NFL Attendance, Explained
Left: Dallas Cowboys Quarterback Tony Romo, age 17. Right: Irish Sweeper in Fall River Iron Works, age 17, circa 1900.
Dallas Cowboys
Arlington, TX
Attendance: 87047
Emigrants from Ireland in one year after the most recent recession
Washington Redskins
Landover, MD
Attendance: 83172
Number of people employed by the coal mining industry in the United States
New York Giants
East Rutherford, NJ
Attendance: 79019
Number of Americans the government was unable to recover and identify immediately after WWII
New York Jets
East Rutherford, NJ
Attendance: 78596
Number of people who applied for a one-way trip to Mars over a two-week period
Denver Broncos
Denver, CO
Attendance: 74908
Number of people forced to evacuate after flooding in Calgary earlier this year
Carolina Panthers
Charlotte, NC
Attendance: 72620
Number of ladybugs released into the Mall of America to control the aphid population
Baltimore Ravens
Baltimore, MD
Attendance: 71227
Number of people who crossed the Bulgaria-Greece border on May 1, 2013 (both directions)
Houston Texans
Houston, TX
Attendance: 71080
Number of likes for the Kodiak, Alaska Walmart, in that contest to send Pitbull to a Walmart
Green Bay Packers
Green Bay, WI
Attendance: 70095
Number of people killed in Syria in the revolt against Assad — as of February, 2013
New Orleans Saints
New Orleans, LA
Attendance: 70038
Number of people who have signed a petition asking for a Women’s Tour de France
San Francisco 49ers
San Francisco, CA
Attendance: 69732
Number of people who signed up to take the University of Florida’s free online course “Fundamentals of Human Nutrition”
Philadelphia Eagles
Philadelphia, PA
Attendance: 69144
Number of people stopped under the UK’s Schedule 7 in 2011–12, which allows the police to stop and question people traveling through airports to determine whether they are involved in terrorism and hold them for up to 9 hours
Tennessee Titans
Nashville, TN
Attendance: 69143
Number of U.S. pedestrians injured (not killed) in motor vehicle crashes in 2011
New England Patriots
Foxborough, MA
Attendance: 68756
Cap on number of Burning Man attendees this year
Atlanta Falcons
Atlanta, GA
Attendance: 67850
Number of mosquito nets distributed by the Tanzanian Red Cross to refugees (mostly from DRC & Burundi) this July
Miami Dolphins
Miami Gardens, FL
Attendance: 67744
Number of buildings in the New York City flood zone
Kansas City Chiefs
Kansas City, MO
Attendance: 67672
Number of people surveyed by the US Dept of Health and Human Services’ National Survey on Drug Use, which showed that the number of people who have used heroin in the last 12 months has almost doubled since 2007
Seattle Seahawks
Seattle, WA
Attendance: 66992
Number of people receiving out-patient care served by Interfaith Medical Center in Bed-Stuy, which is currently in bankruptcy court and likely to close this month
Indianapolis Colts
Indianapolis, IN
Attendance: 66975
Number of cans of Karicare baby formula recalled in New Zealand in a botulism scare
Cleveland Browns
Cleveland, OH
Attendance: 66116
Number of people following the official twitter account of Sweden
San Diego Chargers
San Diego, CA
Attendance: 65530
Cap on the number of H1-B visas (the ones for highly skilled foreign workers) available for first-time applicants annually. The cap was reached within 5 days this year.
Buffalo Bills
Orchard Park, NY
Attendance: 63195
Number of entries submitted to Tim Hortons’ Duelling Donuts competition
Pittsburgh Steelers
Pittsburgh, PA
Attendance: 63083
Number of internally displaced persons affected by violence in Abu Kershola, Sudan, by the end of May
Jacksonville Jaguars
Jacksonville, FL
Attendance: 63032
Number of American soldiers in Afghanistan
Arizona Cardinals
Glendale, AZ
Attendance: 62774
Eligible voters in SC State Senate District 42 (Charleston area). The seat is vacant following some ethics violations by now-former Sen. Robert Ford.
Chicago Bears
Chicago, IL
Attendance: 62195
Membership of the American Geophysical Union
Cincinnati Bengals
Cincinnati, OH
Attendance: 60364
Number of bees removed from a Utah cabin earlier this year — “15 pounds of bees,” according to beekeeper Vic Bachman
Minnesota Vikings
Minneapolis, MN
Attendance: 58751
Number of Honda Accords stolen last year
Detroit Lions
Detroit, MI
Attendance: 56285
Number of people who shared a photo on Facebook of high heel cupcakes
St. Louis Rams
St. Louis, MO
Attendance: 52992
Estimate of cases of cervical cancer that could be prevented by having girls currently aged 12 or under vaccinated for HPV
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Tampa, FL
Attendance: 49314
Number of stray dogs in Detroit
Oakland Raiders
Oakland, CA
Attendance: 46431
Number of new AmeriCorps members this year
Victoria Johnson is a cartographer by trade.