Every new NFL season brings with it new hopes for every team and fan base across the league (except maybe in Washington).
Just because most fans feel re-energized and ready for the games to begin, however, doesn't mean they're particularly excited about teams other than their own.
Insight Pest Solutions recently collected more than 13,500 responses from fans of all 32 NFL teams to identify the top "pests" of the league -- the most annoying teams according to fans. And it's clear that everyone finds someone else annoying.
Among the most notable -- and, perhaps, most unsurprising -- results: The Dallas Cowboys, New England Patriots and Philadelphia Eagles are the most annoying teams according to NFL fans entering 2019.
The Pats lead the way, with 34.7% of surveyed fans deeming them the most annoying in the NFL. Their nine Super Bowl appearances over the last 18 years probably have something to do with it -- along with Boston fans and the Patriots' well-documented off-field controversies. Regardless of sport, the survey also found that the Patriots are the most annoying team among all four major professional leagues.
The Cowboys have not won a title since 1995, but "America's Team" garnered 13.3% of the vote, while the Eagles were deemed "most annoying" by 9%, just ahead of their fellow Pennsylvania team, the Pittsburgh Steelers (8.6%). The Green Bay Packers (6.8%) and Seattle Seahawks (3.6 percent) round out the top five.
As for the least annoying teams entering 2019? The Arizona Cardinals rank first in that category, with just 0.03% of fans saying they're fed up with the franchise now headlined by Kyler Murray. Rounding out the five least despised teams in the NFL are the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (0.06%), Carolina Panthers (0.2%), Miami Dolphins (0.21%) and Los Angeles Chargers (0.26%). The trend here is pretty obvious: Outside of the Chargers and Panthers, most of the least annoying teams just happen to be some of the NFL's worst teams on the field.
Each team's fan base seems to have its own personal distaste for specific franchises, too. For example, Patriots and Steelers fans who were polled identified -- wait for it -- the Patriots and Steelers as the most annoying teams in the NFL. Cowboys fans chose the Eagles as the most annoying and vice-versa. Texans fans, meanwhile, exhibited some state rivalry by declaring the Cowboys as the most annoying team in the NFL, while Rams fans picked the Patriots as the most despicable -- perhaps with Super Bowl LIII still fresh in their mind.
