Washington Commanders Have the NFL's Happiest Fans Based on AI Selfie Analysis
Fans from every National Football League franchise have made the case that theirs is the best fan base in the league – and while that might be difficult to quantify, we can at least take a shot at assessing which group of NFL supporters is the happiest.
Sportsbook Review analyzed more than 20,000 selfies taken at every NFL stadium and, with the help of AI facial recognition technology, determined which fan bases produced the highest rate of happy faces in those images.
Which fan base wears the crown as the happiest in the NFL? Given the team's recent on-field performance, the answer is almost certainly one you didn't expect.
NFL's happiest fan bases
| Rank | Team | Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 😁 1 | Washington Commanders | 61.0% |
| 😀 2 | Green Bay Packers | 59.0% |
| 🙂 3 | Tennessee Titans | 57.4% |
| 4 | Jacksonville Jaguars | 55.5% |
| 5 | New Orleans Saints | 55.2% |
Well, this is really something. The Commanders are coming off an embarrassing 4-13 showing in 2023, whileFedEx Field ranks dead last in The Athletic's rankings of the best stadiums in the NFL (a distinction it also earned in the previous survey three years earlier). Add in the fact that the roster lacks star power, and ... well, wyd, Washington fans?
That said, here's something to consider: Maryland ranks third in Wallethub's recent analysis of the happiest states in the U.S. It ranked third behind only Utah and Hawaii while placing inside the top-eight in all three main categories (fourth in work environment, fifth in community and environment and eighth in emotional and physical well-being).
I have to think that plays a major role in the results of this study, because otherwise, those joyous souls have no reason to be that happy at a Commanders home game.
The Green Bay Packers take up the No. 2 spot in our analysis, and this result makes a lot more sense. The Packers have been one of the most consistent teams in the NFL, racking up the third-most wins of any team in the 21st Century. And Lambeau Field ranks third in the Athletic rankings, earning No. 1 votes from six members of the panel.
The Tennessee Titans and New Orleans Saints have the third- and fifth-happiest fans in the NFL, respectively based on selfie data. It's no coincidence that both stadiums also rank inside the top five in number of bars within a one-mile radius – those smiles are a lot more plentiful when you've put in a little pre-game party time.
The Jacksonville Jaguars are the other team to make the top five, likely due to a combination of often picturesque weather and a Jags team that is on the upswing. But in another bizarre twist, TIAA Bank Field finished second-last in The Athletic's stadium survey.
NFL's saddest fan bases
| Rank | Team | Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 😭 1 | Atlanta Falcons | 9.9% |
| 😢 2 | Kansas City Chiefs | 8.0% |
| 😔 T3 | Seattle Seahawks | 7.9% |
| 😔 T3 | Buffalo Bills | 7.9% |
| 5 | Dallas Cowboys | 7.7% |
Ah, common sense. How I've missed you.
Atlanta Falcons fans will be the first (and second, and third, and so on, until the literal end of time) to say that they are, in fact, the saddest in the NFL. Falcons supporters have endured more than their share of tough-to-swallow outcomes and major coaching malpractice over the past few years, though better times could be ahead with a new coach in the fold.
Each of the teams occupying the third-through-fifth spots also have compelling reasons to look crestfallen.
The Seahawks opened last season 6-3 but sputtered down the stretch to miss the playoffs for the second time in three seasons. Bills fans' faces have been frozen in a perma-scowl since those four straight Super Bowl losses in the 1990s, and a string of gut-punch losses in more recent years haven't helped. And the Cowboys ... well, how much time do you have?
That leaves only our No. 2 team on the list, the ... Kansas City Chiefs? As in, the reigning back-to-back Super Bowl champions? The four-SB-appearances-in-five-years Chiefs? The current odds-on favorite to make it three titles in a row?
Ah, common sense. I miss you.
NFL's angriest fan bases
| Rank | Team | Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 🤬 1 | Philadelphia Eagles | 4.2% |
| 😡 2 | Las Vegas Raiders | 4.0% |
| 😠 3 | Kansas City Chiefs | 3.6% |
| 4 | Pittsburgh Steelers | 3.4% |
| 5 | Chicago Bears | 3.3% |
Boy, we've got some gritty, grizzled fan bases on here. Also, the Chiefs. Seriously.
Pennsylvania sports fans have a reputation for being capital-P passionate, so it shouldn't come as much of a surprise to see both the Eagles and Steelers among the top-four mad bro fan bases. Ditto the Raiders, who had plenty to be irate about last season as they wound up using four quarterbacks (none of them good) and finished just out of the playoff picture.
The Bears round out this list, and honestly, I expected them to be at the top. Between the non-stop quarterback discourse, the controversy surrounding fired running backs coach David Walker and mostly putrid on-field play (more on the mostly putrid on-field play in the next section), Da Bears deserved da boos in 2023.
Other NFL selfie results
NFL's most disgusted fans: Chicago Bears
When you start a season 0-4 after finishing the previous campaign with 10 straight defeats, you're bound to look like you'd rather be drinking poison. And if you're looking for one extra reason to buy Bears fans looking disgusted as well as angry, consider that Chicago tied an NFL record with three blown double-digit fourth-quarter leads in 2023. Ouch!
NFL's most surprised fans: Dallas Cowboys
You have to give it to Cowboys fans: They are a highly convicted bunch (the emotion, not the legal status). And it works both ways; if you root for Dallas, you're either irrationally confident or helplessly pessimistic. So it stands to reason that half the fan base is shocked when they win, and the other half is stunned when they don't.
NFL's calmest fans: Houston Texans
Hop in your Lincoln from Dallas and take the I-45 south for just over three hours, and you'll find the chillest folk this side of Matthew McConaughey. Lifestyle site BestLife recently ranked Houston sixth among the most relaxing cities in the U.S., the study applauded the city's abundance of walking trails and absence of noise and pollution.
NFL's most scared fans: Dallas Cowboys
It sounds so emotionally taxing to be a Cowboys fan. They're sad, they're surprised, and apparently they're also scared out of their wits. I have to think some of these selfies were taken during Dallas' humbling Wild Card Round loss to Green Bay, a game in which the Cowboys once trailed by as many as 32 points. That result would scare just about anyone.
Methodology
We examined more than 20,000 selfies taken across all 32 NFL stadiums, then used AI facial recognition technology to determine which emotions are being expressed in those photos.
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