ROCHESTER, N.Y., Sept. 26 /PRNewswire/ -- The 2006 Super Bowl Champions, the Pittsburgh Steelers, are ranked as the No. 1 favorite National Football League (NFL) team among U.S. adults who follow pro football. Though the Steelers were in the top five last year, this is their first time at the top of this list since tracking began on this topic in 1998. The Dallas Cowboys remain at No. 2, a position they have held since 2004. Rounding out the top five are the Indianapolis Colts (No. 3, moving up five percentage points from last year's ranking), the Green Bay Packers (No. 4, dropping from No. 1 in 2005) and the New England Patriots (No. 5).

These are the results of a nationwide survey conducted online by Harris Interactive(R) between September 7 and 13, 2006 among 2,747 U.S. adults, of whom 1,306 follow professional football.

Other results from this year's poll include: -- Regionally speaking, the Pittsburgh Steelers are the No. 1 favorite of those in the East, while the Chicago Bears are No. 1 for those in the Midwest. In the South, the Cowboys come out on top and in the West, the San Francisco 49ers are the favorite team. -- The percentage of those who say they follow professional football remains stable at about half of all adults (48% this year). -- Men (62%) are more likely to follow professional football than women (34%). -- Thirty-nine percent of Echo Boomers (those ages 18 to 29) and forty-two percent of Matures (ages 61 and over) follow professional football, compared to fifty-two percent of Generation Xers (ages 30 to 41) and fifty-two percent of Baby Boomers (ages 42 to 60). -- College graduates are more likely to follow professional football (61%) than those with post graduate degrees (52%), those with some college (49%) and those with a high school education or less (41%).

This year, Harris Interactive also asked adults who follow professional football which team they think will win the Super Bowl. One in five (20%) says that the Indianapolis Colts will be the winners, while 16 percent say that the Steelers will repeat as Super Bowl Champs. There are always die-hard fans for every team, evidenced by each of the 32 NFL teams being named as a potential Super Bowl winner by at least some respondents (albeit some at a very small percentage).

TABLE 1 WHO FOLLOWS PROFESSIONAL FOOTBALL "Do you follow professional football?" Summary of Yes Responses Base: All adults Total % 2006 48 2005 49 2004 51 2003 50 2002 47 1999 53 1998 55 1997 51 1996 52 1995 49 1993 46 1992 49 TABLE 2 WHO FOLLOWS PROFESSIONAL FOOTBALL - BY DEMOGRAPHIC GROUP (2006) "Do you follow professional football?" Summary of Yes Responses Base: All adults Total % All Adults 48 Sex Male 62 Female 34 Age Echo Boomers (18 - 29) 39 Generation X (30 - 41) 52 Baby Boomers (42 - 60) 52 Matures (61+) 42 Race/Ethnicity White 49 Black 48 Hispanic 42 Region East 50 Midwest 51 South 45 West 45 Household Income Less than $15,000 25 $15,000 to $24,999 42 $25,000 to $34,999 44 $35,000 to $49,999 50 $50,000 to $74,999 57 $75,000 and over 55 Party Republican 53 Democrat 45 Independent 49 Education High School or less 41 Some college 49 College graduate 61 Post graduate 52 TABLE 3A TWO FAVORITE NFL TEAMS "What are your two favorite National Football League teams?" Base: Adults who follow professional football 1998 1999 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 % % % % % % % Pittsburgh Steelers 12 11 10 7 6 13 16 Dallas Cowboys 25 22 11 12 14 14 15 Indianapolis Colts 2 1 3 4 7 8 13 Green Bay Packers 20 18 17 12 18 16 11 New England Patriots 4 6 8 5 12 13 9 Chicago Bears 9 6 7 8 9 8 9 Philadelphia Eagles 6 3 5 5 9 10 8 San Francisco 49ers 16 18 14 10 8 10 8 New York Giants 7 6 10 7 10 6 8 Oakland Raiders 7 3 12 11 7 9 7 Denver Broncos 13 13 8 5 7 7 7 Seattle Seahawks 2 4 4 5 6 4 6 Carolina Panthers 6 1 3 4 5 5 6 Miami Dolphins 9 9 6 8 6 5 6 Tennessee Titans 1 * 4 6 4 3 6 Washington Redskins 6 7 7 9 7 5 5 Cleveland Browns NA 5 6 6 4 5 5 Tampa Bay Buccaneers 4 3 4 11 6 6 5 Detroit Lions 3 2 3 2 4 5 5 Kansas City Chiefs 6 4 4 6 4 4 5 Minnesota Vikings 5 8 6 9 6 5 4 New York Jets 4 5 7 6 7 6 4 San Diego Chargers 1 2 3 4 2 3 4 Cincinnati Bengals 2 2 3 2 4 2 4 Atlanta Falcons 3 3 3 3 4 5 4 St. Louis Rams 1 1 11 7 4 4 4 Buffalo Bills 3 4 3 5 3 4 3 Houston Texans NA NA 2 5 5 3 3 Arizona Cardinals 1 2 2 1 1 1 3 Baltimore Ravens 1 2 2 4 2 3 3 New Orleans Saints 2 3 3 2 2 3 2 Jacksonville Jaguars 3 1 3 1 2 1 1 *Less than 0.5 percent. NA = not applicable for that year. Note: Respondents provided list of teams TABLE 3B TWO FAVORITE NFL TEAMS BY REGION "What are your two favorite National Football League teams?" Base: Adults who follow professional football 2006 Total Region East Midwest South West % % % % % Pittsburgh Steelers 16 30 16 11 9 Dallas Cowboys 15 7 11 29 7 Indianapolis Colts 13 7 20 12 11 Green Bay Packers 11 7 17 7 13 New England Patriots 9 19 4 8 7 Chicago Bears 9 5 24 4 5 Philadelphia Eagles 8 27 4 3 2 San Francisco 49ers 8 4 2 3 27 New York Giants 8 17 1 10 4 Oakland Raiders 7 4 6 3 17 Denver Broncos 7 1 4 6 17 Seattle Seahawks 6 4 2 4 18 Carolina Panthers 6 5 4 11 * Miami Dolphins 6 6 4 9 3 Tennessee Titans 6 1 1 14 3 Washington Redskins 5 8 2 8 3 Cleveland Browns 5 3 13 1 2 Tampa Bay Buccaneers 5 1 2 13 * Detroit Lions 5 2 16 2 1 Kansas City Chiefs 5 * 9 5 4 Minnesota Vikings 4 1 14 1 3 New York Jets 4 12 1 2 2 San Diego Chargers 4 1 2 1 15 Cincinnati Bengals 4 3 11 3 * Atlanta Falcons 4 3 1 10 1 St. Louis Rams 4 1 5 2 9 Buffalo Bills 3 11 1 * 1 Houston Texans 3 - 1 9 1 Arizona Cardinals 3 1 2 * 11 Baltimore Ravens 3 7 1 2 * New Orleans Saints 2 1 * 4 2 Jacksonville Jaguars 1 1 1 3 1 *Less than 0.5 percent "-" indicates no response TABLE 5 SUPER BOWL WINNER

