Bengals fans earn surprisingly favorable rating on ESPN's Sports Misery Index

Cincinnati Bengals fans have had no shortage of misery over the course of their history. Whether it's a 0-3 Super Bowl record or the many years of heartbreak, mediocrity, or downright dreadful play in between, the fan base has its fair share of collective, generational scar tissue. Hope springs eternal with a franchise savior in Joe Burrow at quarterback, but it still hasn't resulted in a Lombardi Trophy to date. Burrow got the Bengals to The Big Game as an NFL sophomore. Alas, after advancing to the AFC Championship Game the next year, the playoffs have come and gone without Burrow and Co. in them the last couple seasons. But according to ESPN's Sports Misery Index, which measures the dismay of fans across all sports, the Bengals' suffering is far less than many others. Wednesday marked the premiere of the latest Sports Misery Index from the four-letter network, and it spoke to an optimism around Cincinnati that doesn't seem that misplaced. The Bengals scored a 75 misery rating out of 100, which is still ca