Which NFL Fans Are the Moodiest?

A new report from The Action Network reveals which NFL fans were moodiest during the 2021-22 season by scanning Twitter and Reddit posts made after every game last season.

Las Vegas Raiders fans were moodiest after a loss whilst Tampa Bay Buccaneers fans were moodiest after a win.

Win, lose or draw, how your favorite NFL team performs on-field is likely to have an impact on your mood.

But are some fan bases more bothered by certain results than others?

By scanning Twitter and Reddit posts after every NFL game last season, Action Network reveals which fan bases were the moodiest after both victory and defeat.

In order to do this, negative online sentiment data (words, phrases, hashtags, and emojis, which are known to be negative terms online) for every team was collected after each game played last season. Averages were then calculated to rank the franchises. So which fan bases were the moodiest?

Raiders Fans Are Named the Moodiest After a Loss

The table below ranks the top 5 moodiest fan bases after losing an NFL game:

Rank	Team	Games Lost	Average Percentage of Negative Online Posts After Loss*
1	Las Vegas Raiders	8	26.8%
2	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	5	22.8%
3	Washington Commanders	10	21.2%
4	Chicago Bears	11	20.8%
5	Seattle Seahawks	10	19.4%

*Based on an average score after each loss during the season

Unsurprisingly, when their team loses, NFL fans are ready to voice their negative opinions online. But which losses from the top 5 teams received the most hate online?

Las Vegas Raiders // 26.8%

Their 20-9 loss on the 10^{th of}October to the Chicago Bears attracted the most hate online (30.2%).

Tampa Bay Buccaneers // 22.8%

Surprisingly, it was actually a close win that got fans venting most online, with their 28-24 win on the 2^{nd of}January over the New York Jets welcoming the most negativity (32.4%).

Washington Commanders // 21.2%

Their 27-20 loss to the Dallas Cowboys on the 12^th of December got fans worked up most, with 34.4% of online posts after the game is negative.

Chicago Bears // 20.8%

The game which riled up Bears fans up most was their close 29-27 defeat to the Pittsburgh Steelers on the 9^th of November – 35.5% of all online posts after the game were negative.

Seattle Seahawks // 19.4%

The Seahawks’ 20-10 defeat to the Los Angeles Rams in December got fans’ blood boiling more than any other, with 28.1% of online posts being negative.

Bucs Fans Are Named the Moodiest After a Win

The table below ranks the top 5 moodiest fan bases after winning an NFL game:

Rank	Team	Games Won	Average Percentage of Negative Online Posts After Win*
1	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	14	15.0%
2	Las Vegas Raiders	10	14.7%
3	Washington Commanders	7	13.1%
4	Pittsburgh Steelers	9	12.32%
5	Chicago Bears	6	12.26%

*Based on an average score based on each win during the season

Even after a victory, some NFL fanbases can still be negative about the team’s performance. But which wins from the top 5 teams received the most hate online?

Tampa Bay Buccaneers // 15.0%

The Bucs’ 28-24 win over the New York Jets on the 2^nd of January resulted in a lot of online discussions, with 32.4% of all posts being negative. Perhaps winning the game in the 4^th quarter was too stressful for Bucs fans.

Las Vegas Raiders // 14.7%

The win which received the most negativity online was against the Dallas Cowboys on the 25^th of November. With the score finishing 36-33 in favor of the Raiders, 18.6% of all comments made online were deemed negative.

Washington Commanders // 13.1%

Despite a 17-15 win against the Las Vegas Raiders on the 5^th of December, Commanders fans were still not fully happy. Of all online posts made, 17.9% were negative – the most after any win during their 2021 season.

Pittsburgh Steelers // 12.32%

Steelers’ close 29-27 win over the Chicago Bears on the 9^th of November had fans voicing their opinions online, with 18.4% of posts made online being negative.

Chicago Bears // 12.26%

On the 25^th of November, the Bears beat the Detroit Lions 16-14, resulting in negative posts making up 15.1% of all activity – the highest figure after any win for the Bears.

Methodology

To collect the data, Twitter and Reddit posts were scraped over the course of the full 2021-2022 NFL season. Through the utilization of the social listening tool Linkfluence, sentiment data for each team was collected after each game played (the day of the game and the following two days).

Whether posts are deemed to have a positive or negative sentiment depends on words, phrases, hashtags, and emojis, which are known to be positive/negative terms online.