List of Worst Fan Bases: Embrace the Hate, Longhorns Fans
The Texas Longhorns haven't had the type of athletic success expected out of an organization that rivals the fame of teams like the New York Yankees, Dallas Cowboys, and Los Angeles Lakers.
But still, one thing remains undeniable: The burnt orange colorway and signature Longhorn logo are nearly universal symbols not only in the sports realm, but across the globe.
Such an extensive reach of dedicated and passionate fans has arguably produced an even greater number of so-called haters. Even some popular publications have joined in on the parade.
USA Today released a list Monday titled "The 10 worst fan bases in sports: If you're on this list, congratulations, you're the worst."
Quite the title for an article that is sure to stir up some playful banter amongst an army of dedicated fans, including Texas Longhorn faithful. The list had Texas football fans ranked at No. 8, ahead of fan bases for the Philadelphia Eagles and Notre Dame football, but lower than the fans of the Golden State Warriors, Boston Celtics, and New England Patriots. The Miami Heat were ranked as the worst fan base at No. 1.
The article prefaced the list with this: "Most fans are great. These are not those fans."
USA Today kept it short and sweet when describing why Texas Longhorn football fans are the eighth-worst fan base in all of sports:
Zach Boyden-Holmes, The Des Moines Regional
Suffers from the same symptoms as Irish fans. They haven't won a football national title since the 1800s. At least that's how it seems.
How many other teams garner the kind of hate from opposing crowds that the Texas Longhorns do? Even when the Longhorns aren't playing, anti-fans still find the time to throw up a "Horns down" hand sign at any given opportunity. Many fans, like those of the Oklahoma Sooners, have failed to adopt an original hand sign to represent their team and have instead resorted to Horns down as their go-to.
The hate for Texas Longhorns football has long been stated and is likely warranted at times, depending on what side you're on. The legendary 2005 National Championship team is the last Longhorns football team to win a title. Every year since, fans in Austin have held championship-level aspirations, though these haven't been realistic since Texas faced Alabama in the 2009 national title game.
Is the rest of the country annoyed? Most definitely. Hearing that Texas will be "back" every offseason despite having just one 10-win season since 2009 is likely tiring.
But Texas fans don't care about your fan rankings. The passion and dedication is on a steady climb with each and every offseason, including this one.
The Longhorns will be looking to bounce back from an abysmal 5-7 record a season ago.
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