Why do we hate winning teams? A freshman in college trying to work out why sports fandom turns so easily into contempt — and whether it has to.
In America and beyond, sports have one universal truth. There will either be a winner or a loser. Both concepts come with grave consequences in both professional and college athletics. Winners tend to be adored by their fans and simultaneously hated by others. Losers tend to be forgotten.
Besides their loyal fans, the winning team or player is despised until they lose again. With that loss, opposing fans tend to move on with their life and are happy with another person's failure.
In recent years there have been many examples of this. In basketball it was LeBron James and his dream team in Miami, and now it was beginning to be Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors. In baseball it was Alex Rodriguez and the Yankees. In football it was Tony Romo and the Dallas Cowboys, and Tom Brady and the New England Patriots. In golf it was still Tiger Woods. In boxing it was Floyd Mayweather.
Every year there seems to be a new favorite team to hate.
Are we, as a human race, just born to hate? Or is it something else entirely?
Hatred of a player or team occurs either when the team is winning or a player is doing extremely well for a long period of time. With that extended period of success, fans grow tired of seeing that winning smile, or dance, or paycheck, and they start to wish ill on the person's or team's fame and fortune.
Is it just that? Or is it the actions of the team or player after they win that we despise as opposing fans? Is it their actions on the field or court? Or is it a combination of things?
Imagine the athlete or team you hate and think about it honestly. Why do you hate them?
Instead of hatred, why don't we as fans give them our respect and move on with our lives?
Respect is something that is both earned and given at the same time. No matter how a person takes their victory or defeat, we should respect them instead of hating them.
Take 2016. It was Kobe Bryant's final season in the NBA and fans of opposing teams were showing their respect. Remember that at one point Kobe was one of the most hated athletes of his generation. And then in his last season, people who rooted against him for twenty years were giving him standing ovations. Didn't he earn that respect during his prime? Why did it take until he was leaving for people to give it to him?
You shouldn't hate a team or player just because you're from a different part of the country or because they keep winning. You should respect them and enjoy the game.
Sports are here for our entertainment. They weren't invented for us to hate.
Don't hate the player. Respect the game.