Americans Pick Raiders to Win Super Bowl XXXVII

GALLUP NEWS SERVICE

PRINCETON, NJ -- Millions of Americans will be glued to their televisions Sunday when the Oakland Raiders take on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Super Bowl XXXVII at San Diego's Qualcomm Stadium. "Super Bowl Sunday" almost takes on the importance of a national holiday each year, and a new Gallup Poll shows that nearly two out of three Americans plan to watch the game.

The poll, conducted Jan. 20-22, finds 49% of Americans saying they will watch the Raiders-Buccaneers matchup because they think it will be an exciting game. Another 14% plan to watch, even though they don't think the game will be exciting, and 36% plan to ignore the game completely. The percentages are similar to those found prior to the Super Bowls of 2000, which 63% of Americans said they would watch, and 1994, which 60% said they would be watching. In the two most recent polls, the percentage of Americans indicating the game would be exciting has increased slightly. In 1994, 43% thought the game would be exciting, compared to 49% in both 2000 and 2003.

As one might expect, there are significant differences by gender to be considered: 73% of men plan to watch the game, compared with 54% of women. In addition, younger Americans are far more likely to watch Sunday's game than are older Americans. Three out of four adults (76%) between the ages of 18 and 29 plan to watch, compared with 65% of those 30 to 49 and 55% of those 50 and older.

Fans Split on Preference Between Raiders and Bucs

The Raiders have won three previous Super Bowls; the Buccaneers are making their first appearance in the big game. Yet, Americans are evenly split on which team they would like to see win on Sunday. Exactly 39% pick each team, with 8% expressing no preference. However, as might be expected, there are logical regional differences in team preferences. Fans living in the South and East express a preference for Tampa Bay, while fans living in the West are more likely to express a preference for Oakland.

However, when asked which team will win -- regardless of their own personal preferences -- 51% of Americans pick the Raiders to collect a fourth Vince Lombardi Trophy, while just 32% choose the Buccaneers. Interestingly, this margin is relatively consistent across most demographic lines. Professional oddsmakers have installed Oakland as a 4-point favorite.

Watching for the Game -- or the Sideshow?

The Super Bowl is clearly more than just a football game; it's a bonanza for advertisers. Each year, the game telecast is one of the most-watched broadcasts of the year, and advertisers spend more than $2 million just for 30 seconds of the viewing audience's time.

Whether or not this investment pays off for advertisers, it is clear that the commercials during the game are of great interest to many Americans. One out of three (33%) say they personally find the Super Bowl commercials to be more interesting than the game itself or the halftime show. Forty-eight percent still find the game itself to be the most entertaining, while just 9% choose the celebrity-studded halftime show. Men tend to find the game more entertaining than the commercials (63% to 27%), while women are slightly more likely to enjoy the commercials than the game (38% to 34%). Among those who plan to watch the Super Bowl, though, the game wins out (65% to 28%).

Survey Methods

These results are based on telephone interviews with a randomly selected national sample of 1,006 adults, 18 years and older, conducted Jan. 20-22, 2003. For results based on this sample, one can say with 95 percent confidence that the maximum error attributable to sampling and other random effects is ±3 percentage points. In addition to sampling error, question wording and practical difficulties in conducting surveys can introduce error or bias into the findings of public opinion polls.

Which team would you like to see win this year's Super Bowl Game -- [ROTATED: the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (or) the Oakland Raiders]?

 

	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	Oakland Raiders		NO PREFERENCE (vol.)		DON'T FOLLOW FOOTBALL (vol.)		No opinion
	%	%		%		%		%
2003 Jan 20-22	39	39		8		13		1
(vol.) Volunteered response

Regardless of whom you favor, which team do you think will win -- [ROTATED: the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (or) the Oakland Raiders]?

 

	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	Oakland Raiders		NO PREFERENCE (vol.)	DON'T FOLLOW FOOTBALL (vol.)		No opinion
	%	%		%	%		%
2003 Jan 20-22	32	51		2	9		6
(vol.) Volunteered response

Which of the following statements comes closest to your view of the Super Bowl -- you plan to watch the game because it could be exciting, you don't think the game will be exciting, but you plan to watch it anyway, or you don't plan to watch the game?

 

	Watch, could be exciting	Not exciting, watch anyway	Don't plan to watch	No opinion
	%	%	%	%
2003 Jan 20-22	49	14	36	1
2000 Jan 25-26	49	14	35	2
1994 Jan 26	43	17	39	2

Which of the following aspects of the Super Bowl do you personally find most entertaining -- [ROTATED: the game itself, the advertising commercials that run during the telecast, (or) the half-time show]?

 

	Game itself	Advertising commercials	Half- time show	NONE OF THESE (vol.)	DON'T WATCH (vol.)	No opinion
	%	%	%	%	%	%
2003 Jan 20-22	48	33	9	5	4	1
(vol.) Volunteered response