Pittsburgh Penguins fans were ranked atop the NHL category in this year’s Fandom 250, the ultimate ranking of fanbases worldwide.
Every year, the Fandom 250 seeks to rank the best fanbases in the world. Not only does this include sports franchises, movies and television shows, but the individual actors and athletes.
This year, the winner of the Fandom 250 in the NHL category are the fans of Pittsburgh Penguins. Pens ranked 14th overall on the full Fandom 250.
Fandom 250: Full ranking of 250 fanbases
Why Penguins fans?
Penguins fans are crazy for their team. How crazy? They celebrated their Stanley Cup win by eating raw catfish in the streets of Pittsburgh.
Buzz and fan participation are factors in ranking fanbases, and the editorial team was impressed with their turnout for their second consecutive championship parade. After one parade, crowds can dwindle. Been there, done that last year.
Not Penguins fans. In 2017, 650,000 fans attended their championship parade, an increase of 200,000 fans from their 2016 championship parade.
And the fans show up for their team. So far this season, fan attendance is over 100 percent at home and on the road. For the 2016-17 season, the Penguins averaged 103.7 percent attendance for every game, home and on the road.
Penguins fans packed the PPG Paints Arena to watch their team clinch the Stanley Cup championship. It wasn’t enough, the Penguins had to set up big screens outside the arena for fans who couldn’t get a seat inside. In the following days, fans returned to the arena and painted the ice to show their appreciation.
Most importantly, Penguins fans are a community. After getting a text intended for a different number offering tickets to see the Penguins play in the Stanley Cup, the stranger gave the tickets to their newly acquainted fellow Pens fans anyway. That’s the kind of community amongst a fanbase that earns a ranking atop the Fandom 250.
The Penguins also have an impressive social media presence, with two million likes on Facebook, 1.7 million followers on Twitter, nearly another million on Instagram.
Fandom 250: Full ranking of 250 fanbases
Full Category List:
- Pittsburgh Penguins
- Toronto Maple Leafs
- Chicago Blackhawks
- Montreal Canadiens
- Edmonton Oilers
- Nashville Predators
- New York Rangers
- Detroit Red Wings
To see where these eight NHL fanbases rank amongst the other fandoms on the list, check out the full Fandom 250 list.
What is the FanSided Fandom 250?
The Fandom 250 is the ultimate ranking of fandoms. From sports teams and movie franchises to Instagram celebrities and brands, if something has an avid, sometimes rabid, fanbase, FanSided wants to honor those fans and — in the spirit of healthy competition — rank ‘em.
The Fandom 250 is divided into 16 categories:Â NBA, MLB, NFL, NHL, Soccer, NCAA, Sports Figures, Celebrities, Music, Movies, TV Shows, Comics, Gaming, Brands, Internet Famous and Other. All 250 qualifying fandoms will be ranked both within their categories and against the field, so fans can see how the object of their devotion stacks up against its peers and in the fan landscape at large.