Julia Thompson wrote: >Jim Sharkey wrote: >>My theory is that people don't really hate those teams directly. >>That is, they don't hate the Yankees, et. al., because they're >>teams deserving of hatred in and of themselves. Those teams are >>hated because of their fans. > >I don't know about that. I haven't met and conversed with a Yankees >fan who wasn't a nice person (maybe I've just been very lucky in the >Yankees fans I've met),
They might be nice people, Julia. But I've heard and known a fair larger number of them living in NJ, and I see the prevailing attitude of the Yankees' Manifest Destiny an awful lot. And don't even get me started on Cowboy fans in New Jersey. How the heck do you become a Cowboy fan, living in New Jersey??? >I hate the Yankees because I was raised a BoSox fan. > >I hate the Lakers because I was a Celtics fan in 1987. Inter-team rivalries do have an impact, no doubt. I have to give you these, Julia. You're talking about some bitter rivalries there. It doesn't explain why a Cubs fan still would hate the Yankees. >I hated the Bears for over 10 years because of one lousy stinking >Superbowl. Your own fault for rooting for the Patriots. :-D >I hate the Mets on account of the 1986 World Series. My friend who >is a huge Astros fan hates them for eliminating the Astros for the >Series that year. > >These are all teams I hate because of what they did at one time or >another to a team in New England. I don't hate the players, I don't >hate the fans, I hate the team based on the history of team X >defeating "my" team. All good examples, I'll grant. Maybe I've met the wrong fans, but most of the Cowboy/Yankee fans I've known are insufferably smug about their teams' successes. It's not to say that they are rude or unlikable people; their sense of "Title Entitlement" just seems to make other people root against their teams on principle. How many other teams can you see shirts that say "I root for Team X and whoever is playing the (Yankees or Cowboys, depending on what Team X is)?" It just can't be a coincidence. :) However, I will posit, then, a corrolary to my initial theory: Certain people resent success. The only thing worse than an arrogant fan of a team, is one whose arrogance is justified. The success of those teams does feed the resentment people feel. Possibly the two work together, so to speak, to generate the venom that is directed at those teams? >In fact, the only team in any sport that I hate for behavior on the >part of the fans is the Philadelphia Eagles, based on what they did >when Michael Irving got hurt in their stadium. Try *living* near Philly. You don't hear half the stuff that goes on there. Harshest fans anywhere, even to their own teams. >(And am I a total pain in the butt as a Cowboys fan? Be honest.) No empirical evidence, I'm afraid. I mean, in the year+ that I've been on the list, sports has come up, what, maybe three times as a discussion longer than one or two e-mails? But I don't get that sense from you about the 'Boys. Still, I'm sure if I saw you in the silver and blue, as much as I like you, I'd still have to fight down the urge to give you the official New York wave. ;-) Jim _______________________________________________________ Send a cool gift with your E-Card http://www.bluemountain.com/giftcenter/
