It’s no secret that drinking and football go hand-in-hand for many NFL fans. Whether it’s cracking open a few cold ones at a tailgate party or getting rowdy at your favorite sports bar, alcohol consumption is a big part of NFL gameday culture. But which fanbase drinks the most? Which cities have the biggest reputation for boozing it up on Sundays?
Factors that influence NFL fan drinking habits
There are a few key factors that likely influence how much NFL fans in different cities tend to drink:
- Local alcohol laws and regulations – Areas with more relaxed open container laws may encourage more casual drinking at things like tailgates
- Football enthusiasm and team success – Fans of teams with more avid fanbases and better records probably drink more to celebrate wins
- Weather – Warm locales where tailgating is more feasible likely see higher gameday drinking levels
- Bar and restaurant culture – Cities with more vibrant bar scenes and nightlife probably carry that over to gamedays
- Local economic factors – Lower-income cities may have more limited spending on pricier gameday drinks
So which NFL fanbases seem to drink the most when accounting for these factors? Let’s explore some of the top contenders.
New Orleans Saints fans
New Orleans Saints fans have a reputation for imbibing on game days. Between the city’s famous party culture, lax open container laws, and passion for the Saints, booze flows freely when the team is playing.
New Orleans is a major tourism destination, where carrying drinks on the street and partying are the norm. When it comes to the Saints, this casual drinking culture gets cranked up a notch. Fans begin tailgating early, with setups that rival some of the best cookouts and bashes.
The Saints also have one of the most dedicated fanbases in the NFL. Their fans are passionate and live and breathe the Saints – and celebrating a win calls for drinking. New Orleans fans will be deep into their cocktails win or lose, but victories mean jubilant toasts through the night.
Considering the Saints’ success in recent decades, including their Super Bowl win in 2009, New Orleans fans have had plenty to cheer and drink about. Between the fan fervor, city culture, and team highlights, Saints fans have many reasons to keep their cups full on gameday.
Buffalo Bills fans
Like New Orleans, Buffalo also has a reputation for hardcore football fans who imbibe heavily on game days.
Despite snowy winters that make tailgating a challenge, Bills fans are famous for raging in parking lots before games, beer flowing for hours. They set up elaborate spreads of food washed down with Labatt Blue, Jell-O shots, and other alcoholic beverages.
Being a Bills fan also requires endurance – until recently, the team suffered a 17-season playoff drought. Those long-suffering fans found drinking a way to get through lots of losing seasons. And even with the Bills now a contender again, the habits remain ingrained.
The economic backdrop in Buffalo factors in as well – this is a blue-collar town with typical jobs allowing for NFL gamedays as a release. Sprinkle in some of that famous Buffalo hospitality (and a dash of madness), and you’ve got a perfect cocktail that means Bills fans are pounding them back every Sunday.
Pittsburgh Steelers fans
With their working-class roots, Pennsylvanians are known as no-nonsense football fans who drink as hard as their beloved Steelers hit. Steeler Nation turns up in full force on game days to eat, drink, and be rowdy.
Pittsburgh is also a city with relaxed open container laws, where fans can casually drink on the streets before packing into Heinz Field. Steelers tailgates are legendary for their wild, drunken debauchery. Once you mix in some heckling toward rivals and Pennsylvania’s rough weather, you’ve got ample reasons to drink.
The Steelers have a long, successful history as well, giving fans decades of highlights to raise pints to over the years. And the team’s bruising, hard-nosed style on the field seems to translate into the stands, where Steelers fans slug back beers with blue-collar grit. Win or lose, this fanbase indulges with workmanlike drinking habits.
Philadelphia Eagles fans
Eagles fans are notorious for many things, including their zeal for drinking on football Sundays. Philadelphia has a well-earned reputation for some of the most notoriously unruly, inebriated fans in the NFL.
