Storyline: Many of us waste energy on sports hate. It doesn’t make any damn sense, but that’s why it’s just so fitting for the world of sports.
The Green Bay Packers and Arizona Cardinals took part in an instant playoff classic this past Saturday night. The Cardinals eventually prevailed 26-20 in OT, but not before Aaron Rodgers induced a few outbursts of complete anger from me with his miraculous comeback in regulation.
Rodgers completed two freaking Hail Mary plays on one drive, which is inconceivable. I loathe the Packers with every fiber of my being and watching them is often a torturous experience. It begs the question why I, and so many of my sports brethren, put so much energy into rooting against teams.
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Not every sports fan engages in this type of irrational hatred towards teams they don’t cheer for. But since a good chunk of my friends do, I can only assume it’s more common than not. It’s an awful waste of energy rooting against a team when your favorite colors aren’t involved. I’m not sure the most fanatical sports fans can help themselves.
There are several reasons for it.
If your favorite team has an historical rival, then rooting for that team’s demise is almost equal to seeing your team win a game. Notice that I clarified the sentence with “almost.” We aren’t total caveman, who thrive more on another fan bases misery rather than your own joy. I will say its close, though, so maybe we have graduated to a Cro-Magnon level of fandom.
As part of the University of Michigan fan base I see the glee first-hand when the Wolverines drop a big game. I know the giddiness of Ohio St. and Michigan St. fans when Michigan goes down. It’s a palpable part of my life on a Monday after a Michigan football loss or in March during the NCAA Tournament. My Buckeye and Spartan friends are going to let me know right away. Believe me, there’s almost a glow about them. I won’t deny the same can be said about me.
I’m sure this is true with all fan bases that are part of major rivalries, whether it’s Auburn vs. Alabama, Red Sox vs. Yankees, Packers vs. Bears, etc. The hatred that comes from the history of these rivalries seeps into the fans because they learn it early. Boston fans hate New York fans and cheer against each other religiously. That’s just the way it is.
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Besides just rooting against another team’s laundry, we also tend to form strong dislikes for individuals playing the game. Some of this may be attributed to off-the-court actions. Kobe Bryant, Ben Roethlisberger, Michael Vick are prime examples. Other times it’s simply the case of a great player beating your team a few too many times. I’m sure the entire state of Ohio hates Big Ben more for all the Brown and Bengal defeats than whatever he has done off the field.
I am plenty guilty of this type of sports hate. Certain players have haunted me for close to decades–by simply winning too much and being too great. At a certain point I just want to stop. How many times can Michael Jordan hit the game winning jumper? How many Super Bowl runs are Tom Brady and the Patriots going to make? Tim Duncan and the Spurs are in the NBA Finals again? Noooooooo!
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If I was to build a Mount Rushmore of my own personal sports hate, I would have to carve busts out of Larry Bird, Tim Duncan, Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers. All these guys are Hall of Famers and historical greats whom I totally respect, but I still feel “sports hate.” They’ve just won too many times for me too stomach. Tom Brady is from Michigan, for God’s sake, and I still hate his Patriot career. As a prideful member of the Raider Nation the Tuck Rule game trumps all.
Everyone’s personal Mount Rushmore should be subject to change and it will change over time. Michael Jordan could have been on the mountain for me. However he’s still Air Jordan and it’s hard to totally hate such an iconic figure. I despised Brett Favre his entire career mainly because he was a Packer. But once the so-called loyal Green Bay fans turned on their former hero I was on the Favre bandwagon as a Jet and Viking. It’s totally cool, too, to root for an all-time legend after hating him his entire career. Laundry is just so damn powerful.
That last sentiment illustrates just how illogical sports fandom is. We root for laundry more than people at times, and everything is colored by which side you’re on. I guess that’s a crucial reason why so many of us waste energy on sports hate. It doesn’t make any damn sense, but that’s why it’s just so fitting for the world of sports.
