If you were to rank Cleveland's three major professional sports teams by their success, or lack thereof, in the last few years, the task would be pretty simple.

1. Cavs

2. Indians

(A very distant) 3. Browns

But what if you were to rank the teams by the interest they generate in the market?

Would the Browns be No. 1, as many might assume?

The latest poll from Nielsen Scarborough indicates quite the opposite.

The Indians, according to Scarborough, have taken the top spot in the Cleveland market for the first time since 2012. The Cavs are a very close second, and the Browns are eight percentage points back of the Cavs at No. 3.

The poll measures adults who say they have watched, attended or listened to a team's games in the past year. The most recent survey was conducted from February to August 2017 — a time in which the Tribe was coming off its first World Series run in 19 years and the Cavs were embarking on their third consecutive trip to the NBA Finals.

The Browns, you might have heard, are 1-25 the last two years.

Nielsen Scarborough says 65% of Cleveland adults have watched, attended or listened to an Indians game in the last year. That's a 15% increase from the research firm's previous measurement for the Tribe, and enough to knock the Cavs out of the No. 1 spot.

The previous poll had the Cavs first, the Browns second and the Tribe third.

Here are Cleveland's current sports preferences, according to the poll:

1. Indians: 65% (up 15%)

2. Cavaliers: 63% (down 3%)

3. Browns: 55% (down 11%)

4. Ohio State: 42% (down 6%)

5. Pittsburgh Steelers: 15% (down 21%)

6. Cleveland Monsters: 10% (up 29%)

7. Akron RubberDucks: 8% (down 10%)

8. Cincinnati Bengals: 7% (down 37%)

9. Columbus Blue Jackets: 7% (up 129%)

10. Lake County Captains: 6% (up 31%)

11. University of Akron: 6% (up 73%)

12. Kent State: 5% (down 23%)

13. Cincinnati Reds: 5% (up 30%)

14. Cleveland State: 3% (up 27%)

15. Columbus Crew: 3% (new measurement)

A few quick thoughts on the results:

• The only thing we found somewhat surprising from the top four was that the Indians had overtaken the Cavs, who were coming off the franchise's first-ever championship at the time the poll was conducted. That shows just how strong of a reach the Indians do have when they produce such a compelling product.

• The Browns are where they should be, though their constant turmoil still ends up dominating much of the local sports conversation. (If the measurement was done by minutes spent discussing each club on sports talk radio, the top three would be flipped.)

• We're surprised the Steelers, who have a strong following in Northeast Ohio, actually dropped 21% and don't have a percentage in at least the low 20s.

• How dare the numbers drop for the RubberDucks?! Akron's Double-A baseball team is coming off its best season at the gate in 10 years.

• The poll shows just how far Cleveland State has to go just to compete with the likes of Akron and Kent State — let alone the big three teams in town.

Scarborough said the Indians' numbers in the poll are the franchise's highest in almost 10 years.

One more time: They're getting a lot more support than you think.

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