"Regardless of your favorite team, who do you think will win the Super Bowl

this year?" Base: Adults who follow professional football Total % Indianapolis Colts 20 Pittsburgh Steelers 16 New England Patriots 9 Seattle Seahawks 8 Philadelphia Eagles 6 Carolina Panthers 5 Cincinnati Bengals 5 Dallas Cowboys 5 Chicago Bears 4 Baltimore Ravens 3 Miami Dolphins 2 New York Giants 2 Denver Broncos 2 Atlanta Falcons 2 Minnesota Vikings 2 San Diego Chargers 1 Jacksonville Jaguars 1 Green Bay Packers 1 Arizona Cardinals 1 New York Jets 1 Oakland Raiders 1 San Francisco 49ers 1 St. Louis Rams 1 Washington Redskins 1 Tampa Bay Buccaneers 1 Detroit Lions 1 Houston Texans * New Orleans Saints * Buffalo Bills * Tennessee Titans * Kansas City Chiefs * Cleveland Browns * * Less than 0.5 percent. Methodology

The Harris Poll(R) was conducted online within the United States between September 7 and 13, 2006 among 2,747 adults (aged 18 and over) of whom 1,306 follow professional football. Figures for age, sex, race, education, region and household income were weighted where necessary to bring them into line with their actual proportions in the population. Propensity score weighting was also used to adjust for respondents' propensity to be online.

All surveys are subject to several sources of error. These include: sampling error (because only a sample of a population is interviewed); measurement error due to question wording and/or question order, deliberately or unintentionally inaccurate responses, nonresponse (including refusals), interviewer effects (when live interviewers are used) and weighting.

With one exception (sampling error) the magnitude of the errors that result cannot be estimated. There is, therefore, no way to calculate a finite "margin of error" for any survey and the use of these words should be avoided.

With pure probability samples, with 100 percent response rates, it is possible to calculate the probability that the sampling error (but not other sources of error) is not greater than some number. With a pure probability sample of 2,747 one could say with a 95 percent probability that the overall results have a sampling error of +/- 2 percentage points. Sampling error for 1,306 is +/- 3 percentage points. However that does not take other sources of error into account. This online survey is not based on a probability sample and therefore no theoretical sampling error can be calculated.

These statements conform to the principles of disclosure of the National Council on Public Polls.

J28468 Q1150, Q1156, Q1158 The Harris Poll(R) #73, September 26, 2006

By Regina Corso, Research Director, Public Affairs and Policy Research, Harris Interactive(R)

About Harris Interactive

Harris Interactive is the 12th largest and fastest-growing market research firm in the world. The company provides research-driven insights and strategic advice to help its clients make more confident decisions which lead to measurable and enduring improvements in performance. Harris Interactive is widely known for The Harris Poll, one of the longest running, independent opinion polls and for pioneering online market research methods. The company has built what could conceivably be the world's largest panel of survey respondents, the Harris Poll Online. Harris Interactive serves clients worldwide through its United States, Europe and Asia offices, its wholly-owned subsidiary Novatris in France and through a global network of independent market research firms. The service bureau, HISB, provides its market research industry clients with mixed-mode data collection, panel development services as well as syndicated and tracking research consultation. More information about Harris Interactive may be obtained at http://www.harrisinteractive.com/.

To become a member of the Harris Poll Online, visit http://go.hpolsurveys.com/HarrisPoll

EOE M/F/D/V Press Contact: Michelle Soto Harris Interactive 585-214-7665 Harris Interactive Inc. 09/06

CONTACT: Michelle Soto of Harris Interactive, +1-585-214-7665

Web site: http://www.harrisinteractive.com/