| From time to time during the broadcast of an NFL | | | | Championships are the Green Bay Packers (12-time |
| game the announcer will describe one of the teams | | | | champions), Chicago Bears (9 times) and the New |
| as a "storied franchise." The dictionary defines the | | | | York Giants (6 times). These three teams are all in |
| word "storied" as "celebrated or famous in history or | | | | the top four. |
| story." In the case of a football team, how is this | | | | The Power of Numbers |
| measured? Which franchises are the truly "storied" | | | | Each year the Harris polling organization does an |
| ones? | | | | online survey, released in late September, asking |
| One reflection of a team having attained "storied" | | | | people to name their two favorite pro football teams. |
| status might be the number of books published on | | | | In 2005, the results were as follows: |
| the subject of that team. Author Brian Hill, (Over | | | | Green Bay Packers 16% |
| Time, a novel and the nonfiction book, The Making of | | | | Dallas Cowboys 14% |
| a Bestseller, about the publishing industry,) comes up | | | | New England Patriots 13% |
| with the answer. "I visited and did a simple search of | | | | Pittsburgh Steelers 13% |
| their online bookstore, typing in the name of (each | | | | Philadelphia Eagles 10% |
| NFL team) + football." | | | | San Francisco 49ers 10% |
| Using this method, the top-ten most written about, | | | | What All NFL Fans Have in Common |
| the most "storied," the most literary NFL teams (out | | | | Hill believes one thing is certain: "Fans of each and |
| of a total of 32 teams in the league) turn out to be: | | | | every NFL team are eager consumers of literature |
| 1. Dallas Cowboys | | | | about their heroes. Hopefully, this research may help |
| 2. New York Giants | | | | break down some of the unfortunate tribal |
| 3. Green Bay Packers | | | | stereotypes that arise between bitter rivals in the |
| 4. Chicago Bears | | | | NFL. For instance, Giants fans have always assumed |
| 5. Washington Redskins | | | | that Cowboys fans get most of their information |
| 6. Cleveland Browns | | | | from video games and daytime TV. Not so. Cowboys |
| 7. Miami Dolphins | | | | fans are the most well-read of all. And it may come |
| 8. New York Jets | | | | as a shock to Chicago Bears fans that Green Bay |
| 9. New England Patriots | | | | Packers fans actually know how to read, when in |
| 10. Detroit Lions | | | | fact the cheese wedges they wear on their heads |
| Hill continues, "There was a wide disparity between | | | | were actually designed to be a handy way to store |
| the top of the ranking and the bottom. The top four | | | | and carry books." |
| teams were each cited more than 400 times in the | | | | Millions of NFL football fans around the globe have |
| search, the lowest ranking team, only 45 times. The | | | | found that reading about their favorite team's |
| average for all the teams was 185." | | | | history, lore and accomplishments is a great way to |
| Why are some teams written about so much more | | | | spend a crisp autumn afternoon. This is particularly |
| than others? | | | | true during times when the current edition of their |
| Experience Counts | | | | beloved team is having a losing season. Books help |
| The Giants, Packers, Bears, Redskins and Browns are | | | | keep the memories of past championship glory alive |
| all teams that began in the early days of the National | | | | forever. |
| Football League. They have the most accumulated | | | | Are you ready for some READING? Come meet |
| history, so it makes sense there would be more | | | | Brian Hill and his co-author, Dee Power, October 14, |
| good material for writers to draw from. | | | | 1:00 PM at the Borders, Waterfront store, 7135 E. |
| Winning is Everything | | | | Camelback Rd., Scottsdale. |
| The teams that have won the most NFL | | | | |