Fandom is special. Many of us cheer for our hometown team, our dad’s favorite team, or the team that was most successful when we were 12. That fandom is not exempt from the most famous members of society. Some celebrities are super fans of some of your favorite franchises, which makes me wonder… I wonder who the queen’s favorite team would have been — certainly not the Patriots. These are 10 celebrities who are crazy for their NFL team.
10. Miami Dolphins – Darius Rucker
The lead singer of Hootie and the Blowfish has some odd fandoms. Rucker grew up in Charleston, South Carolina, cementing him as a South Carolina Gamecocks fan. However, Rucker also roots for the Cincinnati Reds and the Miami Dolphins. Correlation? Not sure, but when your favorite NFL team makes it into the lyrics of your biggest song, you have to be considered a super fan.
If you’ve ever heard “Only Wanna Be With You”, you’ll recognize the lyrics “I’m such a baby because the Dolphins make me cry.” This is likely a direct reference to Rucker’s fandom for the team down in Miami. Rucker even named one of his daughters Daniella after Dolphins legend Dan Marino. Marino returned the favor by calling himself a fan of Rucker.
9. New Orleans Saints – Jimmy Buffett
This one hurts. Rest in peace to the chillest dude on earth. Buffett, while known for his beach music and good vibes, could be found in the Superdome for every Saints home game. Sports Illustrated even clad the musician’s obituary as “Longtime Saints fan Jimmy Buffett dies.”
John Goodman of Alabama.com said of Buffet, “Buffett was at the very first Saints game in 1967 at Tulane Stadium. He had gotten to know some of the original players on the team while playing locally in New Orleans. All those years later, he was in the Saints’ celebratory locker room inside the Superdome after New Orleans won the 2010 NFC championship game in overtime against Minnesota and Brett Favre. As the story goes, Buffett flew from Bora Bora to New Orleans for the game, but not before his personal jet needed repairs for a flat tire.”
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He also went on to call Tracy Porter’s pick-six to seal the Super Bowl championship against the Colts “the greatest sports moment of his lifetime.”
8. New York Jets – Adam Sandler
As a native New Yorker, Sandler had a tough decision to make — Gang Green or Big Blue? Growing up in Brooklyn, which skewed Jets, Sandler landed on the side of Hasselback and Co. Lots of his movies have elements from the Jets sprinkled about, such as Satan being a Jets fan in the movie “Little Nicky.” He took things even further in “Mr. Deeds” when his character straight-up bought the New York based team.
He may not be the team’s good luck charm, but here’s there on the sidelines regardless.
7. Indianapolis Colts – David Letterman
The comedic late night host’s fandom for the team down in Indy is no laughing matter. While most fans aren’t able to do much more than enjoy the games, Letterman’s status as a celebrity has allowed him to take part in team events over the years. When the Colts unveiled a statue of Peyton Manning in 2017, Letterman was tasked with giving a speech. It was only five minutes long, but Letterman packed a plethora of jokes into it at the expense of both Hall of Famer Peyton Manning and the city of Indianapolis. Manning was also a frequent guest on Letterman’s show thanks to his fandom.
6. Houston Texans – George W. Bush
It’s tough to find a celebrity with higher status than a president of the United States, even a former one. Both George W. Bush and his late father, George H.W. Bush, both proudly called themselves fans of Texas’s AFC team. The Bush family has long-standing allegiances to sports in the Houston area and were once even owners of the Texas Rangers.
The Bush family took a strong liking to the Texans when they were added in expansion in the early 2000’s. When Bush senior’s health began to decline, he was still a frequent sight at home games, sometimes coming out onto the field in a golf cart. When H.W. passed, the team held a moment of silence in recognition of his support for the franchise.
5. Carolina Panthers – Steph Curry
Athletes are often the biggest supporters of other athletes. For future Hall of Fame point guard Steph Curry, that fandom gets pointed to the hometown team. Curry attended college at the tiny Davidson College in North Carolina. Both he, his brother, and his wife all grew up in the Charlotte area, and naturally kept the fandom pounding.
Curry is a Panthers fan for life. Take a look at his social media pages and you’ll see him rocking Panthers gear or appearing on the sidelines. He has sneakers in the Panthers colorways and often wears a Panthers jersey at Warriors’ practice sessions. That’s much more than just the token amount of dedication, more than a Sunday afternoon casual.
4. Green Bay Packers – Lil Wayne
The Packers actually have quite a number of celebrity fans, including Justin Timberlake and Harry Styles, but the biggest of the big is rapper Lil Wayne. Weezy reps the green and yellow so adamantly he wrote a song about it. Even those who don’t like hip-hop or rap that much can’t help but groove to “Green and Yellow” which debuted in early 2021.
Lil Wayne grew up in the New Orleans area around a mob of Who Dat Nation, but when he watched the Packers beat the Pats in Super Bowl XXXI, he was a fan for life. He even said in an interview when he was a kid, if he saw something with the Packers on it, he had to have it.
3. Dallas Cowboys – LeBron James
This one might be controversial as the King has supported the “other” team in Cleveland for some time, but he is a Cowboys fan through and through. You would expect the Ohio native to root for the Bengals or Browns more earnestly, or even the Dolphins after all his time in Miami, but King James loves them Cowboys.
He’s often seen wearing the blue star of the Dallas team and will sometimes spend time with Jerry Jones. LeBron did receive some backlash when he visited the Rams locker room after they beat the Cowboys in the playoffs since he now lives in Los Angeles, but he said he still considers himself a big Cowboys fan.
2. New England Patriots – Mark Wahlberg
Few celebrities are as tied to a specific city as Mark Wahlberg is to Boston. Through various movies and shows, he’s had ample opportunity to show his love for the Bruins, Celtics, and yes, the Patriots. He’s a huge Patriots fan, even though the team is technically from “New England,” their stadium is in Boston. The Patriots have plenty of celebrity fans, being one of the biggest teams in the NFL due to the past two decades of success, but few are more outspoken in their fandom than Marky Mark. He’s been a Patriots fan all his life growing up in Boston.
1. Las Vegas Raiders – Ice Cube
Few celebrities are tied to specific cities, but even fewer are tied to specific logos. From N.W.A. to Boyz in the Hood, Ice Cube has kept that fitted Raiders hat on at every stop. The apper and actor grew up in Los Angeles, which was one of the places the Raiders have called home among their many years in the league. He was a teen when they arrived in 1982, and despite the team moving north to Oakland following the 1994 season, he’s been a huge fan ever since.
He calls himself the president of Raider Nation and helped the team produce the documentary “Straight Outta L.A.” He supported the team moving to Las Vegas since it’s closer to their SoCal roots as opposed to the NorCal city of Oakland. It doesn’t matter where they play or what they call themselves, this cool as an Ice Cube star will be lending his voice to the team in full support wherever they go.
