The Yankees. The Patriots. The Miami Heat during the LeBron era. Duke Basketball. The Dallas Cowboys and the rivals of our favorite sports teams. We hate them. We would rather see our ex hooking up with a model than to watch them sniff a win in a game. A six hour flight full of screaming babies sounds like a vacation compared to sitting through one of their games while your friend cheers them on. Whether it's the pure love and dedication to your team or the sheer fact that you would rather shave with a rake before seeing them win another championship, all sports fans love to hate.
Now, we all have great explanations for our reasoning behind the hate. The Yankees buy their payroll, Spygate and Deflategate with the Patriots, LeBron teaming up with other superstars in Miami to chase that elusive title. And no one needs a reason to hate their teams arch rival. That's like death and taxes, it's a given in life.
One of the most hated teams in America is Duke basketball. Coming off their fifth national title in 25 years last night, it was easy to see that the majority of America was displeased. Now, we can trace this hate back to the days of Christian Laettner and the Blue Devils championships of the early 1990's. It's understandable that people didn't like that team. Christian had a brash personality, and he gave less thought to what you cared about him than Obama gives to the future of America. But he owned it. He was comfortable in that skin. He fed off the hate. But just as this team is hated, it's hard to understand why this generation of Duke is continually hated. Coach Mike Krzyzewski has done nothing but be a class act and great coach unlike some of his counterparts (see Calipari and Boeheim). He continually achieves excellence on and off the court. But maybe that's what it is. People love to hate greatness. Think about all the teams listed above in the first paragraph. What do they have in common? Multiple championships. They are all teams that have excelled in their sport.
Maybe it's not the program, team, city, players or coaches that we hate. Maybe it's the winning. Maybe it's the fact that we're sick and tired of seeing that team win and not ours. We all know that someone is a bandwagon fan if they like a great team. No matter how many years you have spent following the team, how many nights you have stayed up late watching their games, or how many times a piece of your heart breaks when they bow out of the final game of their respective season. People love to hate winners. And if your team wins, chances are people will not or already do not like them.
So continue the hating. It makes sports what it is today. It makes showing up at the water cooler on Monday morning a lot better when you have a shit-eating grin on your face cause your team just beat your buddies team and he knows he's not going to hear the end of it all week. It makes friends of enemies. You and a coworker may not like the same team, but if you hate the same team, well that's just as good. Loving to hate teams brings people closer together than the New York subway system. Example: I show up to the Heat vs. Spurs NBA finals game last year. What am I wearing you wonder? An Indiana Pacers shirt. I got tons of looks and people asking if I was lost, but one person actually grabbed me and said "Why the hell are you wearing a Pacers shirt, they're not even playing?" To which I promptly replied " I'm just here cause I hate the Heat. I hope they lose." I made 50 friends with that answer and a few cold ones on the house.
Don't take it personal when people hate on your team for winning. It's not actual hate, it's their love to hate. And their favorite team probably sucks.
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