Detroit Lions Among Least-Hated Teams in the NFL

What's not to love about the Detroit Lions? The redemption story of Jared Goff, the relentless style of David Montgomery, the explosive play of Jahmyr Gibbs and Jameson Williams, the leadership of Aidan Hutchinson, Amon-Ra St. Brown and one of the best defensive lines in football. Dan Campbell's gritty personality tops it all off.

Truthfully, the more successful and insufferable a team and its fanbase becomes plays a huge role in how other fans feel about them. For teams like the Lions and the Cleveland Browns, fans have sympathy for failing franchises. But how they respond to unprecedented success holds the key to public perception until the championships roll in.

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The Browns, for example, proved to have a fanbase that becomes downright obnoxious at the slightest hint of success. The Lions' fanbase has been much more humble in recent years as Detroit has steadily climbed the NFL mountain.

As such, the Lions are one of the least-hated franchises in the NFL according to BetOnline via FootballForever. A graphic was recently shared that displayed the most hated teams in the NFL and Detroit sat at the bottom of the list.

The list was composed using social media data in which fans referred to these teams with negativity such as "I hate the Dallas Cowboys."

It's no surprise the Kansas City Chiefs claim the top prize with the Cowboys close behind. Many fans are sick of the Chiefs' success as they look to three-peat as Super Bowl champions this season all while Taylor Swift watches from her luxury box.

It is worth noting eight teams aren't included in the graphic such as the Cincinnati Bengals, Washington Commanders and Seattle Seahawks. Many of these teams aren't very good or have smaller fanbases, so it's understandable for them to be near the bottom in any regard.

Before the season, the same study was released and included all 32 teams. The Indianapolis Colts were the least-hated team in that graph, another of the 8 teams excluded from the more recent tally.

However, in that iteration, the Lions were among the most hated teams in the league, coming in as the 13th most hated. Considering the narrative around Detroit hasn't changed much through the first few weeks of the season, it's interesting fewer people are expressing their disdain for Detroit at this point despite the Lions having the look of one of the best teams in the NFC.