Patriots followers have experienced some gut-wrenching lows in recent years, such as a Super Bowl loss to the Giants, Tom Brady's season-ending injury 15 plays into the 2008 season, the fourth-and-2 disappointment in Indianapolis, and last season's playoff setback to the Jets.
Then there is the question seemingly asked more than any other, a result of frustration from watching opposing quarterbacks having too much time in the pocket: Where's the pass rush?
Add it all up and one might say being a Patriots follower can be an exhausting existence ... until one considers life in the 31 other NFL cities.
That's what the American City Business Journals did in producing a 32-team ranking of the easiest franchises to root for, and the research produced this result: "At the bottom of the scale are the New England Patriots. Three Super Bowl titles since 2001 have made the Patriots the easiest NFL team to root for."
Details of the study were explained, and the entire 32-team list was broken down, with the Lions ranked as the toughest team to root for.