Fan bases most deserving of a Super Bowl 50 win

[Arkansas Bengal]

Power Rankings: Fan bases most deserving of a Super Bowl 50 win

 

By James Merilatt
June 30, 2015 9:30 am EDT

Seven months from now, the AFC and NFC champs will square off in Super Bowl 50, the golden anniversary for the biggest sporting event in America. On that day, two dedicated fan bases will tune in to root for their team, just like they do every week. But will they be worthy of having their day end on a high note? Or are they a bunch of frontrunners who have simply jumped on the bandwagon at a convenient time?

This will effect how fans who don’t have a dog in the fight root on Super Sunday. They won’t want to support the bad fans.

Some are a little too fair-weather. Some are spoiled by success. Some would be too annoying if they won. And some aren’t involved enough to care.

How do they stack up? Here’s how each team’s fan bases ranked, based on which one is the most deserving of a Super Bowl win.

***

1. Cleveland Browns – Not only have they never won a Super Bowl, but they’ve never even been to one. The fact that they’ve been so close so many times (see “The Drive” and “The Fumble”) just makes that fact even more painful. Plus, the team that left town for greener pastures (the Baltimore Ravens) has won two titles since the turn of the century. Ouch.

2. Buffalo Bills – Suffering through four Super Bowl losses, in four straight years, is a huge kick to the gut. Despite fielding one of the best teams in NFL history, the Bills have nothing to show for it; that hurts. Throw in the fact that they brave brutal weather to support a team that has taken some “home” games to Toronto in recent and they’ve suffered enough.

3. New York Jets – Most people who root for Gang Green probably weren’t alive when the J-E-T-S won their only title, 47 years ago in Super Bowl III. In the interim, there’s been a lot of bad football played in New York, while fans have had to endure watching the hated Giants hoist the Lombardi Trophy four times since Joe Namath’s historic victory.

4. Minnesota Vikings – Another group of fans that has endured four losses in the big game, in four games that were never really close. That’ll sting, a pain that still lingers to this day in the Twin Cities. In the years since, they’ve come agonizingly close (Gary Anderson’s missed FG in 1998 and Brett Favre’s late pick in 2009), but keep missing the brass ring.

5. Philadelphia Eagles – When you haven’t won a title since Chuck Bednarik was playing both ways, it’s been a while; that’s the life of an Eagles fan, however. They thought the suffering might end in 1980, but they came up short. And multiple chances with Andy Reid went for naught, as well. The loyalty and passion in the City of Brotherly Love deserves a big win.

6. Kansas City Chiefs – It seems like a long time ago that Len Dawson was leading the Chiefs to a victory in Super Bowl IV, matriculating the ball down the field at the direction of Hank Stram. In the 46 years since, Kansas City fans have barely seen their team get close, suffering through a playoff-victory drought that is more than two decades and counting.

7. Oakland Raiders – Forced to watch one of the worst teams in the league, having been brutal since their last Super Bowl appearance in 2002, in one of the biggest dumps in the NFL, Raiders fans still remain loyal to their team. Sure, they were Halloween costumes to the game, which is creepy. But they are a loyal bunch, and that’s worthy of a reward eventually.

8. Detroit Lions – It’s been more than a half a century since the Motor City was home to the best team in pro football. In the decades since, they’ve suffered through a ton of losing. Two things sum it all up – Matt Millen and 0-16. The people of Detroit have seen a lot of heartache, both on and off the field. A Super Bowl win is long overdue.

9. Houston Texans – This might seem high for a fan base that just got a team a few years ago, but it actually pre-dates the Texans. Long-time Houston fans also suffered through some brutal losses by the Oilers, including when their beloved “Luv Ya Blue” bolted for Tennessee and then went to a Super Bowl in 1999.

10. Cincinnati Bengals – They had a chance in 1981, but lost to Joe Montana and the 49ers. They had a chance again in 1988, but were again foiled by the Hall of Fame quarterback and his San Francisco teammates. Twenty-seven years later, the people of Cincinnati are still waiting for another chance to win it all.

11. Atlanta Falcons – They’ve only been to one Super Bowl in franchise history, only to see that chance get derailed when Eugene Robinson went trolling for hookers the night before the game. They’ve been disappointed by Michael Vick and had dreams crushed by Matt Ryan. If Atlanta wasn’t such a bad sports town, they’d be near the top of this list.

