Cleveland Browns fans have been through a lot over the years— not winning a championship since the 60s and having a 0-16 season last year—and a new study ranking them among the worst in the NFL is the icing on top of a half-eaten cake.
A study conducted by Dr. Michael Lewis of Emory University ranked the Browns fans as the fifth worst fan base in the NFL.
The Browns join Jaguars, Chiefs, Rams and Titans who are ranked dead last on the losing list. Dr. Lewis used three measures of fan engagement to determine the rankings.
- Fan equity focuses on the home box office revenues.
- Social equity focuses on fan willingness to engage as part of a team's online community.
- Road equity focuses on how teams draw on the road after adjusting for team performance.
To get the final ranking, he used a simple average across the three metrics.
The top five winners on the list are the Cowboys, Patriots, Eagles, Giants and the Steelers, which is unchanged from last year according to the study.
Browns fans, whose faith has been shaken over the years, still show up for their team, with the most recent example being the parade that was held in January for the team's "perfect season." About 3,000 fans showed up in the cold weather to show their undying support for a team that didn't win a single game.
