The Business Journals' On Numbers recently conducted a study that ranks the easiest and toughest teams to root for in each of the four major sports leagues. The "fan difficulty index" is based on a 50-50 formula that includes a team's performance over the last 10 years and landmarks like the most recent championship, most recent appearance in a title game and so on.
↵For the NHL, the Detroit Red Wings were found to be the easiest team to root for. They have the lowest fan difficulty index by a pretty good margin over the Pittsburgh Penguins, which are the second easiest team to root for.
↵In the study on the NFL, the Detroit Lions are at the opposite end of the rankings. They are considered the most difficult team in all of the NFL to root for, which really isn't too surprising. After all, they have won one playoff game since the 1950s and in the last ten years have set records for futility.
↵Despite the Detroit Pistons' struggles in recent years, their overall success over the last 10 years and as a franchise in general makes them the third easiest NBA team to root for.
↵The Detroit Tigers are in the middle of the pack for MLB, coming in at No. 16 in the rankings for the most difficult teams to root for.