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Football is life for many, and the NFL brings out the best and worst it has to offer. Many support, cheer and follow their team proudly, resisting vulgarity and violence. Other fans are downright miserable, fairweather and scary. This is a list of the latter, the absolute worst fan bases in the NFL.
Before we get the bad, who are the best fans? The usual suspects include Green Bay, Dallas, Pittsburgh and San Francisco. Franchises that have had success and built a fan base that sticks with them during low seasons, without resorting to throwing batteries at the opposing team (looking at you, Philadelphia).
A few just missed the top ten teams are Washington, Detroit and Houston. The Texans are almost a non-point given the Houston franchise was a success when they were the Oilers. No reason to bring down the past with the awful current state of the franchise. Detroit plays in a division with super fans Green Bay, Chicago and Minnesota so they look bad even if they aren’t the worst in the league. As far as Washington, well, they are still the Redskins and supported by many. That’s reason enough.
We have major franchises, newer teams and Philadelphia because they belong on each awful fan list. Here are your top 10 worst NFL fan bases.
10. Atlanta Falcons Fans
Via bizjournals.com
The majority of Atlanta fans are fairweather, which has been known for a while. Falcons fans are terrible because they are still hoping for Jeff George to come out of retirement. They are bitter about Deion Sanders leaving and will support baseball (Braves) over the Falcons or even Hawks most of the time. Maybe it has something to do with the highway gridlock of their city, maybe it’s that their teams are not that great, maybe they are just a terrible sports town. They barely sold out games in 2014 against the defending champion Seahawks. It's okay to support college football and NASCAR, just don’t pretend to support your NFL franchise as well.
9. Oakland Raiders Fans
Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
Raider fans are the “other” reason metal detectors should be mandatory at NFL stadiums. The core supporters are a ghoulish looking bunch that live in the past and don’t support their losing team. The Raiders moved to Los Angeles once and it appears history is destined to repeat itself with this franchise. Apparently 2000 thugs can’t support a team on their own. Here’s an idea, don’t cater to these fools and try to make it an enjoyable experience for the average fan. Sorry, too simple of a concept. Good news L.A., you can start printing t-shirts because the Raiders are coming!
8. Jacksonville Jaguars Fans
Phil Sears-USA TODAY Sports
At least this group doesn't pretend to be fans; they don't even show up to games. If you judged fans by the jerseys they wear you would assume their best player wore a paper bag over their head. For the few that do cling to success they are stuck with Mark Brunell. Sorry, if you don’t know who that is you will need to Google him (tip: he was the third-string quarterback for Green Bay at one point). Anyway, the NFL keeps talking about putting a team in London. I say scoop up the team and paper bags and make this move as soon as possible.
7. Seattle Seahawks Fans
Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports
Don’t act surprised just because everyone who has ever spent time in the Pacific Northwest is now a fan of the Seahawks. Sure, everyone loves the Seahawks now, but no team has more regional bandwagon fans than Seattle does. Granted they have their diehards, they also have a lot of people that have no idea who Curt Warner is. This group is despicable because they are so defensive of their team. Russell Wilson is not a top 5 quarterback, people, and Marshawn Lynch is a loose cannon that is going to burn out. These aren’t crazy opinions, but very much factual and something that no Seahawks fan will admit.
6. New York Jets Fans
Ed Mulholland-USA TODAY Sports
Talk about a complex… No team plays second fiddle better than the New York Jets. When people hear they play at Met Life Stadium the response is usually, “You mean where the Giants play?” Don’t even get me started on the whole J-E-T-S chant or grandstand fights that are a regular occurrence. This is a group of fans that hold Vinny Testeverde in high regard, which says enough right there. Not enough? How about the love affair with Rex Ryan? The one that ended immediately after he ditched the loser fans for brighter pastures in Buffalo, New York. That’s right Jet fans, he left you for Buffalo, a whole new low.
5. Miami Dolphins Fans
Brad Barr-USA TODAY Sports
Outside of a few dozen fans that cling to the undefeated team of the seventies, this fan base is very fairweather which is funny because the weather in Miami is amazing. You really have a choice; go see a crummy football team or go to the beach, work on your tan and enjoy a cocktail with an umbrella? Easy decision when the organization has struggled to put a balanced team on the field for years. Check out the stands and try to count the faded Dan Marino jerseys,- you will lose count after 5,000. There’s the one team in the seventies, Dan Marino and nothing else.
4. Cleveland Browns Fans
Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports
This one may sounds like a surprise, but I don’t understand why anyone supports this team. I mean, what's the point? Cleveland already had one owner bail and it's only a matter of time before the current ownership realizes your city is cursed. Go cheer for LeBron; it’s your only chance. Look at the list of failures, even Mike Holmgren failed. The list of failure is long and the list of successes is pathetic at best. Every time I talk to a Browns fan they want to bring up Bernie Kosar of Eric Metcalf (again, sorry, you'll have to Google). Please, stop with the “dawg pound,” you are rooting for a loser!
3. Philadelphia Eagles Fans
Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports
Eagle fans booed Santa Claus and throw batteries at opposing teams like most of us eat breakfast. These are bitter, unhappy people that, despite having a city rich in history, are not New York. Hell, they aren't even Boston. Eagles fans are a group of hateful people that never appreciated Donavan McNabb or really anyone that has worn an Eagles jersey. Oh, and if you bring up their violent nature and how they like to throw batteries, they will agree and are okay with this label. Now they have an insane coach who thinks out of the box (never works in the NFL) and it’s not going to end well. To be honest, I’m glad, Eagles fans truly deserve this.
2. St. Louis Rams Fans
Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports
There’s a reason the Rams are favorites to move to Los Angeles. After a couple of years of success they have run their club to the bottom and no one wants to watch this. They are unable to draft or sign anyone of value. Hell, their best player of all time (Kurt Warner) came from the Arena Football League. Few from St. Louis follow the Rams; instead, the majority put their energy into Cardinals baseball. I bet there are people that are actually surprised to see them on this list, not because of their fan base, but because they still have a football team in St. Louis.
1. Tampa Bay Buccaneers Fans
Jason Getz-USA TODAY Sports
You can blame Florida if you want, after all it's Florida and there are literally a million better things to do than watch a Buccaneers game, but the quality is also really poor. Hey, did you hear they just signed a superstar quarterback that is an alleged racist? This works well because most Buccaneer fans have little problem with this. Also, don’t get me started on their stadium. I mean it’s known as “The Pirate Ship” because there’s an actual pirate ship. It’s funny because there is no way anyone is bringing their kids to a stadium full of unhappy and potentially racist fans (see: Florida).
Sources: scholarblogs.emory.edu, bleacherreport.com, footballnation.com
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