Many attempts have been made to analyze the emotional turmoil that the National Football League’s thirty-two franchises have put their fans through. From the Ice Bowl in 67’ to the Buffalo Bills’ 0-4 Super Bowl run in the 90s, fans have sacrificed their money, time, and large portions of their soul, often earning nothing in return but heartbreak.
For the purposes of this list, all events before the 2000-01 NFL seasons will be excluded. For fans of Cowboys, there is no 90s dynasty. For fans of the Patriots, no decades of embarrassment to mar the greatest run of dominance in the history of professional football. This blend of hard data and nuanced narrative attempts to quantify something previously thought too subjective to properly portray.
These are the twenty-first century NFL fan base pain rankings.With the only top-ten draft pick the Steelers have held in the 21st century, they drafted a future Hall of Fame quarterback who would lead them to eleven playoff berths, three Super Bowl appearances, and two Super Bowl wins. Since that first day of the 2004 NFL Draft, the Pittsburgh Steelers have not ended a single season with a losing record.
While they’ve had their fair share of offensive eye candy (Jerome Bettis, Le’Veon Bell, Antonio Brown, Hines Ward), their greatest case for the number two spot on this list has been the dominance of the defense. Head and Shoulders® above the rest, the Steelers have had a top-five defense in a league-leading 11 of 22 seasons, the next closest franchise being the division-rival Ravens with eight.
Kenny Pickett’s debut season in Pitt may not have rivaled that of his predecessor, but few teams have the luxury of landing a serviceable rookie quarterback in their first attempt.