New England Patriots fans, New York Jets fans earn tearful distinctions
Despite playing witness to six Super Bowl titles over the past 20 years, it appears New England Patriots fans are still not completely satisfied.
A recent survey of more than 2,000 NFL fans by Lineups.com ranked all 32 fanbases based on how likely they were to cry over their team. The Patriots ranked second, while the division-rival New York Jets were not far behind in the eighth slot.
Here is the top-10 of the “Most Likely To Cry Over Team” leaderboard:
- Dallas Cowboys
- New England Patriots
- Green Bay Packers
- Philadelphia Eagles
- Pittsburgh Steelers
- Cleveland Browns
- Detroit Lions
- New York Jets
- Chicago Bears
- Kansas City Chiefs
Explaining the methodology of the survey, the article says that it asked fans “whether they’ve ever become emotionally upset while watching an NFL game.”
Rounding out the bottom five from No. 32 to No. 28 were the Colts, Chargers, Rams, Titans, and Bengals.
However, it appears that some of these fanbases may be shedding different types of tears.
Of fans who said that they have cried over a game, the number one reason for crying was losing a game, at 49%. However, the number two reason was a happy one: winning the Super Bowl, taking 36% of the votes. So, that should explain the Patriots’ ranking. Losing the Super Bowl checked into the third spot with 35% of votes. Pats fans have plenty of experience with that, too.
Out of the top-10 most tearful fanbases, the Cowboys, Browns, Lions, Jets, and Bears are the only ones without a Super Bowl victory in the 21st century, so we can assume that fans of those five teams are crying tears of misery, not joy.
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The article also features a ranking of the most miserable fanbases in the NFL. New England still ranks surprisingly high at No. 6 while the Jets climb up the board into the No. 3 slot.
- Detroit Lions
- Cleveland Browns
- New York Jets
- Dallas Cowboys
- Philadelphia Eagles
- New England Patriots
- Chicago Bears
- Washington Football Team
- Las Vegas Raiders
- Jacksonville Jaguars
The miserableness ranking was compiled by voters ranking all 32 teams according to their personal perception of each fanbase’s misery – not by asking fans of each team how miserable they were about their own team – so this ranking is more so an estimation of how miserable each fanbase is perceived to be rather than how miserable those fans themselves say they are.
Still, I don’t think Lions, Browns, or Jets fans would argue with their top-three rankings on this particular list. Since the Jets won Super Bowl III in the 1968 season, the three teams have failed to reach the Super Bowl (let alone win it) in a combined 155 consecutive seasons, a streak that will extend to 156 if the 7-8 Browns fail to make a miraculous championship run this year.
