How depressing is it to be an Atlanta Falcons fan in GA? See this new NFL team ranking
Falcons’ fans know heartbreak and now a recent poll reveals that the Atlanta team has been named among the top 10 most depressing teams to support.
This is not a Georgia-based problem by any means. Studies show that fans tie their self-worth to groups they identify with, which includes their chosen team. This means a good performance by “our team” significantly boosts self-esteem; and poor performance bruises it.
Atlanta Falcons are the 4th most depressing NFL team
According to a new ranking from Pickwise, a digital platform providing sports betting information, our very own Dirty Birds are ranked fourth highest in the NFL for damaging fan mental health.
Over the past year, there were more than 50 posts on Reddit mentioning “depression” or “heartbreak” in threads about the Falcons showing how affecting a teams’ loss can be on its fan base.
Falcons’ win-loss stats
The Dirty Birds’ ledger paints a grim picture of inconsistency that fuels fan frustration.
- Regular season win percentage: 44% (5th lowest in NFL)
- Playoff win percentage: 42% (6th worst in NFL)
- Super Bowl appearances: 2 (both losses)
- Years since last Super Bowl: 10
Top 10 Most Depressing NFL Teams
These squads scored highest (worst) on the depression index out of 10.
- Minnesota Vikings (7.56)
- Houston Texans (7.46)
- Detroit Lions (7.40)
- Atlanta Falcons (7.33)
- Arizona Cardinals (7.23)
- Cincinnati Bengals (7.13)
- Jacksonville Jaguars (7.06)
- Cleveland Browns (7.00)
- Buffalo Bills (6.91)
- New York Jets (6.90)
How rankings were calculated
Pickswise crunched eight factors into a total score out of 10, pulling from Pro Football Reference and real-time fan sentiment.
- Years since last Super Bowl appearance
- Total Super Bowl appearances/wins/losses
- Regular season and playoff win percentages
- Avg. monthly Google ticket searches by home state (Falcons: 90,500 vs. NFL avg. 142,875)
- Reddit posts with “depression”/”heartbroken” keywords
Which team broke your heart this year? Email me at srose@ledger-enquirer.com or find me on social media.