From Cameron Crazies To Bleacher Creatures, We Present The Worst Fans In Sports

Merriam-Webster defines the word ​fanatic ​as, “a person who is extremely enthusiastic about and devoted to some interest or activity”. Sure, we can drop a few letters and call ourselves “fans” because that makes us all feel better about ourselves, but at the end of the day we are all fanatics of varying degrees.

But what happens when that fanaticism goes a bit overboard, or way overboard and the reputation of a fan(atic)base supersedes even that of the team they’re supporting? Well, you get written about in articles such as this one. So with no further ado, the five worst fanbases in sports.

5. Pittsburgh Steelers fans

Look up the word “insufferable” in the dictionary and there’s likely to be a picture of some “yinzer” (apparently that’s what the locals call themselves) dressed head to toe in yellow and black while waving a yellow towel over their heads and yelling “SIXBURGH!!” (because they've won six Super Bowls. Get it??). By the way, the person just described has literally never been to Pittsburgh, let alone Pennsylvania. This is the most bandwagonist fanbase arguably in all of sports (there's some competition later). If you ask the majority of their fans why they root for the Steelers, expect to hear some mental gymnastics about why. They haven't won anything in ten years, here's hoping that streak continues.

4. Duke Blue Devils basketball fans

Talk about frauds. The “Cameron Crazies”, as they revel in calling themselves, have garnered a reputation for coming up with these super-witty chants and songs and name-calling of the opponent's best players. But *whispers* it's all fake. The students are all given these songs and chants before the games and directed as to when they are supposed to sing them and at whom. Cannot confirm nor deny if they are each given a copy of the Rules of Basketball, as well. Seriously, have you seen the crowd at a Duke game? It's highly doubtful any of them has picked up a basketball in their lives. Not to be outdone, here’s a list of Former Duke Players That Every Non-Duke Fan Wanted To Punch In The Face: Christian Laetner, Cherokee Parks, Bobby Hurley, J.J. Redick, Shane Battier, Steve Wojciechowski...just to name a few.

3. Philadelphia Eagles fans

We could just end this before even starting by saying “these people booed Santa Claus”, but that was them being nice. They also cheered an opponent’s career-ending injury that potentially could have led to him never walking again, so yeah we’re really dealing with the dregs of humanity here. Rationality is not their strong suit. They are disrespectful to football, to themselves, to opponents--and yes, it’s football, being loud and even rude to the opposition is expected, but they take it way too far. They built a jail cell in the stadium because of these fans, so ‘nuff said.

2. New York Yankees fans

If you want to go to a baseball game and listen to a bunch of guys named Vinny and Paulie yell at each other while wearing Derek Jeter home jerseys with the “Jeter” on the back (an ​obvious bootleg since Yankees home uniforms don’t have player names on the back), then Yankee Stadium is the place for you. Sure, the Yankees are the most storied franchise in American sports, and were the epitome of class all the way down to their pinstripe uniforms--the antithesis of their fanbase.

To be a card-carrying Yankees fan, you have to automatically say “27 rings” anytime someone brings up the fact that they haven’t won in 10 years. There’s also a good chance that the person saying “27 rings” ​maybe ​saw three of those championships during their lifetime, and an even higher probability that the person isn’t even from New York. They say it’s because of the “brand”, we say it’s because the bandwagon is the size of China. How boring is it and how boring are you, to root for a team that’s won 27 championships? At least Mets fans have some character.

1. All Boston sports fans

We were going to put New England Patriots fans here, but really it wouldn’t be fair to the awfulness of Bruins/Red Sox/Celtics fans all over the New England states. Truly at the top of the crap sundae of professional sports fanbases. we’ve never seen an entire fanbase whine and complain about how everyone is against them and are so quick to lash out at any shade thrown their way AFTER WINNING EVERYTHING ALL THE TIME. Seriously, ​why ​do they complain about anything?! It’s almost as if they secretly hate all the winning and are ready to pounce at any minor sleight thrown their way.

We firmly believe they would find losing and being miserable way more enjoyable. Yes, all their teams are usually good so there’s some jealousy here, but it’s not their teams most of us hate, it’s their fans we can’t stand. So congratulations, Boston sports fans, you just won something again by being at the top of this list. Time to schedule another parade.

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*Credit to the main photo of this article belongs to Michael Dwyer/Associated Press