Ravens Fans Clumsier Than 49ers Fans, Survey Finds
Any Baltimore Ravens fans planning ahead for celebrations if their team beats the San Francisco 49ers in Sunday's Super Bowl might want to pencil in some extra time on their schedule.
If history proves true, those Ravens fans will need to make a stop for a new cellphone after the game ends.
Twenty-seven percent of Ravens fans have had a cellphone accident in the past year, according to a new survey. That makes the fans of the AFC champions 14 percentage points clumsier than fans of the NFC's 49ers, 23 percent of whom have damaged their phone in the past year, according to surveys conducted on behalf of electronics warranty provider SquareTrade.
It's not just Ravens fans who go stark-raving mad and drop their cellphones on game day, though. The unscientific surveys estimate that 23 million Americans have damaged their cellphone or tablet while rooting on their favorite teams and getting caught up in the competition.
SquareTrade conducted the pair of online surveys in January, asking more than 4,500 Americans about their sporting and cellphone habits. Not surprisingly, the damage to cellphones during games centers mainly around overzealous passion and beer.
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The most common accident came from simply losing your grip on the device, which happens 33 percent of the time. Other cellphone snafus came from dropping one's phone in beer, dripping sweat or water on the device and, as will likely happen Sunday, throwing the device in anger or excitement.
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"The prevalence of passion and beer drops caught us by surprise, and speaks volumes about the passion Americans have for football and other sports," Ty Shay, chief marketing officer for the San Francisco-based SquareTrade, said in a statement.
So what can you do to keep your phone out of the beer keg, and keep yourself out of the cellphone store Monday?
SquareTrade advises clumsy Ravens fans, 49ers fans and all others to cushion your phone in a cover trumpeting your favorite team, leave your phone on the couch during bathroom breaks and treat your phone like a TV remote, out of hand but not out of sight.
Perhaps the company's most important advice should Sunday's Super Bowl prove a nail-biter with questionable calls on the field?
"Count to 10 after all suspect calls or player mistakes," tip No. 2 reads.