The Patriots are so much more popular than the Rams that their kicker has almost as much name recognition as Jared Goff
- An INSIDER poll asked respondents about their familiarity with some of the biggest stars of Super Bowl LIII between the Los Angeles Rams and New England Patriots.
- Unsurprisingly, Tom Brady was far and away the most recognized name on the list, with an impressive 83% of respondents familiar with the Patriots star quarterback.
- The Rams comparatively are relatively unknown, with quarterback Jared Goff garnering about the same name recognition as Patriots kicker Stephen Gostkowski.
- Follow along with all of Business Insider's coverage of Super Bowl LIII here.
Die-hard football fans are incredibly familiar with the stars competing in Super Bowl LIII on Sunday.
Between fantasy drafts, national games, and watching their favorite teams week to week, those that would identify themselves as a committed football fan are likely familiar with the biggest playmakers on both the Los Angeles Rams and New England Patriots.
But on Super Bowl Sunday, with more than 100 million viewers likely tuning in for the big game, NFL diehards are outnumbered by casual fans by a wide margin, with people looking forward to watching not just the football, but the commercials, the halftime show, and the rest of the fanfare that comes with a Super Bowl broadcast.
And when it comes to the casual sports fan, the Patriots are a team of superstars, while the Rams are still relatively unknown.
INSIDER ran a SurveyMonkey Audience poll that ran January 22-23, 2019 where we asked respondents to check off athletes and coaches they were familiar with ahead of the Super Bowl, naming some of the biggest stars on both teams, specifically coaches, starting quarterbacks, and pro-bowl caliber players on the roster.
Looking at the numbers, it was immediately clear which team the public was more familiar.
Unsurprisingly, Tom Brady was far and away the most recognized name on the list, with an impressive 83% of respondents checking him off the list, making him the only player to hit 50% or higher. Following him were two other stalwarts of the Patriots dynasty - head coach Bill Belichick and tight end Rob Gronkowski, who were checked off by 46% and 44% of respondents respectively.
Comparatively, the Los Angeles Rams are far less known. The biggest star on the team is running back Todd Gurley, whose name was checked off by just 24% of respondents. Quarterback Jared Goff was next with 23% name recognition - only slightly ahead of Patriots kicker Stephen Gostkowski, who 22% of respondents recognized. Rams kicker Greg Zuerlein, who hit two impressive late field goals to lift the team over the Saints in the NFC Championship, was known by just 13% of respondents.
Bill Belichick and Rams Coach Sean McVay - who reportedly formed an off-field bond throughout the season - have wildly diverging star power, with the young coaching phenom notching 22% name recognition, half of Belichick's. Roger Goodell, the league commissioner who's gone head-to-head with the Patriots more often than the Jets, had 41% familiarity.
The Patriots hold the advantage in star power, but that doesn't mean people are rooting for them. The same INSIDER poll found that just 20% of viewers will be cheering for the Patriots on Sunday, compared to 41% of respondents cheering for the Rams and 37% of respondents saying they don't have a preference on who wins the game.
In football as in life, being known is not the same as being liked.
More Super Bowl LIII coverage:
The 31 best prop bets you can make on the greatest gambling day of the year - Super Bowl Sunday
SurveyMonkey Audience polls from a national sample balanced by census data of age and gender. Respondents are incentivized to complete surveys through charitable contributions. Generally speaking, digital polling tends to skew toward people with access to the internet. SurveyMonkey Audience doesn't try to weight its sample based on race or income. Total 1,175 respondents, a margin of error plus or minus 3 percentage points with a 95% confidence level.