Dallas Cowboys Named America's Favorite Football Team for 4th Year

For the fourth year in a row, the Dallas Cowboys are the favorite team of adults who follow professional football, according to a new Harris Poll.

Peyton Manning and the Indianapolis Colts come in at number 2, up from number 4 last year while the Green Bay Packers have moved from number 6 to number 3.

Rounding out the top five favorite football teams are the Pittsburgh Steelers at number 4, down from number 2 last year and the Super Bowl Champion New Orleans Saints who jump from 24th on last year's list to number 5 this year.

These are some of the results of The Harris Poll of 2,620 adults surveyed online between September 14 and 20, 2010 by Harris Interactive.

Certain teams have moved up or down more than others this year. While the Saints' jump up 19 spots is the biggest move, other movement includes the following:

* The Seattle Seahawks dropped 17 places on the list from a tie for number 14 last year to number 31 (out of 32) this year; * The Tennessee Titans dropped 12 places from number 9 to a tie for number 21; * The Baltimore Ravens moved up seven places, from number 26 to number 19; and * Two teams moved up 6 places each – the St. Louis Rams, from number 30 to number 24, and the Houston Texans, from number 23 to a tie at number 17.

For the second year in a row, the Jacksonville Jaguars are at the bottom of the list.

The poll found one in five Americans who follow professional football (20%) believe the New Orleans Saints will repeat and win the Super Bowl again. One in ten believe it will be the New England Patriots (11%) or Indianapolis Colts (9%), while smaller numbers believe it will be the Green Bay Packers (7%), the Minnesota Vikings (6%) or the Baltimore Ravens (6%).

All teams have their die-hard fans and at least a few people believe their team will win the Super Bowl this season.

Over half of Americans (53%) say they follow professional football, a slight increase from last year when 51% said so. As might be expected, men are more likely than women to follow football (66% versus 41%).

Over half (56%) of both Gen Xers (those 34-45) and Baby Boomers (those 46-64) say they follow football compared to just under half (49%) of both Echo Boomers (those 18-33) and Matures (those 65 and older) who do.

While just over half of Americans follow professional football, over three in five (62%) say they like professional football. Over half (57%) say they like it because of the competition and rivalries while one-third (32%) say it is because of the athletic display.

One-quarter say they like gathering with friends to watch games (26%) and a similar percent like the strategy and intellectual components (24%). Smaller numbers say they like professional football because of the fans and excitement (18%), the commercials on TV (7%), and the food and drink that go along with watching a game (6%).