There have only been a few guys for whom I’ve had a wholly irrational, unjustified hatred.
Carlton Fisk is at the top of the list. It’s not just that he was a star of the Red Sox and that I’m a Yankees fan. I NEVER hated Carl Yastrzemski or Bill Lee or Luis Tiant the same way. But I always loathed Fisk… even though he has all kinds of qualities I OUGHT to admire.
Guys I despise with cause include:
Michael Vick (no matter how well he plays, I can’t get over how quickly all has been forgiven)
Mike Marshall (The relief pitcher, that is; an utter douchebag).
I don’t get what you mean. San Francisco is one of the largest cities and media markets in the USA. Why in the world should it not have a major league baseball team?
(truth is, the Giants SHOULDN’T still be in San Francisco, there were so many times the owner wanted to move the team, but the league kept taking sometimes extraodinary measures to block the move. But I have to imagine that if they had succeeded in moving out, SF would be one of the expansion destinations, or the current home of the former Expos.)
It also would have been courteous of him to let the Cavs know early on that he had no intention of staying in Cleveland so they could plan a budget and roster around his absence before all other top free agents were gone. He gave them hope for just long enough that they wouldn’t really have anything they could do to build a good team for the new season if/when he left.
A lot of Cowboys haters out there and I’ll add my pseudnym to the mix. I’ll make an exception for Whitten because he just seems like a dude who comes to the game, works hard, and does his job. I’ll almost make an exception for Romo because he’s from my alma matter and he’s got the Cinderella story going for him, which is nice.
I don’t hate Vick as the Bears have always seemed to match up fairly well against him.
Being a Bears fan, I of course don’t like the Packers. I always thought their recievers and corners made such a big fuss over routine plays too much. Congrats on breaking up that pass, you know, doing your job. Please make sure you jump up and down and do a Kumbaya thing with your hands.
Despite my dislike for the Packers, I do like that Lambeau Leap. Instead of being a showboating act, in my oppinion, it brings the crowd into the game and gives them a little thanks for being there.
Its easy (And correct) to hate teams like the Cowboys and Yankees.
I have a special hated, though, for Alex Rodriguez. It’s not that he’s a Yankee - I don’t hate Derek Jeter or Mariano Rivera or Andy Pettite or, really, anyone else on the team. But I hate Rodriguez, because, to be perfectly frank, all available evidence is that he is an absolutely loathsome and horrible human being. He appears to be devoid of normal human decency and personality. He’s a cheater, a terrible sportsman, a bad husband, and by all accounts has an ego so enormously inflated, even by the very high standards of pro athletes, that it crowds out any other aspect of personality. Frankly, he kind of seems like a sociopath.
As regrettable as it is that someone as unlikable as Barry Bonds holds the home run record, it was be even worse, in my opinion, if Rodriguez held it. Bonds strikes me as being at least theoretically capable of being a decent person, and I have a feeling that once he’s away from the game for awhile he’ll mellow out and the nicer parts of him will shine through. There aren’t any nicer parts of Alex Rodriguez.
I haven’t noticed Moore’s pass breakup antics, but I’ll give him a pass anyway because he’s a Bear. As soon as he puts on another uniform, all bets are off.
I can’t stand Tom Brady. You can smell the arrogance coming off of him through the damn television. He’s a skilled athlete, that’s obvious, but with the amount of praise he gets constantly, you’d think he’d at least pretend to be humble. if only in an attempt fool non-patriots fans into thinking he’s not an egocentric douche.
I know he isn’t in his sport anymore but i can’t resist mentioning Mike Tyson:
He was the most overrated boxer in the history of the universe. All he had was brute strength and he was practically helpless against a skilled boxer. Let’s not forget what a disgusting piece of low grade filth he was outside of the ring.
I wrote a big, long, semi-rational answer to this, which was lost to the ages. Perhaps for the best. In the 24 hours since, I’ve revisited this and decided my hate comes down to 3 people.
Bob Nutting - Owner of the Pittsburgh Pirates. He has had the Pirates under his thumb officially since 2007, but represented his family’s interest in the club since 2003. The Pirates are a profitable team. One of the few teams in MLB that can say that. The fact that they haven’t had a winning record in 18 years doesn’t seem to bother MLB, or the clubs that pay the luxury tax to help those clubs from small markets compete. If I were the Yankees, Red Sox, Phillies, or whoever, I wouldn’t give a dime to the Pirates, and let it play out in the courts. The Pirates choose not to be competitive as a part of their business model. No player of importance has been kept by the Pirates since (and I’m guessing here) Jason Kendall, former NL Rookie of the Year and fan favorite. I don’t remember the last young arbitration-eligible player the Pirates kept. They are usually traded for a box of baseballs, some duffel bags, or whatever. The Pirates have had a number of good players come up through there system that have been hustled out of town before they were permitted to develop to their potential. As a Pirate fan, this guy is public enemy number one.
The Pirates are one of the most historic franchises in the game. They have a very strong, proud history. Yes, there have been some tough stretches since they came into existence in 1876, but 18 straight sub .500 seasons? That’s just wrong.
The Pirates have one of the best new stadiums in MLB. It’s beautiful, and I encourage anyone who loves baseball to go see it if you have a chance. The team has a small, but very loyal fan base that deserves better. The people of Allegheny County, who were screwed by the state legislature into paying for the stadium deserve better. The sales tax increase that was instituted in Allegheny Co. to pay for the stadium was never repealed, as it was supposed to (but who really thought it would?). Nutting has benefited by having a new stadium built for him that he didn’t have to pay for, he gets the revenue for parking, food, and such, and pockets most of it. I could go on and on, but I’ll stop here. My God, I hate this man.
