Opinion Fan misery index by team supported

[WillHayward]

I was thinking about which team's supporters currently suffer the most misery.

I came up with a simple fan misery index.

Obviously the higher the score the more that teams fans have suffered.

High score = misery
Low score = happiness

AFL team fan's current (2023) misery index by team supported:

[Edit. This has been updated for 2025]

Group 1. Misery :
Saints 43
Freo 32
Blues 30
North 26
Bombers 25
Suns (N/A)

Group 2. Seen some good times but getting anxious :-
Crows 22
Port 21
GWS 20

Group 3. Happy.
Hawks 10
Bulldogs 9
Eagles 7
Richmond 5
Melbourne 4
Swans 4
Geelong 3
Pies 2

Group 4 Ecstacy
Lions 0

 

[damicky]

I was thinking about which team's supporters suffered the most misery.

I came up with a simple fan misery index.

Obviously the higher the score the more that teams fans have suffered.

Poor buggers supporting Melbourne FC have had a wretched old time.

AFL team fan's misery index by team supported:

Melbourne 63
Saints 30
Blues 25
North 22
Freo 21
Bombers 21
Lions 18
Port 17
Swans 15
Crows 12
Pies 9
GWS 6
Hawks 6
Bulldogs 5
Eagles 3
Geelong 3
Richmond 1
Gold Coast NA

Please explain

 

[Scotland]

Surely the Saints are #1.

27 spoons, 1 flag. Even their recent period where they made the GF two years in a row and were a bounce away from winning a flag is remembered for negative Ross Lyon footy and then him walking out on the club.

Melbourne fans who followed their club passionately in the late 2000s and 2010s are a bit miserable, but plenty of Melbourne fans still look back on the 1950s like it has relevance. They were good once. Same as Richmond who are good again but were garbage for 30 years. St Kilda have pretty much always been garbage.

 

[Slartibartfast]

Reckon you nailed that.

 

[Demonic Ascent]

Not questioning the results as they seem spot on but what data did you rely on to calculate this? Is it simple W/L or what?

 

[M Malice]

It's all relative, depends on how old you are, I was around when the Lions won their 3peat and that kept me sustained for a good 5 or so years of crap performances.

If you came on board just after the 3 peat up until 2018 your misery index would have been through the roof.

 

[Boristown]

If it's current levels of misery, then I think Port and Lions need to be below both Adelaide, Collingwood and GWS. Essendon and North both need to be higher, Essendon should be top 3 surely (no finals win for 15 years, drug cheating, wooden spoon, revered F/S leaving etc).

 

[Shell]

Was just talking about this yesterday from my POV as a geelong supporter. I started in 93. We had Ablett, Hocking, etc etc etc. We never hit rock bottom, or were wooden spooners... we make finals and Grand Finals (yes, losing GFs but thats not my point here)... i had a blast following Geelong back then. Yes, except for the obvious matches.

And yep, obviously its easy for me to say this since 07.
BUt flags are like heroine. One hit and you want more. So im still hanging out for me next hit...


For me Melb and St Kilda should be equal ladder leaders.

 

[Dazb86]

I think the 2016 flag will be enough to see me out. Was thinking I'd never see one. I don't think the odd way we won it will ever be replicated. Tom Boyd starring, coming from 7th and with a relatively bad list.

Supporting Melbourne would be like torture.

 

[Shell]

I think the 2016 flag will be enough to see me out. Was thinking I'd never see one. I don't think the odd way we won it will ever be replicated. Tom Boyd starring, coming from 7th and with a relatively bad list.

Supporting Melbourne would be like torture.

I was in Footascray that day/evening. Was awesome.

 

[The wily weagle]

St kilda are getting close to a century and a half of existence and presently have one flag, by one point, to show for it.

Probability, good management or sheer dumb luck would all indicate they should have done better.

The term "long suffering" undoubtedly should have a St Kilda logo next to it.

 

[The Cryptkeeper]

I was thinking about which team's supporters suffered the most misery.

I came up with a simple fan misery index.

Obviously the higher the score the more that teams fans have suffered.

Poor buggers supporting Melbourne FC have had a wretched old time.

AFL team fan's misery index by team supported:

Melbourne 63
Saints 30
Blues 25
North 22
Freo 21
Bombers 21
Lions 18
Port 17
Swans 15
Crows 12
Pies 9
GWS 6
Hawks 6
Bulldogs 5
Eagles 3
Geelong 3
Richmond 1
Gold Coast NA

North should be higher.

Their fans play the persecution card better than any sports fans I have ever seen.

 

[tugga]

Four great years don't wipe out 37 absolutely miserable years.

 

[Bostonian]

I've seen 5 GF wins.

I think we've been more angry than miserable in our lean patch.

 

[Roddy]

I’ve seen 12 in my lifetime, and I recently turned 50. That’s more or less a flag every 4 years for my entire lifetime. My ‘misery’ levels are extraordinarily low. Basically non-existent.

 

[HairyO]

Check out our board. There are some miserable whiny campaigners there.

Most other clubs would trade anything for our recent successes.

 

[Boristown]

I’ve seen 12 in my lifetime, and I recently turned 50. That’s more or less a flag every 4 years for my entire lifetime. My ‘misery’ levels are extraordinarily low. Basically non-existent.

Yeah, Hawks fans should be close to the bottom of this list even if they happen to have a lean next 10 years (which is historically unlikely).

Any misery for Hawks fans stems from being spoilt by so much success.

 

[HairyO]

I've seen 5 GF wins.

I think we've been more angry than miserable in our lean patch.

Fair call. Succession of poor administration and coaching decisions ruining the top players you recruited.

Melbourne the same.

 

[Roddy]

Check out our board. There are some miserable whiny campaigners there.

Most other clubs would trade anything for our recent successes.

Yep, it’s excruciating. Great success and being spoilt leads to a massive sense of entitlement, which in turn leads to a tsunami-like outpouring of whiny sooking the second you come back down the mountain after a period of glory.

 

[schmuttt]

Essendon should be higher but agree us and the saints are a clear 1-2.

 

[Gavin Excell]

Check out our board. There are some miserable whiny campaigners there.

Most other clubs would trade anything for our recent successes.

Bradkil does seem to suffer a bit which given the success hawks have achieved is a little bit of a stretch

 

[Gavin Excell]

I like the idea of a misery index
Why are GC considered n/a?

 

[Bostonian]

Four great years don't wipe out 37 absolutely miserable years.

Fair call. Succession of poor administration and coaching decisions ruining the top players you recruited.

Melbourne the same.

Pretty much sums it up.

We do angry quite well thanks to it.

Wouldn't even say we're miserable now despite no finals.

Just not as angry as back then.

 

[Bostonian]

Four great years don't wipe out 37 absolutely miserable years.

Fair call. Succession of poor administration and coaching decisions ruining the top players you recruited.

Melbourne the same.

Pretty much sums it up.

We do angry quite well thanks to it.

Wouldn't even say we're miserable now despite no finals.

Just not as angry as back then.

 

[HairyO]

I like the idea of a misery index
Why are GC considered n/a?

No supporters from which to measure ?