The City of Brotherly Love has very active bar and club scenes, which blend into its sports culture. Philadelphia fans also have a reputation for being harsh on their own teams, with the Eagles sometimes taking the brunt of fans’ frustrations. Losing seasons led to a lot of drowning sorrows.
Eagles fans also gain a boost from Pennsylvania’s alcohol rules, making drinking a accessible part of gamedays. Tailgating gets crazy, bars are packed, and the booze continues flowing through the action.
In recent years, the Eagles gave long-waiting fans something to truly celebrate, including their first Super Bowl win in 2018. For a fanbase known to drink through the good and bad times, this long-awaited success meant next-level imbibing.
Green Bay Packers fans
In Green Bay, the Packers are religion. Lambeau Field is a place of worship for Packers fans, where they pay tribute with massive amounts of drinking.
Wisconsin has a deep beer culture, with major breweries like Miller, Pabst, and Leinenkugel all having roots here. Tailgating at Packers games is an art form, with some fans setting up grills and drink stations at sunrise for 1 pm kickoffs. Brats, cheese curds, and cold beers provide fuel.
The Packers are also the NFL’s smallest market, giving the team an extra intimate, personal connection to fans. And after Brett Favre and Aaron Rodgers delivered consistent great quarterback play for decades, Cheeseheads have had plenty to celebrate.
Let’s also not discount the Green Bay weather. The frigid temps and winter conditions provide motivation to drink to stay warm. When you add it up, Packers fans have the right ingredients for some serious Sunday drinking.
Cleveland Browns fans
In Cleveland, football and drinking are twin ways of life. Being a Browns fan is an exercise in hardship and perseverance. Between the bitterly cold weather, economic downturns, and the team’s historic ineptitude, Browns fans have endured a lot.
To cope through year after year of losing, Cleveland fans drink – heavily. Tailgating is one of the main attractions at Browns home games. And even during the games, the Browns’ stadium had a reputation as one of the drunkest in the NFL.
That reputation holds true at Cleveland’s plentiful sports bars as well. Factory workers and blue-collar types make up much of the Browns fanbase. NFL games provide a boozy escape from life’s struggles. And win or lose (mostly lose), these fans will drink like champions.
Chicago Bears fans
Bears fans’ noted alcohol consumption comes from different angles. Chicago is both a true sports town and a hard-drinking town, where even everyday neighborhood bars get rowdy. The Bears’ blue-collar foundation shows itself in fans who work hard and drink hard.
Gamedays mean mega-tailgates outside Soldier Field, with smoked meats on grills and coolers full of Old Style beer. Once fans pack the stadium, they get even louder and drunker. Bears fans also drink out their frustrations – while historically successful, the team only has one Super Bowl ring.
The midwestern weather contributes too, as fans consume booze to stay warm in the Chicago chill. When the Bears are playing well, it means drunk euphoria. And during periods of losing, drinking eases the pain. Through good times and bad, Bears fans imbibe heavily on Sundays.
Conclusion
After this examination, some clear frontrunners emerge for the NFL’s hardest-drinking fanbases. Cities like New Orleans, Buffalo, Philadelphia, and Green Bay have perfect storm conditions that encourage heavy drinking cultures on NFL gamedays.
While fans everywhere drink on Sundays, some cities have that extra combination of tailgating weather, team passion, local customs and regulations, economic factors, and history of rowdiness that breed the biggest NFL drinkers. Regional pride and rivalries ensure that fans boast about their city’s drinking prowess as they debate this topic every football season.
To settle the argument, we really need a definitive measurement system for tracking and comparing alcohol consumption by fanbase. But until we get breathalyzer tests at stadium gates, the best we can do is consider each city’s unique football and drinking cultures, both of which influence how fans imbibe.
While the amount NFL fans drink is hard to quantify, we know the opportunity exists each Sunday for raucous drinking related revelry, especially in the most hardcore football cities. In the end, that sense of identity and community, maybe even more than the alcohol itself, is what really fuels NFL fandom in these legendary fanbases. Bottoms up to a great football Sunday!