Critique of SI’s Five Most Hated Teams
Any Boston Team: Since there has been a New England, it has been universally disliked. People have an active hatred for the education, the conceit and the image of the snobbish Boston Brahmin. There has been an upsurge of disquietude with Boston teams since they’ve been successful. The Red Sox have a large payroll. The Patriots have Bill Belichick and Spygate. But the hatred of Boston teams is time and success specific, not a general trait.
New York Yankees: This one requires no thought. Every casual fan not of Yankee ilk hates the Yankees. True baseball fans hate them even more passionately.
Los Angeles Lakers: People do despise the Lakers. They are successful. They are from Los Angeles. Kobe Bryant eludes likability for numerous reasons. But it is a passive rather than an active hatred. When thrust into their face, people root against them. But no one actively checks scores and cheers when the Lakers lose.
Ohio State Unviersity: Ohio State does not belong on this list, and this is coming from a Michigan fan. They aren’t the most hated school regionally, Notre Dame. Michigan are more maligned in the Big Ten (see the 1973 Big Ten Title Decision). Notre Dame football and Duke basketball are far more universally disliked.
Chelsea: Chelsea is an incongruous choice because they are English-based. English fans dislike the arrogance, the money, the knuckle dragging football and the baby Bentley sense of entitlement. But, I am not sure the hatred is really of the same magnitude as in American sports. Chelsea doesn’t have a major rival. The other successful clubs Manchester United, Liverpool and Arsenal also have their detractors. There are also clubs like Newcastle and Leeds that are often maligned. It just seems out of place.
Omissions: I mentioned two before, Duke Basketball and Notre Dame football. I would throw the Dallas Cowboys in there as well. My general critique is that there should be a tradition of hatred and it should transcend rivalry. Only the Yankees, the Cowboys, Duke and Notre Dame really fulfill that.
And you are obviously wrong - being American, and the sport being football/soccer - chances are you wouldn’t know. Basketball and footy/soccer (I hate doing this for your lot) are two of my favourite(British spelling) sports.
I’ll cut to the chase - the passion in football/soccer is PHENOMENAL, ENORMOUS, comparable to any sport.
As for the hatred, it is palpable when you talk of local derbies and the big matches
(Man-chest-hair utd vs Man City, Liverfool vs Everton, Arses vs Tottenhamsters, Chelsea vs the previous two, Arses vs Man U, Chelsea vs Man utd, Newcastle vs Sunderland, Aston Villa vs Birmingham, Liverpool vs Man U)
The list GOES on !!
I have witnessed the ‘banter’, been on the recieving end, dished it out as well.
Sadly though, on an average, Chelsea may be the most ‘disliked’ but the Mancs ain’t far behind. That doesn’t change much for me, GO BLUES !!
P.s. - I love the Lakers too. Again, you might have a point when you say they are hated, passively albeit. The nature and the reasons for hatred seem similar to those that plague Chelsea.
Rich, Upmarket locations (L.A. and London), Successful.
I am a huge fan of the English Premier League, so, believe me, I understand how passionate the rivalries are. But, outside of derby matches, I don’t think that there is one team in England that arouses irrational hatred to the level of the Yankees or Duke Basketball. There is hatred of the top four in general, but I don’t think the ire is directed at any particular club. Before Chelsea’s rise you could perhaps make an argument for Man United.
The Red Sox have the 4th highest payroll in MLB so there should be 2 other teams on that list ahead of them.
i have no horse in this race, but notice that all of the most hated teams are successful. they have been good in the past and will again be good in the future. something to be said for that…probably why they are hated.
Long term success does breed a certain amount of discontent, especially among their rivals. But I don’t think it’s the major motivating factor. Tiger Woods isn’t hated. The Atlanta Braves are not hated. There’s a lot of NCAA football teams who make premier bowls every year who are not hated.
I think it’s not just the success a team has, but the general perception in how they obtain that success. The New York Yankees are hated because making the playoffs isn’t successful anymore. If they don’t win the World Series, it’s a complete failure of a season. This makes the organization and the fans seem presumptuous, like they are entitled to be the World Champions and the only reason they are not is for their own failures (and certainly not another team’s successes).
You see this air of presumptiveness in the fans and organizations of all these teams. Either that or a complete smugness. That’s what gets them on the hated list.
It’s not that they’re winners, it’s that they’re poor winners.
And “footy?” You actually call it “footy”? No wonder us American’s don’t like it. If some dude came up to me and asked me if I wanted to play “footy”, I’d punch them in the face.