to turn against the Patriots than root for them.
According to poll results reported by Public Policy Polling with the Super Bowl coming up this weekend, the majority of those polled say they will be rooting for the Atlanta Falcons in the Super Bowl (53 percent), compared to just 27 percent showing their support for the Patriots. The rooting interest in the Super Bowl is one of the few issues that also crosses the aisle with 58 percent of Republicans, 54 percent of Democrats, and 47 percent of Independents all saying they will be rooting for the Falcons.
It’s not all bad news for the Patriots, however. Tom Brady is still the most liked quarterback among those polled, with Brady getting 22 percent of the votes to stay ahead of Green Bay’s Aaron Rodgers. As for Matt Ryan, the Falcons quarterback is the favorite quarterback of just seven percent of those polled. For the sake of comparison, Tim Tebow (TIM TEBOW) is favoried by six percent of those polled. Cam Newton was favored by two percent of the poll responders.
In other quarterback-related news, 41 percent of those polled incorrectly believe that noted Elite Quarterback Joe Flacco is not, in fact, an Elite Quarterback.
Despite the unifying hate for the Patriots seen across the country, the Pats are still perceived to be the favorite to win the Super Bowl this weekend. Yes, American may be rooting with their hearts for the NFC Champion Falcons on Sunday, but 52 percent think the Patriots will win the big game (36 percent of those polled say they think the Falcons will win).
