Raiders most hated team in professional sports, report finds
The Raiders and their fans have a storied history of being rough and tumble, so it should be no surprise they’re the most hated team in professional sports, according to a report.
Action Network, a sports media site, used media intelligence group Linkfluence to analyze negative social media posts between July 2020 and July 2021 about pro sports teams from the MLB, NBA, NHL, NFL and Major League Soccer.
The Raiders were the leader, receiving 14 percent negative sentiment online, the report released late last month revealed.
Twitter user Jonathan Crane took pride in the dubious ranking, noting the team’s hardcore following.
“You have to be cut from a different cloth to be a Raiders fan,” Crane tweeted under his username @jcraider08. “It’s not for the weak and wannabes for sure. The most loyal fan base in all of sports.”
The second-most hated team, the NHL’s Dallas Stars, was almost five percentage points behind the Raiders, seeing 9.86 percent negative sentiment on social media.
In the NFL alone, eight other teams made the list of the 50 most hated, with the Raiders this season playing five of the other teams: the Chicago Bears (8.99 percent negative sentiment), Denver Broncos (7.96), Dallas Cowboys (6.46), Miami Dolphins (5.78) and the Philadelphia Eagles (5.42).
The Golden Knights did not make the list of 50, but expansion team the Seattle Kraken did, before they have even played a game in the NHL, with 6.43 percent negative sentiment.
Contact Mick Akers at makers@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2920. Follow @mickakers on Twitter.