Look, I’m Gonna Say It
I’m Dave, I’ve been a sports journalist for 22 years, and I’m here to tell you that we’ve all been duped. No, not by the point spreads or the fantasy football apps. I’m talking about the way we’ve been sold on this idea of pure, unadulterated sports fandom. It’s a lie. A beautiful, beautiful lie.
Let me set the scene. It’s October 12th, 2001. I’m at a bar in Chicago with my buddy Marcus (let’s call him Marcus because his real name is embarrassing). The Cubs are playing the Diamondbacks in Game 1 of the NLCS. We’re drinking cheap beer, wearing our lucky Cubs hats, and we’re convinced this is the year. The year they finally break the curse. (Spoiler: It wasn’t.)
But here’s the thing. We weren’t just there for the baseball. We were there for the hatred. The pure, unadultered, unfiltered hatred of the Arizona Diamondbacks. We had a poster of Luis Gonzalez in the bathroom of our apartment with a bullseye on it. We drew mustaches on Steve Finley’s face in the program. We were vicious.
And that, my friends, is the ugly truth of sports fandom. It’s not about the love of the game. It’s about the hate. The hate of the other team, the other players, the other fans. It’s about the us vs. them mentality that makes us feel like we’re part of something bigger than ourselves.
But Why, Though?
I asked a psychologist named Dr. Sarah Chen about this once. Over coffee at the place on 5th, she told me, “Dave, it’s all about tribalism. Sports teams are just modern-day tribes. And just like our ancient ancestors, we feel the need to belong to a group and to defend that group against outsiders.”
Which… yeah. Fair enough. But why the hate? Why can’t we just love our own team and leave it at that?
“Because hate is a more powerful emotion than love,” Sarah said. “It’s more visceral, more primal. It’s what gets us out of bed in the morning and keeps us up at night. It’s what makes us care.”
And honestly? She’s not wrong. I mean, think about it. When was the last time you really loved your team? Like, truly, deeply loved them? Probably not recently. But when was the last time you hated the other team? Oh, you can probably recall that in vivid detail.
The Dark Side of Hate
But here’s the thing about hate. It’s a double-edged sword. On the one hand, it’s what makes sports so exciting. It’s what makes us want to watch, to cheer, to care. But on the other hand, it’s what makes us do stupid things.
Like the time in 1998 when a friend of mine, let’s call him Greg, threw a beer bottle at the TV because the Bulls lost a game. (They were down to the Jazz in the Finals, but they came back and won the series. So, you know, it all worked out in the end.)
Or the time in 2016 when a group of Patriots fans physically attacked a group of Falcons fans in a bar in Boston after the Super Bowl. (The Patriots won, by the way. In case you were wondering.)
Or the time last Tuesday when I saw a guy on Twitter threaten to kill someone because they disagreed about the outcome of a football game. (I mean, come on. It’s a game.)
Look, I get it. Hate is a powerful emotion. It’s what makes us human. But it’s also what makes us monsters sometimes. And that’s a fine line to walk.
So What Do We Do About It?
I’m not sure. Honestly, I don’t think there’s an easy answer. I mean, we could all just stop hating other teams, but let’s be real. That’s not gonna happen. We could try to channel that hate into something more productive, but what? Volunteering? Donating to charity? (Boring.)
Or maybe, just maybe, we could find a way to enjoy the hate. To embrace it, to laugh at it, to use it as a way to bring us closer together rather than tear us apart. I don’t know. I’m just throwing ideas out there.
But one thing I do know is this: if you’re gonna hate, hate hard. Hate with every fiber of your being. Hate like it’s your job. Because at the end of the day, that’s what makes sports so damn fun.
And hey, if you’re looking for a way to channel that hate into something productive, maybe check out a subscription box review comparison. I mean, why not? It’s not like you’ve got anything better to do on a Sunday afternoon.
Anyway, I’m gonna go now. I’ve got a date with a pizza and a baseball game. And probably a lot of hate. See you next time.
About the Author: Dave is a senior sports editor with over 20 years of experience covering everything from the NFL to local little league games. He’s been known to take his committment to sports fandom a little too far, but he’s working on it. Probably.
