Research: NFL Superstitions and Good (or Bad) Luck
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Football is back! As the NFL season gets underway, fans will be anxiously tuning in each week to see their favorite team and players take to the field for four quarters of good ol’ American football. But does the outcome of those games depend on superstitions followed weekly by devoted fans? Some would say yes.
Do fan superstitions actually help their team? When it comes to luck, are there specific teams that just have it (versus teams who actually have bad luck)? We surveyed over 960 NFL fans to understand seasonal and game-day superstitions better.
It may seem like the more Super Bowl wins a team has, the more “luck” they have. It seems fans agree, as the top five luckiest NFL teams are the New England Patriots, the Green Bay Packers, the Dallas Cowboys, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and the Kansas City Chiefs. Among all five teams, there have been 19 Super Bowl wins, with the Patriots leading the pack with six wins. In sixth place is the Pittsburgh Steelers, who despite also having six Super Bowl championship wins, have not made it to the big game since 2011.
But it’s not just about the wins, the luckiest teams are also the teams that have been powerhouses or Super Bowl contenders over the past few years. Maybe fans of these teams all stick to their superstitions and know what brings good luck.
On the other end are the unlucky teams, who just can’t seem to catch a break. The number one unluckiest team is the Cleveland Browns, followed by the Detroit Lions and the New York Jets. Maybe fans of these teams need to change up the voodoo and enact some new superstitions to help their teams succeed.
Almost two in five NFL fans admit they’re superstitious when it comes to the NFL season, and 44% have done something specifically to help their NFL team win. Even if their superstition does (or does not) work, one in four say they stick to their superstitions season after season.
Do people share their superstitious acts? Not always, as more than one in 10 keep their superstitions a secret.
When it comes to other major professional sports leagues, the NFL reigns supreme when it comes to superstitious fans. The NFL is closely followed by the MLB, with NHL, NBA, and MLS fans not as prominent in their superstitious beliefs.
It’s not just fans that are superstitious, players can be as well! According to fans, MLB players come in fi