Almost Entire Country Will Be Rooting Against Patriots In AFC Championship
By Michael Hurley, CBS Boston
BOSTON (CBS) -- It would appear as though America is sick of seeing the Patriots in the Super Bowl. As in, almost all of America.
The folks at sportsbetting.ag analyzed geotagged data on Twitter, looking at hashtags that related to rooting interest in the football games this weekend. And when it comes to the AFC, it's clear that everybody outside of New England (and Michigan) wants to see the Chiefs topple the Patriots on Sunday night.
The graphic provides a staggering look at just how much of America will be rooting against the Patriots:
It's clear that Tom Brady has his backers in New England and still has his backers in Michigan, where he played collegiately. But outside of that? The Patriots are on their own.
That map shows that even the Chiefs' rivals in the AFC West -- in Denver, Oakland and Los Angeles -- can't stand to see the Patriots advance to a third straight Super Bowl and a fourth Super Bowl in the last five years.
If it's any consolation, the Los Angeles Rams appear to similarly be the team that that America wants to lose on Sunday:
In that game, some divisional rooting interests appear to have an impact, as fans in both Carolina and Georgia can't stand to see the Saints succeed. Buccaneers fans don't appear to have enough sway over the whole state of Florida, though.
In any event, for the Patriots, this is nothing new. The data may not be entirely 100 percent scientific, but it's in line with the general feeling one can gather by spending more than 10 seconds with any sports fan. Once the underdog, Cinderella team that upset the Rams in historic fashion, the Patriots long ago became the omnipotent juggernaut, the team that just won't go away. America is hoping that trend changes on Sunday night.