A sizable subset of NFL followers find New England Patriots fans annoying. Whether or not that opinion is justified, of course, is a matter worthy of debate. It goes without saying that fans of other teams have tired of the Patriots' unprecedented run of success over the last two decades, but it's also self-evident that New England faithful don't always enjoy their team's dominance with humility. The perception between fans of supporting teams and Patriots fans of themselves, per usual, is in reality somewhere in the middle between those two extremes.

But in terms of overall commitment to their team? New England followers, to no one's surprise, rank among the NFL's best. In a study by Emory University's Goizueta School of Business, by way of Yahoo Sports, analyzing the strength of all 32 NFL fan bases, the Patriots' came in second behind that of the Dallas Cowboys'.

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The ranking was compiled by analyzing three criteria: Fan Equity, Social Equity and Road Equity. Fan Equity was measured by how well fans support their team in dollars; Social Equity is a study of social media reach; and Road Equity was decided by a fan base's ability to show up for away games. Each of the league's 32 teams were then ranked from first to last in each category, leading to a cumulative total used to rank every fan base.

Dallas Cowboys fans ranked first, with those of the Philadelphia Eagles, New York Giants, and Pittsburgh Steelers rounding out the top-five. Last on the list, surprisingly? Followers of the Kansas City Chiefs and Los Angeles Rams.