Lions lead the NFL! (In fan grammar)

What do you want, good grammar or NFL championships?

And if that reference resonates with you, you might just be old enough to remember the last time the Detroit Lions won one.

But the Lions apparently are No. 1 in the NFL in one thing, according to a study: fan grammar. So that's something.

Lions fans make an average of just 4.2 grammar, spelling or punctuation mistakes per 100 words in posts to the team website, reports Grammarly, an automated proofing company (via the Washington Post).

That's the fewest among the NFL's 32 fan bases. The worst -- Washington Redskins fans -- make almost four times as many, with a rate of 16.5.

Lions fans also make less than half of the NFL's overall rate of 9.9 mistakes (which is more than the 8.2 by MLB and NHL fansm but fewer than NBA fans' 10.3 and NASCAR fans' 10.5).

Now the question is, why?

• Related: Follow Schrader's sports oddities in the Ticker

The Post points out that there seems to be no correlation between good grammar and winning. For example, Green Bay Packers fans are second-best (5.1), while New England Patriots fans are fourth-worst (11.6). Seattle Seahawks fans are right in the middle (7.2).

"Lions fans were also tied with Browns fans for fewest spelling mistakes," the Post's Geoff Foster writes. "It's possible this is just a byproduct of having to use the word 'Ndamukong' less often. That burden is now on Miami Dolphins fans."

Or maybe Lions fans' posts just contain more four-letter words, which are easier to spell.

Contact Steve Schrader: sschrader@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @schradz.

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