ALLEN PARK -- The Detroit Lions are more popular than the New York Jets, Baltimore Ravens and Atlanta Falcons, according to a recent ESPN poll.



ESPN recently published a fan survey of the NFL's most popular teams, and Detroit is ranked 15th (2.2 percent voting). Considering there are 32 teams in the NFL, Detroit is on the positive side of the Mendoza Line.

Obviously, the Dallas Cowboys, better known as "America's Team," finished first with 8.8 percent of votes. Green Bay finished second (7.2 percent), followed by the New York Giants (7.1), Pittsburgh Steelers (7.1) and New England Patriots (6.8).

According to ESPN.com, pollsters conduct 1,500 monthly telephone interviews with a nationally representative sample of Americans age 12 and older. They have reached 390,000 Americans since 1994 via land lines and cell phones, in English and Spanish.

What does this mean?

First of all, it means there is plenty of interest in Lions receiver Calvin Johnson, quarterback Matthew Stafford and defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh. All three are household names among average sports fans, which only increases the team's popularity.

Secondly, it means training camp cannot come soon enough as reporters do their best to feed their NFL audiences with minimal player access in the offseason.

Here is the poll:

2012 fan survey of favorite teams:

Rank Team Pct.

1 Cowboys 8.8

2 Packers 7.2

3 Giants 7.1

4 Steelers 7.1

5 Patriots 6.8

6 Bears 4.2

7 Saints 4.1

8 49ers 4.0

9 Eagles 3.9

10 Broncos 3.8

11 Colts 2.8

12 Raiders 2.5

13 Redskins 2.4

14 Vikings 2.2

15 Lions 2.2

16 Dolphins 1.9

17 Chiefs 1.6

18 Seahawks 1.6

19 Jets 1.5

20 Chargers 1.5

21 Browns 1.4

22 Bills 1.4

23 Ravens 1.3

24 Texans 1.2

25 Buccaneers 1.2

26 Falcons 1.2

27 Titans 1.1

28 Panthers 1.0

29 Cardinals 0.8

30 Bengals 0.8

31 Rams 0.7

32 Jaguars 0.4