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I pondered this question while watching the Patriots game last Sunday and listening to their spoiled fans boo a 6 time Superbowl champion at halftime. It brought back memories of when Niners fans were booing them during a home game vs Cincinnati when they were actually leading at halftime (I recall the score being 10-9 on a game the Niners were favored by 17). After another game (when asked what the team needed to do to defeat its next opponent), one of the Niners players (Randy Cross) blasted their fans making the comment "Hopefully, our white-wine sipping crowd will decide to get off its collective ass and cheer," the 49ers guard told reporters. "They didn't make much noise Monday night. I thought they had a bunch of cardboard dummies up there."
And then of course, you had the Cowboys fans of the 90's (don't need to say much on this one).
Lately, I've turned off the local sport station in the Bay Area (KNBR) as we are back to the obnoxious callers all trying to one up the next to proclaim that they are the #1 fan. They seem to have all the answers after a loss, and typically will make comments stating we need to do this, and we need to do that (as though they are a player on the team or an owner...news flash, you're not).
I often wonder if there is any humility left in sports and why the nastiness always has to come out when a team is on top (and many of these people wonder why people attack them for years after they fall from their pedestal (i.e. "HOW "BOUT THEM COWBOYS!").
Last edited by sayonnarra; 12-12-2019 at 03:23 AM..
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
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It could be one or more, or all three. Living in the east bay I started as a Raider fan, but after going to my first game found the fans to be obnoxious, and didn't like being there, so switched to the 49ers. While I'm in Seattle area now (since 1993) and a Seahawk fan, I have enjoyed the rivalry with S.F. until they dropped off the map for a few years. I'm glad to see them back and really anxious to see the upcoming game on the 29th. Back on topic, I have hated the Cowboys since they declared themselves "America's Team." Lately there's not been much to hate, though. For New England, it's the idea of their domination, while so many incidents of reported cheating. It's Belichick and Brady, the two most likely to have done the cheating, if true.
It's a combination of things that make me despise teams that win alot. Sometimes they cheat too much or get bogus calls that help them win (especially the Patriots). Or announcers will pump them up to god-like status while their opponents are hardly even mentioned. Sometimes I just do not like their city and their fans, for example the Sacramento Kings when they were winning with Chris Webber--being an LA Lakers fan, I hated Sacramento (today I don't even care about them). When a team brings up the "BeatLA"chant...forget it, the gloves come off because I know they are just hating on LA. At that point it becomes personal and I will hate on that team and their city. To this day, I hate the Boston Celtics. I have never once rooted for them and never will. Doesn't matter how bad the Celts are, I still want them to lose every game. The Yankees, I hate them too. They have too many bandwagon/fake fans that have no connection to the NY. Whenever I see a Yankees fan, I want to punch them in the head and throw their hats, shirts, jackets in the nearest trash can. Same with the San Francisco Giants. Denver Broncos, Seahawks, Patriots, Celtics, Yankees, KC Chiefs, Chicago Bulls, Boston Red Sox, Calgary Flames, Edmonton Oilers, I want to spit on their gear.
Yankees fans are the worst. Yeah Im from Boston and im supposed to hate the Yankees, but i hate their fans more. They are ridiculously cocky, bandwagon riding elitists. Its not out of jealousy either because I dont hate Montreal canadiens fans even though they have 24 Stanley cup wins.. I love the fans.
NY Giants fans I used to hate, but they seem to knock down the annoying Patriots rumors alot too when they try to surface. Colts fans, Saints fans, Cowboys fans also are annoying with their anti-Patriots propaganda. Like calm down.. your teams suck.
So The fans for sure.
At the Pats comment.. as a Pats fan, Boston fans have a reputation of treating their Sport's team like they are apart of their family. Im not even lying on this one. They develop a special connection to the Big Four Team Players. Its unconditional love the fans have for their players, but will waste no words when you play bad. You will get boo'd. Youre apart of the family, no excuses anymore. Just ask Johnny Damon. The same peple booing Brady, will be crying in their cars when he retires. If you think Im joking, you havent been to Boston.
When it takes the step from disliking a team to hating a team, it's mostly because of the fans. Packer fans took me from actually rooting for the Packers (many years ago) whenever my Vikings would be beat out of the playoffs to actually hating that team. Around here they're insufferable fools who really don't care if their Packers win that much. Their only reason for following the NFL is to hope the Viking lose. A strange bunch.
