Last week during ice storm part five, I stumbled across a blogger who was explaining to everyone why he loved the St. Louis Cardinals. Who wants to hear someone explain why they love their team for the ten-millionth time? That was when it hit me; why not show the teams we hate some love for once?
So, without further adieu, here are the seven sports teams we love to hate and why we hate them.
New York Yankees: LeBron and company may have gained some ground in the category of “Most Widely Despised Sports Franchise,” but there is only one Evil Empire. They spend money like it grows on trees, steal players from other teams and continue to be an all-around bully in the MLB. Chances are, if you like the Yankees, the rest of your baseball friends hate you. Also, A-Rod still plays for them, and that should tell you all you need to know.
Miami Heat: Are they the biggest bandwagon team of all time? It is hard to say. But one thing is certain: The Big three + “not one, not two, not three…” + fans who can’t name the players = the poster boys for why we hate the NBA.
Alabama Football: Maybe it is jealousy that our own teams are not this good, maybe it is the underlying suspicion that their coach sold his soul to the devil or maybe it is their insanely arrogant fan base. No matter which it is, there is something about hearing a “Roll Tide” that will always make our skin crawl.
Duke Basketball: There are a lot of reasons that we should like Duke: the rich tradition, the excellent coaching, the incredible fan base and the fact that J.J. Reddick played there. What I am saying is, we all want to like Duke, but we just can’t.
Dallas Cowboys: Dallas was huge in the 1990s, but then again, so was ‘N Sync. It’s not so much hate as it is humor, at this point, when it comes to the Cowboys. From a diva quarterback who dated Jessica Simpson, to a wide receiver who cries like a child every time they lose, to an owner whose football intellect is equivalent to that of your average Madden gamer, the Cowboys are more about the sideshow than actual football. Their fans still swear the team is relevant, but that just makes it funnier for the rest of us when they go 8-8 and miss the playoffs.
Soviet Union Hockey Team: The USSR is in a league of its own. I mean, the Miracle on Ice was 34 years ago, and the country has not existed since 1991. We still hate them and rub our one and only victory in their faces to this day. That alone cements their status on the greatest sports villains list, and we have not even touched the whole “they are communists” thing.
And last, but certainly not least: Whichever team Lane Kiffin coaches.
