Cincinnati Bengals fans have had no shortage of misery over the course of their history. Whether it's a 0-3 Super Bowl record or the many years of heartbreak, mediocrity, or downright dreadful play in between, the fan base has its fair share of collective, generational scar tissue.
Hope springs eternal with a franchise savior in Joe Burrow at quarterback, but it still hasn't resulted in a Lombardi Trophy to date. Burrow got the Bengals to The Big Game as an NFL sophomore. Alas, after advancing to the AFC Championship Game the next year, the playoffs have come and gone without Burrow and Co. in them the last couple seasons.
But according to ESPN's Sports Misery Index, which measures the dismay of fans across all sports, the Bengals' suffering is far less than many others.
ESPN Sports Misery Index ranks Bengals fans as 12th-least miserable
Wednesday marked the premiere of the latest Sports Misery Index from the four-letter network, and it spoke to an optimism around Cincinnati that doesn't seem that misplaced.
The Bengals scored a 75 misery rating out of 100, which is still categorized as "flailing" and features the following description:
"Let’s look at it this way: you’re not at rock bottom. There’s always a chance you could improve your fortunes in the coming years."
The only fans who ESPN believed to be less miserable than the Bengals were as follows: Three teams had a misery index of zero. Those were the Philadelphia Eagles, the Kansas City Chiefs, and the New England Patriots. No surprise there, as those teams comprise six of the last nine Super Bowl champions.
Next up were the Los Angeles Rams (28), the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (43), the Seattle Seahawks (49), the Denver Broncos (52), the San Francisco 49ers and Baltimore Ravens (54 apiece), the Green Bay Packers (55), and, stunningly, the New York Giants (73).
If you polled the average Giants fan, I'm pretty sure they're none too pleased with the state of their organization and on-field product. The most miserable NFL fans were no surprise:
T1. Jacksonville Jaguars and New York Jets (97)
3. Cleveland Browns (96)
T4. Chicago Bears and Las Vegas Raiders (94)
Back to the Bengals. Thanks to Burrow and an electrifying offense, the team is indeed not at rock bottom. That would've been prior to the 2020 NFL Draft, when Joe Brrr was drafted No. 1 overall and changed the entire culture of the Bengals' embattled organization pretty much by himself.
With a superstar like Burrow leading Cincinnati's passing attack, it's all but guaranteed that the Bengals will indeed improve their fortunes in the coming years. We're now entering what should be the career primes of Burrow, reigning Triple Crown-winning receiver Ja'Marr Chase, and arguably the most dynamic WR2 in the league in Tee Higgins.
Plenty to be jazzed about in the Queen City. Now hurry up, regular season, so we can see the Bengals' misery index plummet by the time next year's edition comes out!