** Joe Paterno** - Head Coach, Penn State - Not only is he a massive egomaniac, he’s also held the head coaching job at Penn State since 1966. Only J. Edgar Hoover has had life-time employment, and PSU has been held hostage by this old bastard for at least 15 years. He’s 84 years old, and it seems the only way anyone else will have a chance to have that job is when Paterno dies.
I’m not an ageist. But Paterno’s influence on that program is absolute, and that has impacted a number of people and programs, including my alma mater, Pittsburgh. Paterno, because of his personality and “If you don’t do what I want, I’m taking my ball and going home.” attitude, has destroyed one of the greatest college football rivalries of all time. The Pitt-Penn State game was a 99 year tradition until Paterno halted the rivalry game single-handedly. I hate you, Joe Paterno.
Larry Brown - Basketball coach-for-hire (currently unemployed) - This guy is the most over-rated coach I can think of in any sport. Yes, he’s won an NCAA title, NBA title, and Olympic gold medal. That’s nice. However, if we can be a bit objective about him, instead of slobbering at his altar like certain east coast media disciples, I think his record is a bit less impressive. First, throw out the olympic gold, simply because that team could have won the gold coached by a monkey. He won his NCAA title at Kansas, not exactly the Siberia of college basketball. He was able to recruit high-profile players at Kansas, and he did, to his credit, coach them well. The pro gig in Detroit may have been his most impressive title, but again, Detroit wasn’t devoid of talent.
My problem with Brown is not that he’s a good coach (he is) or even a great coach (debatable, but I’ll even concede that for the moment). I can’t stand him because he never stays anywhere for a long time, and someone is always eager to hire this guy again. He’s arrogant, pompous, and loves to hear himself talk. If you’ve ever heard him speak, you’ll understand what I mean by this. My dislike of this guy actually interests me, because I don’t really care about any team he’s ever coached, and I really don’t care about basketball.
I’m a Patriots fan and I think Brady is a total douchebag.
I also hate Patriots owner, Bob Kraft. I think he’s treated his MLS team, the Revolution, like complete shit. He’s also a complete cheapskate when it comes to player acquisitions/retention.
“It ain’t bragging if you can do it.” Sure, Brady’s a bit of a peacock off the field (maybe it’s to compensate for feelings of inadequacy, being the only NFL star who makes less money than his wife ), but he wins. A lovable loser is still a loser.
The Revs made, what, 4 straight MLS cups until last year? What’s the problem, except maybe for not having more depth at striker? Sure, they’re rebuilding now, but I don’t see the issue. I agree Kraft doesn’t really care about soccer, and the franchise is there only to get more revenue out of his stadium. But there wouldn’t even be a franchise without him, and for an uninterested owner to be disengaged is not necessarily bad.
The NFL’s hard salary cap drives the Pats’ player acquisition/retention strategy, not Kraft’s cheapness, and the results speak for themselves.
Oh don’t even get me started on Bob Nutting. I’m not a baseball fan, but the man has royally fucked things up for the Pirates.
(Don’t even me started on his little tantrum when Mario Lemieux offered to buy the Pirates. He had someone write an article about how the Penguins were losing – because they lost a game the night before, while the Pirates were and the way up – because they had won a game that day. After he was called on his shit, the article “mysteriously disappeared” from their website)
Oh, and let’s add Gary Bettman while we’re at it. What’s with the hate for Canada?
SFP- Your basic problem with Paterno is he coaches your alma mater’s long-time rival? :rolleyes: How recently did the PSU-Pitt series end, 1999? So he waited 33 YEARS to end the series, a series they lead, I believe?
To further defend Joe Pa, he and his wife have donated millions to the school, building several buildings on campus. He’s not God, but certainly isn’t the villian you wish him to be.
Why thank you. I suppose I should live up to my “douchy” reputation by making a comment about butthurt Bills fans, but I’ll refrain from doing so because I’d be butthurt too if my favorite team were so consistently bad. Oops, I just did. Sorry. You have my heartfelt apology for your team and its utter suckage.
Oh, one other thing. Six rings. Just to be douchy and all. Beats four chokes any day.
So, who do I hate? The Ravens, the Browns and the Bengals. The Cowboys, the Patriots, the Raiders… hell, every team in the NFL not in Pittsburgh. Special hate goes to the Cowboys, Ravens, Patriots, Colts, Eagles and the Cowboys. Oh, did I say them twice?
Basketball- I like the sport and the idea of it, but I cannot stand the people that play it. I rarely even watch it anymore.
Hockey- I cannot stand the Canadiens. Why? Who can say? I suppose it goes back to 1986 when they won the Cup. The Red Wings come in second, but only just. The strike killed my hockey interest, though, so this is fairly minor.
Baseball- The Yankees. The Yankees. The Yankees. If I can muster up any interest whatsoever for baseball (the strike killed baseball for me, too), it’s to hate the Yankees. For a lot of reasons. Aside from my total hatred of the organization as a whole starting with Steinbrenner (I don’t care that he’s dead) and going to everything else, the worst sin ever committed in baseball history was the destruction of Yankee Stadium in favor of the current abomination. I don’t care how nice it is, you don’t tear down something with that much history. You just don’t.
Soccer- Argentina. They have the stink of Maradona on them, the ultimate cheater. Every World Cup I root for them to go out ignominiously in the first round, and before that I hope they don’t qualify.
I also hate the Pirates ownership. If anything could revive my interest in baseball it would be a good Pirates team. But since that quite literally hasn’t happened in a generation I remain apathetic,.
), but he wins. A lovable loser is still a loser.