Let’s face it: sports are more fun with villains, characters and causes.
Take the Olympics. Wasn’t it more fun when the Cold War was going? Put “The Miracle On Ice” in 1994. Great. America has everything, now. Even hockey, too. Now, onto the NCAA Tournament while our northern neighbors cry and we forget about the Russians until 2016.
It wasn’t just the fact Team USA won the gold in a sport dominated by Canadians, Soviets and Eastern Bloc countries.
You have to consider the time: Jimmy Carter was president and, for all the great work he’s done rebuilding his image like a Habitat for Humanity house, the guy couldn’t run a country. Remember? Meanwhile, the Soviets were one button-push away from ending the planet–or, so we were told.
The Commies were virtual pros, going up against a bunch of collegiates. Yet, the country was brought together by a story of hope that was fulfilled one Sunday afternoon at Lake Placid in a three-channel era.
Meanwhile, the most-watched sporting event in American history was the 1994 women’s figure skating competition between America’s supposed sweetheart Nancy Kerrigan and the hated Tanya Harding, whose then-husband along with a now-deceased thug conspired to injure the eventual silver-medal winner.
Heroes. Villains. Causes. They’re the best ingredients for sports.
Which is why it’s awesome the New York Yankees are back in the American League postseason.
No matter how far they go, or how likeable the A-Rod-less Bombers are in 2017, it won’t last long. People hate perennial winners. And with the Yankee youth movement, it doesn’t look they’ll be one-year wonders, which means they’ll be hateable soon.
The Yankees. The Patriots. The Cowboys. Notre Dame. ‘Bama. Duke. Kentucky. And sports are better for them.
Yes, those fanbases are huge. But sports are better when they’re all good.
The Cubs and Red Sox gained popularity from being lovable losers. And that hasn’t changed, even for the Sox, whose 86-year curse still feels like it ended last weekend, despite the fact they’ve won two more World Series over the next decade.
The Sox solidified their status as good guys (to any non-Yankees fans) after the tragic Boston Bombing of 2013. They had something to play for besides themselves.
The hated Yankees even earned sympathy after 9-11 before falling in seven games to the Arizona Diamondbacks. Eleven months later, the country celebrated the Angels knocking the freshly-Giambi’d Yanks from the ALDS in four games.
Notre Dame even became likeable before getting slaughtered in the national championship to Alabama. Why? So everyone could hate them again. But, ‘Bama wouldn’t even allow the Irish to steal that deal, either.
Nick Saban may be the most-hated figure in all of sports even when he loses. But, since only Dabo Swinney and Clemson to knock him off, and Swinney is so likeable, and has his own story of overcoming the odds, Saban will continue to make Bill Belichick almost tolerable.
Almost. Regurgitatng the history of the Hate-riots isn’t necessary, but what really stings fans is winning Super Bowls after Spygate AND Deflategate. In fact, America collectively groaned last February with each scoring drive Brady & Co. would piecemeal as Atlanta let a 25-point lead to evaporate.
It wouldn’t be as much fun if it were the Broncos coming back, would it?
Yes, they can win without cheating, too. Now what do you hate?
Easy: that the Bills can’t replicate what they do. In essence, you hate your own team and deflect it on the Brady bunch.
Nonetheless, it is fun to watch New England struggle a bit, isn’t it? Some pundits and publications predicted a redo of 2007 which ended the first Thursday of the year.
(In full disclosure, this writer still thinks they’ll win it all.)
But it gives Bills fans hope, as well as other potential AFC division leaders. For once, Bill O’Brien’s Texans look like they can compete with their leader’s former boss. (Thanks, DeShaun Watson!)
Also, remember the Raiders? Injuries have sapped the enjoyment of watching Derek Carr become an All-Pro in back-to-back seasons, but despite a future move to Vegas, fans in Oakland have proven they won’t allow their team to see the playoffs without them. If a fanbase who has every reason to hate their team leaving won’t leave themselves, America must be enjoying a Raider resurgeance, too.
But if the Raiders can consistently win, Raider Nation will never let America forget, whether it’s in Oakland or Sin City, and every Sunday will turn into Halloween at eight other NFL stadia a year.
In this writer’s experience, the worst Bills games to attend are when the Raiders are in town.
The NFL is better with the renegade Raiders, as well as the Cowboys returning to a form they last consistently built in the 1990s. Love them or hate them, they’re the highest-rated team to watch in the league.
Duke? Kentucky? People were praying they’d be part of the Louisville sneaker scandal that brought down Rick Pitino. But, eliminate them, and who do you root against?
North Carolina? They get sympathy for being the lighter shade of Duke. Let’s face it, college basketball needs all the help it can get right now with the FBI involved with the sport’s one-and-done culture. You may enjoy watching the biggest teams in sport getting raided like a Sopranos episode, but this toxic mix could bore the sport off the map.
Imagine a Final Four with Gonzaga, Butler, Georgia Tech and St. John’s. What a break for TBS!
LeBron James made his famous WWE-style heel-turn broadcasting his move to South Beach, and returned with not seven, not six, not five, not four, not three, but only two rings–but two more than the city of Cleveland collected since the Kennedy Administration. Yet, magically, LeBron assembled another All-Star team to battle the natural All-Star team in Oakland and bring that long-awaited title home, making the Warriors the bad guys.
Golden State answers by signing Kevin Durant, and recapturing the NBA crown, solidifying their most-hated status.
Go Cavs. Go Celtics. Go Thunder. Go Rockets. Heck, even Gregg Popovich seems like a sympathetic figure. Anyone win the David O’Brien Trophy, just not the friggin’ Warriors.
Oddly, other than winning, there’s nothing to hate about those guys.
Mayweather-MacGregor was a really bad guy against just a bad guy: a domestic abuser versus a fighter with gang-ties going across the Atlantic. Hence, by the laws of the perceptions of evil, the lesser of the pair becomes the good guy. And America loved the undefeated boxer vs. the UFC star idea so much, they completely forgot about the Little League World Series championship the next day.
Speaking of which, the LLWS is loaded with bad guys, but since they’re kids, and we’re Americans, we demonize the other countries.
(Yes. Newsflash. Douchebaggery starts at ages younger than 12. Just not your kid, though.)
They say there’s a thin line between love and hate.
Sports are at their best when all the historically hated teams are good.
Enjoy it, even if you won’t admit it.