For me it's the fans more than anything else. I am a Denver Broncos fan and I lived in San Diego a couple times. The first time was ~2000-2002, and when I arrived the Mike Riley Chargers had just finished a 1-15 season with the Broncos coming off an 11-5 run that ended in a playoff loss to the eventual Super Bowl Champion Ravens. Not a word to this Broncos fan, even as the Broncos in 2001 dropped to 8-8 and failed to repeat it's success from the season prior. You couldn't give away a Chargers ticket in 2001, and when rumors of a move to Los Angeles began to rise, the growing sentiment among the San Diego community was "so long!"
Years later I moved back. It was now 2007 and the Chargers were coming off a 14-2 season, and had gone 12-4 and 9-7 in the two seasons prior to that. Three consecutive winning seasons was unheard of for the Chargers at this time. I found people to be openly hostile to me. I'd wear a Broncos hat at the mall and I had people getting in my face and cursing me out, literally as I was pushing a stroller with my infant daughter inside.
I disliked the team, especially since Chargers QB Phil Rivers was this rowdy, obnoxious presence on the field. But then the more I learned about him the more I grew to like him. I even told my wife after watching an interview with him on TV, "I hate to admit this but I think I'd enjoy hanging out with that guy, he seems awesome." This marked a huge turning point for me as a sports fan. I don't hate other teams, they're just guys doing the same thing the guys on my favorite teams are doing. Some players spring up from time to time that are easy to dislike but I also recognize my teams sometimes have players that are also easy to dislike. I still dislike some teams based on the brand. By that I mean the team name and image. As a Broncos fan I am delighted with how the Raiders, supposedly a storied franchise, can't even find a home. Or the Chargers having to move to Los Angeles, where they've discovered they don't have an audience.
But it's really the fans with whom I develop either a healthy rivalry or outright dislike for. My experiences with Chargers fans have made me gleeful they lost their team. Raiders fans get too much credit: They can't fill a stadium on game day.
Outside of the rivalries with my own teams, very few fanbases stand out to me. I recall a few Seahawks fans getting in my face following their Super Bowl win, one of whom literally followed me across a parking lot at a theme park as I was leaving with my family in the summer following that game. I was over the game by then, (I was over it the day after the game) but getting in someone's face is a good way to get slugged. Indeed my wife admitted she was surprised I didn't deck the guy.
And of course, not all rival fans are bad. As I've gotten older and presumably more mature I've come to appreciate rivalries with fans. The players are all professionals in their sport and often know their opponents and have mutual respect. They maybe were teammates in college, or are friends off the field. A lot of them train together in the off season. Rivalries exist more among fans than players. It's actually really exciting when the players themselves heat up a rivalry, but more often than not it's the fans that keep rivalries alive.
It could be one or more, or all three. Living in the east bay I started as a Raider fan, but after going to my first game found the fans to be obnoxious, and didn't like being there, so switched to the 49ers. While I'm in Seattle area now (since 1993) and a Seahawk fan, I have enjoyed the rivalry with S.F. until they dropped off the map for a few years. I'm glad to see them back and really anxious to see the upcoming game on the 29th. Back on topic, I have hated the Cowboys since they declared themselves "America's Team." Lately there's not been much to hate, though. For New England, it's the idea of their domination, while so many incidents of reported cheating. It's Belichick and Brady, the two most likely to have done the cheating, if true.
I think I've hated the Cowboys even longer than that.
The Texans are my #3 team (I live in the Houston metro now). The Raiders and the 49ers are pretty much equal to me.
I was raised as a fan of both.
My dad was a Raiders season ticket holder during the period when they played at Frank Youell Field, and he grew up in SF, not too far from Kezar (he was already in college when the 49ers were founded).
I actually like both Kraft and Jones, but I still wish both the Pats and the Cowboys would each lose every game they play.
I don't like Brady, and I don't like Coach B.
I read a story the other day about a possibility of the Raiders paying Brady 60 million for 2 years, and Gronk possibly getting coaxed out of retirement to join him.
I like Gronk.
Even though I don't like Brady, I still realize he is the GOAT.
If Gronk could be coaxed to join him, I could get behind Brady and Gronk going to the Raiders.
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How ungrateful.
