Washington Nationals Are the Hardest Team to Support: Where Does Your Team Fall?

The Washington Nationals are the hardest team in all of professional sports to cheer for according to a study done by the Business Journals periodical. The Detroit Lions, Phoenix Coyotes and Sacramento Kings are the other teams most difficult to cheer for in their respective leagues. Here is the complete list.

How did the Business Journals get at this number?

Their thesis was that, "It's easier to root for a professional sports team that wins." Their "Fan Difficulty Index" was based on the teams record of the past 10 seasons, its most recent overall championship and their performance in the playoffs. Read about the methodology here.

While I can see the methodology and reasoning behind the Business Journals study, it falls off the mark in a lot of areas.

First, they have the Chicago Cubs as the third most difficult franchise to cheer for in all of pro sports. I am assuming the person who did this study has never visited Wrigley Field. As a connoisseur of baseball parks, Wrigley Field is by far the best atmosphere I have ever seen at a baseball game.

The place was packed for a weekday game. Thousands of people of all ages were their to cheer on their Cubbies. They were all still going to cheer on their team regardless if they won or not.

The study does not take in to account numerous other factors like team history, commitment to winning, likeable players, good management and league storylines. They ranked the Pistons as third easiest team to support in the NBA. Chrysler has been more successful than the Pistons in the last few years.

There are some teams it did rank accurately, like my Minnesota Vikings (number 30). It has been hard to cheer for them with the Brett Favre drama, playoff choking and terrible coaching. However, only one of those factors were measured by the Business Journals study.

As someone who is currently living in the DC-Baltimore corridor, I can tell you that O's fans are having a much more difficult time than Nats fans. I've attended games at both stadiums. O's fans are passionate, but have an everlasting sense of dread due to their placement in the AL East.

Baltimore sports radio is aflame with commentators accepting the fact that the O's will probably never win their division. They are No. 16, but they could probably be No. 1.

Whereas a lot of Nats fans are currently apathetic. There are die-hards, but a lot of DC residents just don't care. A friend of mine said that going to a Nats-Phillies game in DC is "basically going to Citizen Bank South."

However, the team has hope for the future. Once Bryce Harper and Stephan Strasburg are on the team, Nats baseball will be the hottest ticket in town. 

I much preferred ESPN's recent Ultimate Standings Survey. That study took in to account the other important characteristics of a team, like management, player likeability and affordability.

Where does your team fall? Do you agree with either standings?