The Dallas Cowboys have been known as the team that gets the most hated on around the league, but now there is a new main villain in town. America’s Team is no longer the most hated in the NFL, as there has been a team to eclipse them in hate.
While there was a nice period where the New England Patriots were the most hated team when they were running the empire. But besides for that time, the Cowboys have always been the most hated team in the league. It appears that the new dynasty is also taking the mantle now as the most despised team.
Kansas City Chiefs Become Most Hated Team In The NFL
While the Cowboys have not won a Super Bowl, or even gotten close, since the 1990s the hate for that team goes hand in hand with the popularity. They remain to this day the most popular team in America and are now the wealthiest sports organization in the world.
Dallas has just been eclipsed by the Kansas City Chiefs per data that was compiled by BetOnline.ag. The Chiefs have been dominating the league for enough time that they have become the most hated team in the league now.
Per the study:
The graphic below is based on X (Twitter) data in the last 30 days, tracking negative sentiment tweets directed at each team. For example, “I hate the Chiefs,” “Screw the Chiefs,” “(Expletive) the Chiefs,” “The Chiefs suck,” “The Chiefs are the worst,” etc. Over 130,000 tweets were tracked.
As you can see from the graphic, the Kansas City Chiefs have now firmly cemented themselves as the most “disliked” team, a title that had previously been held by the Dallas Cowboys and New England Patriots (for several years). This is the 6th season that the most disliked/hated team has been tracked.
The reason for this? More than likely it’s fan fatigue caused by Kansas City’s continued success, which doesn’t look like it’s slowing down any time soon (4 Super Bowl appearances in the last 5 seasons). If the Chiefs complete the “three-peat” (winning 3 in a row) expect this negative sentiment to grow even more.
- Source: Most hated NFL teams. BetOnline.ag
It appears that the Dallas Cowboys will always be the most hated team no matter if they win or lose, and the only way to top them is to become one of the greatest dynasties of all time… literally. This also highlights something a bit deeper about the NFL fan base as a whole, that the majority of other fans will hate winners who dominate.
As fans, we seem to love a good story of a team that wins maybe once or twice, but when there is a team like the Chiefs now, or the Patriots in the 2000s for two decades, fans will begin to hate that team the most.
What about this data compilation surprised you the most? It is fascinating that the Colts are the least hated team by the number of Tweets. What stands out in this list?
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1 Comment
When I became an NFL fan in the mid-1970s, the Chiefs were cellar dwellers. They went 14 years, until 1986, without making the postseason. I grew up in Kansas, where fandom was often split between the Chiefs and the Cowboys, because they were the most common teams shown in the TV markets. (Some people likely liked them both, since they were in different conferences.)
After the Chiefs drafted Patrick Mahomes and began climbing the rungs of the postseason ladder, finally passing the Tom Brady-led Patriots and winning their first Super Bowl in 50 years, I was happiest most for the long-suffering fans in Chiefs Kingdom. (For the record, the Chiefs are my very strong second-favorite team, behind the Buccaneers — long story there.)
I can also understand why other NFL fans are tired of the Chiefs’ winning ways, because I grew weary of the Patriots and the way the media (especially Connecticut-based ESPN) put Brady, Bill Belichick on a pedestal. When Brady left New England for Tampa Bay, it took awhile for me to warm up to him being on my favorite team. His leading the Bucs to a big Super Bowl victory over the defending champion Chiefs helped matters, but that was the toughest Super Bowl I’ve ever watched, because I didn’t want either team to lose.
The bottom line, at least in the world of sports fandom, is that success breeds contempt. And sometimes that fan hatred can be tough to overcome, especially when that hated team’s superstar quarterback becomes your favorite team’s signal-caller.