Are Kentuckians Really This Sad After a Sports Team Loss?

I'll be honest—I'm not much of a sports guy. Growing up in Indiana, it was, of course, all about basketball, but that just wasn't my thing. As a kid, I was normally too busy fishing or playing outside to care about sports, and when I did flip on the TV, it was usually for a crime show or Star Wars movie. I do follow NFL football and some college football in the fall, but aside from that, I don't watch a lot of games. It's safe to say that it normally doesn't break my heart when a team loses. However, that is not the case for some folks.

A new study from PromoGuy found that the average American feels down for at least 2.5 hours after a bad sports outcome. The analysis was completed in March 2024 via a nationwide survey involving over 2,000 American sports enthusiasts. According to the data, the average age of the participants was about 41 years old, and there was about a 60–40 split between men and women, respectively. The results of the survey also indicated that residents of some states feel a little more post-game sadness than others.

Before we mention the states that feel the saddest after a game loss, let's take a look at the states with the shortest span of post-game emotion. The state that felt the least upset after a bad sports outcome was Nebraska, with residents only experiencing about a 22-minute case of the sads. Mississippi residents were next in line at 25 minutes, followed by Minnesota at 28 minutes. Indiana was a little further down the list, with Hoosiers averaging 1 hour, 31 minutes.

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The state that feels the saddest after a game loss is actually West Virginia, with residents of this state feeling down for about 17 hours after the final buzzer. I personally found this incredibly odd, considering this particular state doesn't have any major professional sports teams. Maybe that's why they're upset? The same is also true for a couple of other states that made it into the top five on this list, including Kentucky at number four. Here is the breakdown:

1. West Virginia - 17 hours
2. Missouri - 12 hours, 33 minutes
3. Montana - 12 hours, 30 minutes
4. Kentucky - 8 hours, 53 minutes
5. Connecticut - 5 hours, 33 minutes

Having previously lived in Kentucky, it's not hard for me to believe that the average Kentuckian feels down for nearly nine hours following a team loss. Everybody has their own hobby or thing they're passionate about, and for many people, it's sports. I've met some very passionate Kentucky Wildcats fans who would definitely throw a chair or two over a bad call. So, if you do find yourself face-to-face with a teary-eyed foam-finger-wearing sports fanatic, just remember to be kind. That said, if it was your team that beat theirs, then I think you are obligated to at least have some bragging rights.