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Fandom 250: Notre Dame fans among the best in sports

By J.P. Scott

SOUTH BEND, IN - AUGUST 31: Student fans of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish cheer for their team against the Temple Owls at Notre Dame Stadium on August 31, 2013 in South Bend, Indiana. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)
SOUTH BEND, IN - AUGUST 31: Student fans of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish cheer for their team against the Temple Owls at Notre Dame Stadium on August 31, 2013 in South Bend, Indiana. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images) /
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The Fandom 250, the annual ranking of sports and entertainment fandom by FanSided.com, was released this week. Notre Dame fans are among the elite on the planet.

Fansided’s annual Fandom 250 was released earlier this week. The article/slideshow/exercise is self-described as “The ultimate ranking of fandoms — from sports to entertainment, celebrities to brands. The Fandom 250.”

Near the top of the list were you, the Notre Dame fans.

Notre Dame fans ranked No. 13 overall. They were the No. 2 collegiate fanbase behind only Alabama. It’s tough to argue with that ranking. Irish fans are great, but I’m not sure they are bigger fanatics then most Alabama fans. Notre Dame is a lifestyle for most of us. For Tide fans, I’ve seen first-hand how the fanaticism is on a slightly different level — and that’s not necessarily a good thing for Alabama fans.

In terms of sports teams/colleges, Notre Dame fans were seventh overall behind the Phildelphia 76ers, Kansas City Chiefs, New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox, Alabama and the Cleveland Browns.

I am fine with the Yankees, Red Sox and Tide ahead of the Irish. I have serious issues with the others.

For starters, how do the 76ers get the nod over the Celtics as far as the NBA goes? Additionally, they play in Philadelphia. Philly fans are notoriously some of the worst fans on the planet from a behavior standpoint. And there’s no way their numbers or passion are greater than that of Irish fans.

As far as the Chiefs go, I’ll chalk this up to a homer move. The founders of FanSided are Chiefs fans. Those fans are great, and you won’t find a louder football stadium or better tailgating on the planet. That said, the nationwide passion is not better than Notre Dame’s.

As for the Browns, those fans have been through hell and are among the elite in the NFL, but I’d still put the Packers, Steelers, Cowboys and Raiders ahead of them. That’s coming from a Patriots fan.

Potential Breakout Players for Notre Dame in the College Football Playoff. dark. Next

All in all, it’s not a bad list and totally worth your time to click through and read — especially during these dog days of December filled with nothing but early season NBA, NHL and College Basketball.

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