Poll: Cincinnati Bengals Second-Least-Favorite NFL Team

We’re No. 2! We’re No. 2! Yes, Cincinnati Bengals fans, our team is No. 2 in the nation when it comes to least-favorite NFL squads, according to a poll released today (.pdf) by Harris.

The survey of 2,462 adults found that the only team in the NFL about which fans give less of a crap is this week’s opponent, the Jacksonville Jaguars. (In other words, don't expect this puppy to set any TV ratings records.)

The Bengals’ decline to the 31st-favorite team in a 32-team league reverses a slight upward trend from 2008, when they bottomed out at 32. In ’09, the Bengals rose to 29, and last year tied for 27th place. So if you’re looking for anything else to blame on Carson Palmer, here ya go.

Jacksonville, meanwhile, retained its position as the league’s least favorite team for a third straight year. The Jaguars have ranked 32nd in the survey for six of the last seven years. (And yes, Mike Brown is jealous.)

For the fifth straight year, the Dallas Cowboys finished as America’s favorite team, perhaps because Tony Romo is such an accomplished and entertaining choke artist – or maybe Jerry Jones just paid Harris off. The Cowboys are followed by the Pittsburgh Sanitation Engineers, with the Green Bay Packers, New England Patriots and Chicago Bears rounding out the top five.