KC Chiefs fans need to work on grammar, but they’re way better than Washington
Take heart, Chiefs fans. You may not be that grammatical, but at least you’re better than those dopes from Denver.
This week The Wall Street Journal determined that Washington fans have the worst writing skills in the NFL, making an embarrassing 16.5 mistakes per 100 words. The most literate fan base: the Detroit Lions, with an average of only 4.2 mistakes per 100 words.
To come up with the rankings, the paper plucked 150 comments of at least 50 words each from the news section of every NFL team’s website. It then ran them through Grammarly, an automated proofreading program that uses algorithms to check for spelling, grammar and punctuation errors.
Kansas City Chiefs fans finished 12th out of 32 teams, making an average of 7.5 mistakes per 100 words. Fans of the Broncos finished one spot higher (meaning worse) in 11th place, committing 7.6 mistakes per 100 words. Fans of the St. Louis Rams ranked 5th worst, making 11.5 mistakes per 100 words.
The findings showed no correlation between losing and poor spelling and grammar. Fans of the Super Bowl champion New England Patriots, for instance, finished as the fourth worst in Grammarly’s analysis.
The story also notes that NFL fans in general fall right in the middle of major sports fans when it comes to proper writing. An earlier Grammarly study found that, on average, NFL fans make 9.9 mistakes per 100 words. That’s more than fans of Major League Baseball and the National Hockey League (8.2 each), but fewer than fans of the National Basketball Association (10.3) and NASCAR (10.5).
To reach James A. Fussell, call 816-234-4460 or send email to jfussell@kcstar.com. On Twitter @jamesafussell.
This story was originally published April 30, 2015 at 2:07 PM with the headline "KC Chiefs fans need to work on grammar, but they’re way better than Washington."