Ranking the Most Optimistic Fanbases in the NFC West

It's a season of transition for two of the teams in the NFC West.

The San Francisco 49ers suffered through a tough season in 2014 when they went 8-8, but it just appeared to be one of those years when a good team struggles. They still had plenty of talent on both sides of the ball, and there was no reason why they couldn't bounce back.

Except that it turns out there were a lot of reasons, starting with the team's split with former head coach Jim Harbaugh and the hiring of the seemingly overmatched Jim Tomsula.

Even more important was the retirement of a number of players like Chris Borland, Patrick Willis and Justin Smith, who seemingly had quite a bit left and could have kept on playing.

The Niners have lost three of their first four games, and it looks like it will get worse before it gets better, and their fanbase is just coming to grips with this.

In St. Louis, football has always taken a back seat to baseball, and that will never change. However, the Rams are being mentioned as one of the teams that could move to Los Angeles (where they originally came from), and that is not helping the stability of the franchise.

On the other hand, there may not be a fanbase in sports that supports and pours its heart out more for its team than the Seahawks fans do in Seattle.

Arizona fans also seem more supportive of the Cardinals right now than they have since the team moved from St. Louis to the desert prior to the 1988 season.

Warning: Links to Reddit contain NSFW language.

No. 4 St. Louis Rams

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As far as the on-the-field product is concerned, Rams fans know that the team is making slow but steady progress and that the team is moving in the right direction under head coach Jeff Fisher.

The Rams opened the season with a surprising overtime victory over the Seahawks and beat the Cardinals on the road in Week 4. Both wins were notable, but so were the losses in Weeks 2 and 3 to the Washington Redskins and Pittsburgh Steelers.

Victories over teams like Seattle and Arizona don't come easily, but there are obvious issues with consistency. St. Louis fans are not happy with those kind of results. They have recognized the up-and-down nature of the team on social media sites like Reddit, and the fans appear to be quite annoyed.

The potential move of the franchise, thanks to an owner in Stan Kroenke who seemingly wants to take his team to more fertile ground, is depressing.

St. Louis was home to the Cardinals from 1960 through 1987, and they disappointed a lot of fans when they left. Now the city is in danger of losing another NFL team, and fans are somewhat detached because they have to protect themselves in case they get jilted once again.

No. 3 San Francisco 49ers

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After years of battling with the Seahawks for superiority in the NFC West, the 49ers are now in a sharp decline that may be bordering on free fall.

Jim Harbaugh had been the popular head coach of this team, and the Niners immediately surged when he took over the team prior to the 2011 season. San Francisco finished 13-3 that season after going 6-10 the season before under Mike Singletary.

In addition to winning, the Niners also played a nasty and physical brand of football, inflicting punishment every time they played.

But while Harbaugh was a boon for the Niners when it came to winning games and raising the team's profile around the NFL, he was regularly battling management. By the early part of the 2014 season, it seemed like Harbaugh was living on borrowed time in the Bay Area.

Those fears turned into reality when he was fired after an 8-8 season. He was replaced by a meat-and-potatoes type of coach in Jim Tomsula.

Niners fans would probably be thrilled to see their team rally and match the .500 finish the team had last year. Fans are angry about their team's brutal play, and they have taken to Reddit to vent.

After a sharp run near the top of the NFL standings, the Niners have fallen badly, and fans are not optimistic that it will change any time soon.

No. 2 Arizona Cardinals

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The Cardinals are the new rising power in the NFC West, and it would not be a shocker to see them battle the Seahawks for 16 games and come away with the NFC West title.

The Cardinals have gotten a huge lift from the return of quarterback Carson Palmer to full health, and the combination of Palmer and head coach Bruce Arians has helped this team become a legitimate NFC power.

After years of disinterest and disappointment, Arizona fans have thrown themselves behind the team as never before. Fans were legitimately upset that the team lost its Week 4 home game to the Rams, which dropped its record to 3-1 for the season.

That shows just how much the team has grown in stature over the years. The Cardinals fans are known as the Red Sea, and that sea appears to be rising.

Fans are expecting this team to make the playoffs and possibly challenge teams like the Packers and Seahawks for NFC superiority this season.

No. 1 Seattle Seahawks

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It's hard to find a fanbase that is more effective when it comes to supporting its team than the Seattle Seahawks.

It's not just because the Seahawks have been at the top of the NFL food chain the last two years (or at least a close second last year). The Seahawks fans have supported their team in superb fashion since the team came into existence as an expansion team in 1976.

When the team began playing in the Kingdome, the Seahawks immediately had a huge advantage because fans were always in full throat to support the team.

The Kingdome was widely recognized as one of the worst venues for Major League Baseball, but while seats largely went unfilled for many years at Mariners games, Seattle fans packed that dome to the gills to watch Jim Zorn and Dave Krieg lead the offense.

The Seahawks were a quirky yet winning team by their third season, and they played exciting football thanks to wide receiver Steve Largent, running back Curt Warner and a hard-hitting defense led by Kenny Easley.

When the team struggled years later, fans still filled the Kingdome and supported the team.

When the Seahawks moved outdoors to what is now known as CenturyLink Field, the venue quickly became known as one of the loudest stadiums in the league.

The Seahawks fans have always been well aware of their team's strengths and weaknesses, but the fans support them under all circumstances.

They believe in their team, and the 12s are as loud and knowledgeable as any group in the league. They appear to be the most optimistic fans in the NFL.