ESPN revised its sports misery index in December and two Tampa Bay sports teams made the top 25.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers are the 15th-most miserable among the 123 NFL, MLB, NBA and NHL fanbases, according to ESPN. The Tampa Bay Rays are the 18th-most miserable in ESPN’s sports misery index.
Five NFL franchises fared worse than the Bucs in the index: the Cleveland Browns at No. 3, the Buffalo Bills at No. 5, the Chicago Bears at No. 9, the New York Jets at No. 10 and the Detroit Lions at No. 12.
ESPN cited the Bucs losing 26 consecutive games when the team began play in the 1976 and 1977 seasons. The 26-game losing streak still stands as an NFL record.
The Bucs last made the playoffs in 2007, which is the NFL's second-longest active playoff drought behind the Browns. Cleveland last made the playoffs in 2002.
The Bucs have only made the playoffs twice since winning Super Bowl XXXVII after the 2002 season.
Four MLB franchises fared worse than the Rays in the index: the San Diego Padres at No. 2, the Chicago White Sox at No.6, the Cincinnati Reds at No. 7 and the Seattle Mariners at No. 13.
The Rays’ 90-win campaign in the 2018 season paled in comparison to the dominance of their American League East division rivals. The Boston Red Sox went a franchise-best 108-54 and won the 2018 World Series. The Red Sox have won four World Series titles since 2004. The New York Yankees went 100-62 in the 2018 season.
The 2013 season marked the last time the Rays made the playoffs. It’s been a decade since the Rays lost to the Philadelphia Phillies in the 2008 World Series.
The Tampa Bay Lightning ranked closer to the bottom for the most miserable fanbase, the 20th-happiest fanbase overall, and fifth-happiest in the NHL.
ESPN ranked the Sacramento Kings as the most miserable fanbase.
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