| Robert_Downey_Jr. said: I didn't really hate the Lakers either. Though the Heat were very hateable for one simple fact, Lebron James. I have hated that guy ever since he hit a big shot in game 2 of the Eastern Conference finals and talked about only himself in the press conference. No mention of teammates or guys that kept him in it just about how it was the biggest shot of his career and how much he stepped up under pressure. Then having a 1 hour TV special for yourself? Man what a douche. And yeah every team has people that don't like them, some are just more justified than others. |
My point isn't why the Heat were hated, it's more of "the Spurs weren't hated because there was someone else more hateable." I'd argue much of the reason why the Spurs are so well liked by most NBA fans is because they went up against the Heat twice in a row. It's sort of the same phenomenon that happens when someone absolutely despises a candidate in a primary election and then moves to fully supporting them if they win and get to the general election. Things become far more likeable when they're put up against something else that you hate even more.
As far as the NFL goes, however, there really isn't anyone who's been more hateable than the Patriots, and that isn't just on the side of "they win a lot," though I think that certainly has a lot to do with it. Even though the Patriots didn't win a Super Bowl for ten years, no one else was as consistently successful as them (going by how frequently they made it into the playoffs and how often they won) over that time period. Certainly didn't help that the Patriots continually ran up the score on teams in 2007, or that...well...Bill Belichick isn't exactly the most likeable person.
All of this contributes to a situation where quite a few people are willing to believe the worst about New England without bothering to investigate afterwards. Oh, the Boston Herald published an article stating that the Patriots taped the Rams' walkthroughs? Doesn't matter that the article was retracted quickly, many people who bring up Spygate say that it involved taping walkthroughs. Oh, the Patriots were caught breaking a rule about taping from a specific location? Everyone instantly assumes that the 3 Super Bowls beforehand must be the product of cheating as well, without even bothering to check when the rule came into play (2006, btw). I've even seen people (as in multiple) make the argument that the tuck rule was somehow cheating by New England.
None of this is to exonerate the Patriots, it's just to show that people consistently assume the worst about New England in a way that I don't think they do any other American sports entity, with the possible exception of whatever team LeBron James is on. The Pats have basically been branded by much of the NFL fanbase as felons for two infractions, one of which is questionable, that basically equate to speeding tickets in terms of seriousness.
