No room for hate

I discovered something this week. Through all my anger and bitterness, I came to realize that there is a finite amount of sports hate in the world.

Let’s be clear from the beginning: sports hate is not the same as regular hate. It’s when normal, non-malicious people take their frustrations from everyday life and direct them at sports teams. It’s a way of cheering for your own team: “hating” the rival. It’s also a way of expressing frustration: “hating” the team that just beat yours, or the team that always wins, or the team that has a giant payroll and steamrolls everyone else.

When LeBron James announced that he was signing with Miami, a never-before-seen level of hate brewed inside of me. I hate the Heat more than I have ever hated any other team. I hate them more than I hate all 4 Boston teams combined (and that’s a lot). I hate them more than I hate Duke, and the Yankees, and the Lakers, and Barry Bonds.

Then a strange thing happened. I started to like Kobe Bryant. I felt warm feelings toward the Yankees. When someone made a comment to me about Duke basketball, I didn’t respond with a scathing retort.

It’s as if I needed such an enormous amount of hate for Miami that I had to transfer it away from other teams.

The same thing happened to me a few years ago after the Red Sox beat the Indians in the ALCS. My dislike of Boston teams was at its peak, as all 4 teams were title contenders, and most were plowing over Cleveland on their way to uncontested championships. Around that time, some of my hatred of the New York Yankees, a team which I’d loathed all my life, was transferred over to Boston. I went to a Sox-Yanks game the next fall and found myself fervently cheering for the men in pinstripes.

It also happened to me this spring when the Celtics met the Lakers in the NBA finals. I’ve always hated the Lakers, but after the Cavs' recent history with the Celtics (dating back to the Paul Pierce wheelchair charade of 2008), I found myself cheering for them. I wanted the Celtics to lose so badly that it negated my previous dislike of the Lakers.

Now this is being taken to a whole new level, extending across all sports. I think Kobe the Lakers are a fine team, and hope to see them win more championships. I think Boston fans are very loyal, Big Baby’s not so bad, and even Paul Pierce doesn’t look like such a ghoul any more. The Yankees have a rich tradition of winning that should be celebrated. Coach K is a good man, and so are his players. Next time I go to a San Francisco Giants game, I’ll cheer for them (unless they’re playing the Dodgers).

But Miami? ... Miami can suck it, big time.