12. Arizona Cardinals – They had to watch their team for years in a college stadium. Now, they have to watch the Cardinals in a building named for a college that doesn’t really exist (at least not in Phoenix). And the one time they went to the Super Bowl, they lost by the narrowest of margins (Santonio Holmes’ end zone catch).

13. Chicago Bears – It’s been 30 years since the 1985 Bears rolled through the NFL en route to Chicago’s lone Super Bowl title. In the time since, fans in the Windy City have had to endure some pretty bad football, especially at the quarterback position. The fact that they once found Jay Cutler worthy of hope is evidence of that fact.

14. Washington Redskins – The Joe Gibbs era gave Redskins fans plenty of good memories, as the Hall of Fame coach won three titles with three different quarterbacks. And that came on the heels of the entertaining and successful George Allen years. But it’s been a while in D.C., while fans have had to suffer through Dan Snyder’s nonsense.

15. Miami Dolphins – They didn’t win a Super Bowl title during the Dan Marino years, but Dolphins fans were treated to some very entertaining football; that counts for something. Nonetheless, Miami hasn’t been to the big game since 1984, a dry spell that makes their dominant run in the ’70s seem like ancient history.

16. Denver Broncos – Believe it or not, it’s been 17 years since John Elway rode off into the sunset following back-to-back Super Bowl titles. That’s a long time to wait for another chance, especially for a community that bleeds orange. But when you’ve won two championships, there are a lot of teams who would gladly trade places.

17. Carolina Panthers – When a team is barely 20 years old, there’s a degree to how much their “long-suffering” fans have had to suffer. That said, it’s been a pretty lean existence in Carolina, where one Super Bowl trip is all they’ve been able to muster since joining the league as an expansion team. They are due at this point.

18. Tennessee Titans – In their only Super Bowl appearance, the Titans came oh-so-close to forcing overtime (Kevin Dyson was tackled at the two-yard line on the last play of the game), which had to be tough to bear. But the fact remains, it’s tough to find a football fan in Tennessee who cares more about the Titans than the Vols.

19. St. Louis Rams – They lost the Cardinals to Arizona, which might have been a good thing considering how bad St. Louis was for decades. But a quick Super Bowl title after the Rams moved to town from Los Angeles, which was part of the “Greatest Show on Turf” run that was a joy to watch, should leave fans in St. Louis plenty satisfied.

20. Tampa Bay Buccaneers – After decades of terrible football, there was a short window of success under Tony Dungy and Jon Gruden in the late 1990s and early 2000s. But now, the Bucs are back to being one of the worst franchises in all of professional sports. A few good years, and one Super Bowl title, hardly makes up for that rough stretch.

21. Seattle Seahawks – The fact that they are called the “12th Man” is evidence that they are a great fan base. The fact that they call themselves that is evidence that they are a little too full of themselves. They got a taste of success two years ago, which was followed up by the most-bitter of pills last season. That’s a roller coaster ride.

22. Indianapolis Colts – First of all, they stole their team from Baltimore, so it’s hard to feel sorry for the good folks in Indy. Then, they had the pleasure of watching Peyton Manning for a decade-plus, followed by the good fortune of landing Andrew Luck as his heir apparent. Times aren’t so tough for Colts fans.

23. New Orleans Saints – They won a title recently, hoisting the Lombardi Trophy following the 2009 season in their lone Super Bowl appearance. That was a fitting payment for the years they had to cheer for the ‘Aints in the Big Easy. But having to watch Tom Benson dance around with his Mardi Gras umbrellas is a sight no one needs to see again.

24. San Francisco 49ers – When a team has won five Super Bowls, it’s next to impossible to feel as though they are deserving of another title. But believe it or not, it’s been nearly two decades since the Niners won a Super Bowl. Yes, they were contenders recently, but this ends a long run of being an also-ran in the NFC.

25. New York Giants – Winning two Super Bowls in the past seven years means those who root for the G-Men have had their fair share of success of late. Nonetheless, the level of devotion they show for their team means they a worthy of being a contender. But if Big Blue doesn’t hoist a trophy in a while, that’ll be fine with most football fans.

26. Pittsburgh Steelers – The fans in the Steel City are fantastic; there’s no doubting that fact. But given that the Steelers have won six Super Bowls, in eight tries, they’ve more than had their chance to bask in the glow of victory. In the past four decades, Pittsburgh has been at the center of the NFL universe more than any other city.

