Oakland Raiders fans fare much better in latest re-ranking

After a terrible ranking of the NFL fanbases had the Oakland Raiders at No. 17, Mike Tanier of Bleacher Report fixed the issue on Tuesday.

Last week, the Oakland Raiders and their fans got a virtual slap in the face by Emory University, who put together a ranking of the top fan bases in the NFL. Using their own data, Emory put out their NFL Fandom Report 2019, and the Raiders were listed in the second half of the league.

Mike Tanier of Bleacher Report took exception to the piece, and decided he would re-rank the 32 fan bases of the NFL teams. The Raiders, who stood at No. 17 in the Emory ranking, moved all  the way up to No. 5 in the re-rank.

There is no doubt that the Raiders fan base is one of the top in the NFL, so it came as a bit of a shock when the data-driven rankings had them in the bottom half of the league. This is a fan base that not only travels, but has stuck with the team through some tough times, including the last 17 years, where they have put together only one winning season.

Raiders rival Kansas City came in at No. 1 overall, moving up nearly the entire board, after being ranked No. 31 by Emory. The Cleveland Browns (2), Green Bay Packers (3), and Seattle Seahawks rounded out the top-4, with Oakland coming in at No. 5.

I really do not have a problem with the re-rank, as, while I believe Raider Nation is the best in the NFL, this top-5 is a truer representation of the top fan bases in football. I have the Chiefs as much as the next man, but ranking them at No. 31 overall was quite laughable.

Who came in last in Tanier’s ranking? The Washington Redskins, who were the 11th-ranked fan base according to Emory. Overall, the Tanier Ranking is the one to check out, sorry to the folks over at Emory University.