Los Angeles Chargers

Facebook study reveals Kansas City Chiefs have most optimistic fans

Published Sep. 11, 2015 8:09 p.m. ET

foxsports

People use social media for a multitude of reasons, which prompted Facebook to perform a study on the habits of NFL fans.

In a study called “sentiment analysis for sports,” the social media giant delved into which NFL fan bases were the most, and least, optimistic about their teams during the 2015 preseason. Facebook data editor Robert D’Onofrio provided these details about the parameters of the NFL fan ranking study (via Kristian Dyer of Yahoo’s Shutdown Corner):

Upon conclusion of the Facebook study, it was determined that the Kansas City Chiefs possess the most hopeful and optimistic fans. At the other end of the spectrum, San Diego Chargers fans were most disparaged.

Here’s how the study ranked all 32 NFL fan bases:

Incredibly, Browns fans still cling to shreds of hope after decades of misery.

Quite surprisingly, the New England Patriots fans ranked second to last next to the Chargers for the least optimistic fans. Perhaps that can be chalked up to all the negativity surrounding “Deflategate” and NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, which certainly could have generated a bunch of derogatory postings involving the Patriots.

If you ever wondered whether anything you post on Facebook actually has any impact, this study certainly shows that people are into our business, and random posts count for much more than we realize.

As for those hopeful Chiefs fans, Kansas City hasn’t seen a Super Bowl since 1969. Could this finally be the year?

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