27. Green Bay Packers – If you call your city “Title Town,” no one is going to think you are worthy of any more championships. It doesn’t matter how down-home the fans seem to be, which is really true in Green Bay, it’s still an embarrassment of riches. If the Cheeseheads don’t win again for a while, that won’t be a big tragedy.

28. Baltimore Ravens – The people who were jilted by the Colts in 1984 definitely deserved some good fortune, which they’ve now received twice since the Ravens moved to town. But given the cocky way those teams tended to carry themselves, America has had enough of Baltimore winning for a while, especially those in Cleveland.

29. San Diego Chargers – They’ve only been to one Super Bowl in franchise history, where they were pounded by the Steve Young-led 49ers, but that doesn’t make it any easier to feel sorry for Bolts backers. The weekly will-they-or-won’t-they discussions about blackouts in San Diego, as well as the looming threat of a move to L.A., prove that the fans just don’t care all that much.

30. Dallas Cowboys – Sure, it’s been two decades since Dallas was on top of the football world, but it doesn’t seem like a long enough sentence for the bandwagon jumpers that tend to root for the Cowboys. If they win it all again, fans of “America’s Team” will come out of the woodwork, which is always a sickening display.

31. Jacksonville Jaguars – Yes, they’ve had to suffer through some bad football, especially of late. And yes, they’ve never seen their team in the big game. But the fact of the matter is that they simply don’t care enough to be a sympathetic bunch. Remove the tarps, fill the stadium, show some passion and then ask for a championship.

32. New England Patriots – Not only have the people in Boston been spoiled by the Patriots (six Super Bowl trips and four championships in the Belichick-Brady era), but they also been blessed to see their other sports teams (the Bruins, Celtic and Red Sox) also win titles during that same time. Enough is enough.

Read more at http://cover32.com/2015/06/30/power-rankings-fan-bases-most-deserving-of-a-super-bowl-50-win/#QTgX5mL0yKzH4H7o.99

 

 

http://network.yardbarker.com/nfl/article_external/power_rankings_fan_bases_most_deserving_of_a_super_bowl_50_win/19052060?linksrc=foxmiddle_nfl

 

 

[Le Tigre]

30. Dallas Cowboys – Sure, it’s been two decades since Dallas was on top of the football world, but it doesn’t seem like a long enough sentence for the bandwagon jumpers that tend to root for the Cowboys. If they win it all again, fans of “America’s Team” will come out of the woodwork, which is always a sickening display.

 

See also #26

[HairOnFire]

 

1. Cleveland Browns – Not only have they never won a Super Bowl, but they’ve never even been to one. The fact that they’ve been so close so many times (see “The Drive” and “The Fumble”) just makes that fact even more painful. Plus, the team that left town for greener pastures (the Baltimore Ravens) has won two titles since the turn of the century. Ouch.

 

Fuck the Browns.

 

Bring up to a Browns fan how the Browns have never been to a Super Bowl and the first thing you'll hear is how many championships the Browns won before the merger.

 

Bring up the way the team moved to Baltimore and you're likely to hear spin about how the team never moved at all.

 

Bring up the Drive or the Fumble and the first thing you'll hear from a Brown fan is how those defeats helped build character, which they always brag about having....often while throwing trash or bottles on the field. 

 

Simply put, a fanbase that swallows spin whole and deludes itself by rejecting factual versions of it's own history isn't deserving of anything but scorn and ridicule, especially one with a well earned reputation for poor fan behavior on a scale almost unheard of elsewhere.

 

Far too many people mistake stupidity for passion, including the writer who gets it exactly backward.

 

Browns fans deserve even more pain than they've experienced.

 

It builds character.

[CHRISalreadytaken]

 I actually hope the stains win one soon. They would party so hard and wildly that they will destroy downtown and they would all start shooting their guns and starting fires and end up all dead. Then, we wouldn't be bothered by them anymore.

 

 Yea, that would be cool.

 

.

[fumetti]

CRAP ARGUMENTS.  Cincy fans had to put up with a DECADE of futility!  WORST team of the 1990s!  Only ONE non-losing season (8-8 and nowhere near playoff contention).  At least Clevelands front office TRIES!   They try like hell to win!  But our Mikey?  He flat didn't care.

 

(And besides, Cleveland won plenty of titles before the SB era.  Cincy's got nothing but bupkiss.)

 

The ONLY team that can reasonably be ahead of Cincy is Detroit.  The Millen era was very Mike Brown-ish.  And 0-16 is a bitter pill for any fan to swallow.