THE WILD AND WACKY WORLD OF SUPERFANS!
Football fans are probably the most passionate of all sports fans,” says Bill Cowher, 61, The NFL Today studio analyst for Super Bowl LIII in Atlanta, Feb. 3 on CBS. He should know. As head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers from 1992 to 2006, he took his scrappy team to two Super Bowl games, winning Super Bowl XL in 2006, and led his players and a legion of fans through incredible highs and disappointing gridiron lows. “When you’re winning, there’s nothing like it,” says Cowher. “When you lose, you hear about it. In Pittsburgh, people wear their passion for the team on their sleeve.” Of course, it’s not just Pittsburgh. Hard-core followers of every NFL team are loud and proud. Here are some of our favorite superfans, from Ellen DeGeneres, Ashton Kutcher and Mark Wahlberg (he loves New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady so much that he put him in
Ted 2) to that Green Bay Packers fan called Frozen Tundra Man (right). They’re FANtastic!
Eric Stonestreet Kansas City Chiefs superfan
“The other morning, I woke up and looked in my underwear drawer, picked out my red underwear, put on my red tennis shoes and my yellow Chiefs shirt and my hat, and I didn’t even think about it,” says Modern Family star Eric Stonestreet. It was Sunday, and for Stonestreet Sunday means football. “It’s the best time of the year!” And the best team, of course, is his beloved Kansas City Chiefs. No matter the uniforms or the players, “my love for the team is always the same,” he says. And so is his game-day etiquette.
“People that come over and chat during the game, I’m not interested in,” says Stonestreet, who became a Chiefs fan around age 10 when he got an autograph from the late running back Joe Delaney, which he still has. “I like watching the game somewhere where I’m with likeminded people.”
“Anyone who knows me or has seen me at a game knows that I am certifiable. I take the losses hard. After [New England’s 2008] Super Bowl loss to the Giants, we had a rule in our office that you weren’t allowed to talk about it. When the subject came up, we would say, ‘That never happened.’” —New England Patriots superfan Maria Menounos, CEO/ co-founder AfterBuzz TV
“I consider myself the 12th man. I’m a member of the team. I actually feel I should be on salary.” “I used to work in the old Atlanta-Fulton stadium selling french fries at the top when Tommy Nobis and Ernie Wheelwright were playing, so I’ve been a Falcons fan forever.” —Atlanta Falcons superfan Samuel L. Jackson
Ashton Kutcher Chicago Bears superfan Hoda Kotb New Orleans Saints superfan
“There’s only one team everyone needs to be rooting for,” says Today show co-host Hoda Kotb. “It’s the New Orleans Saints. They’ve spent their life as the underdog team. They’re led by a man who women want to marry, men want to be his best friend and you want him to be everyone’s father. He’s the guy. Drew Brees,” she says.
“I remember when the Saints were the ‘Ain’ts’; they lost and lost! The fans used to put paper bags over their heads because they were embarrassed. Then they rose from the ashes after Hurricane Katrina and ended up winning the Super Bowl. There’s the team that deserves the love of the country. And Drew Brees [above] was a quarterback who was rejected from one team and brought to another team that was rejected by a lot of people. These two entities came together and created magic.”
Melissa Etheridge Grammywinning Kansas City Chiefs superfan
“Until you’ve stood in Arrowhead Stadium, you just don’t know what it feels like. It's amazing. We have a tradition, when you get to ‘O’er the land of the free and the home of the‘ . . . everyone goes ‘Chiefs.’ I knew that they were going to do that [when I sang the anthem last year], so I paused, let everyone sing ‘Chiefs’ and then I sang ‘brave.’”
“I can never understand when people are like, ‘Why don’t you still cheer for the Bears anymore?’ I’m like, ‘Well, for obvious reasons.’” —Retired IndyCar and NASCAR driver Danica Patrick, a Packers superfan since dating QB Aaron Rodgers
“Seattle has always been a great sports town. After living in L.A. for 13 years without an NFL team, my allegiance only grew for the Seahawks as they got better and better and better.” —Seattle Seahawks superfan Joel McHale
Ellen DeGeneres New Orleans Saints superfan
“I grew up in New Orleans close to Tulane Stadium, where the Saints would play before the Superdome was built, and people who had long driveways or big areas to park on their lawns would charge for people to park, so I would charge $1.50 a car to park in our driveway. I would make $1.50 and any change or valuables they left in their car (joke). Then we would walk over at halftime, and my family would go to the stadium because the second half was free.”
Bradley Cooper Philadelphia Eagles superfan
“As long as I can remember, I’ve been all about the silver and black. When I was a kid watching the greats, like Kenny ‘Snake’ Stabler, John Matuszak and Lyle Alzado, it was amazing. I’m at the games if I can be. I’m an NFL fan in general, and bringing people together is a big part of it.” —Oakland Raiders superfan and Daytime Emmy-winning chef Guy Fieri
A Star Is Born actordirector Cooper is a lifelong Eagles fan, thanks to his late father, Charles. During the Eagles– Dallas Cowboys NFC Championship in 1980, “we brought the TV into the kitchen so we wouldn’t miss anything!”
Jordin Sparks Arizona Cardinals superfan and American Idol winner
“My dad [former Giants player Phillippi Sparks], my mom and our family, we were all raised in Arizona. So I became a huge Cardinals fan. When I performed at the Super Bowl in 2008, a billion people were watching, it was my dad’s former team and I'm at home, so there was a lot of pressure. My dad, who was down on the sideline with me, said, ’Well, at least one of us made it to the Super Bowl.’”
Blake Shelton Arizona Cardinals superfan
“I have seen the Cardinals go to the Super Bowl, I have seen them go to playoffs. The Red Bird is what I love. But my favorite thing about the Arizona Cardinals is the people. To be able to say that Bruce Arians is a friend, Steve Keim is a friend, Michael Bidwill, Larry Fitzgerald. I still haven't met Carson Palmer. I really want to meet Carson Palmer. I am freaking out over it.”