The Kansas City Chiefs continue to have one of the worst fanbases in the NFL according to an annual study conducted by Emory University professor Michael Lewis.
Each season Lewis conducts a study to determine the NFL’s most loyal or “best” fans. Last season the study had the Chiefs ranked as the No. 30 team in the NFL. This season they’ve dropped another spot down to No. 31.
Lewis’ study is grounded in economic and marketing theory. He breaks up his analysis into three separate quantifiable parts: Fan equity, social equity and road equity.
Fan equity focuses on a fans willingness to spend money compared to other NFL teams. Social equity focuses on social media following compared against other teams. Road equity focuses on road game attendance compared to other teams.
Chiefs fans should absolutely question the veracity of this study, specifically on the grounds of road equity. I’m sure the metrics he’s using are as accurate as possible. It’s just hard to believe the study when there’s a sea of red filling up Dignity Health Sports Park each of the past two seasons. It’s hard to believe it when hundreds of Chiefs fans that couldn’t change their travel plans were stranded in Mexico City after a Chiefs road game was canceled this past year. It’s hard to understand how this study could possibly accurate when you hear a booming “Home of the Chiefs,” during the national anthem at opposing stadiums.
It also seems absurd considering the Chiefs now have an exciting franchise quarterback that was the MVP of the league. The fact that their fan equity is still status quo from just a season ago, without even the slightest fluctuation toward improvement is concerning.
Here is Lewis’ reasoning for the Chiefs being so low on this list:
“The problem is that the Chiefs lack pricing power and do not have much of a social following (I use Twitter).”
He’s right about pricing power. Chiefs ticket prices are middle of the pack in regards to AFC teams, but I have a hard time using that against a fan base. The fans don’t get any say in setting the ticket prices and they still turn out to every game and make Arrowhead Stadium the loudest outdoor stadium in the world.
The Chiefs easily have one of the loudest and most active followings on Twitter. I’m sure after Lewis put the target on his back you’ll all live in his mentions and remind him of that until it comes time for next years study.