Pittsburgh ranked as top city for football fans

Chris Pastrick
Monday, Jan. 28, 2019 8:48 a.m. | Monday, Jan. 28, 2019 8:48 a.m.

Sean Stipp | Tribune-Review

Fans celebrate after the Pittsburgh Steelers defeat the Cincinnati Bengals at Heinz Field on December 30, 2018.

Chaz Palla | Tribune-Review

Steelers fans get fired up against the Patriots in the fourth quarter Sunday, Dec. 16, 2018 at Heinz Field.

Christopher Horner | Tribune-Review

Steelers fans wave their Terrible Towels at the start the home opener against the Chiefs Sunday, Sept. 16, 2018, at Heinz Field.

Of course, we know it.

But now everyone else can recognize the Pittsburgh is the best city for football fans.

WalletHub has released its 2019 ranking of Best Football Cities for Fans, and wouldn't you know it: the city of Black and Gold is No. 1.

And it wasn't really close. Pittsburgh topped all major cities (those with 300,000 people or more) with a 63.49 score, based on 21 metrics — like team's performance, championships, franchise value, ticket price, fan engagement, and popularity index.

Boston landed second, with a 55.24 score. The other top 5 cities were Green Bay (55), Dallas (53.71), and New York (49.2).

Cleveland (30.41) landed dead last among the 30 major cities, with Cincinnati (40.02) at 17, and Baltimore (37.44) at 21.

The study looked at more than 240 U.S. cities with at least one college or professional team.

WalletHub divided the results into 3 categories: major, midsize (100,000 to 300,000 people), and small (less than 100,000).

Green Bay topped the midsize list, while Tuscaloosa, Ala., was best among small cities.

Source: WalletHub

"(Today's) fans aren't just spectators but are also participants," WalletHub writes on its site. "They do more than just proudly wear a team's jersey, perfect game-day chili or tailgate with fellow fans. They show their passion by roaring in approval when their team scores a touchdown or crying out in disappointment when they fumble their way to failure."

The rankings were also divided into "pro football" and "college football" rankings. Pittsburgh topped the pro category, while Clemson, S.C., topped the college.

Some of the secondary rankings WalletHub did complied were Best-Performing NFL Teams (Boston was tops, Pittsburgh was third), Most Accessible NFL Stadiums (Green Bay topped, Pittsburgh was fourth), and Most Engaged NFL Fans (Green Bay and Pittsburgh were tied for No. 1).

WalletHub pulled its data from various sources including the U.S. Census Bureau, ESPN, Pro Football Hall of Fame, Sports Reference, Forbes, and each team's website.

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