It's all about the fans. It pains me to say this, but Joe Torre, Bernie Williams, Derek Jeter, Paul O'Neill ... they were Ballplayers. They made it fairly difficult to outright hate them.

Now, the D-bags sitting in front of us with the stoopid accents and the navy jackets ... they were easy game.

Wow, hate's a strong word. Not sure it's good for our world to be solicited on things related to hate. Now, that said, Philadelphia fans come awfully close to qualifying. They're a hateful bunch toward their own players. I don't hate the teams, but I root against them, because I don't want the fans to experience otherwise. Then there are Chicago Cub fans, not worthy of hate, but they simply are ... with many exceptions, of course ... a baseball-illiterate bunch. Seriously, listen to some of the comments at Wrigley and what the fans do and don't react to sometimes. Don't like New York fans, either, but I'm sure there are plenty of other people to take control of the hate baton there. As for teams that inspire ... it's hard to say ... hate, Notre Dame qualifies. The school is the epitome of self-righteous. Nice to see the football program flop. Georgetown basketball qualified when John Thompson was there. Never a better nickname for a mindset in sports history than Hoya Paranoia. And his son sure put the screws to Ball State. Did I miss a city or team?

Even in the context of dramatic prosaic license, I have never hated any baseball team or it's fans.
In your previous blog, the guy who calls himself "SoxFan" made a series of stupid statements.
These statements were niether representative nor typical of Boston fans but would have been stupid even if they had been. Stupid is stupid and I would have responded the same way to Mother Theresa had she made those statements.
I have been an Oriole fan since 1954. During that time I have never seen the Yankees or Red Sox do anything dirty towards the Orioles while all three teams have certainly taken their turns being the better of the three.
I feel a definite rivalry with both cities, but certainly not hatred.
When you love someone, it doesn't mean you hate everyone else. It just means you forsake everyone else.

I think hating the organization and hating the fans can be separate, but they usually go together. In the case of the Red Sox, I not only hate the organization (mostly players like Youkilis, Pedroia, and Ortiz) more than any other team, but I hate their fans more than any other fans.

Both...I hate the city, team, players, fans and in the case of Yankee and Steeler fans it extends to their families, offspring and pets. I'm sickened and repulsed by any individual willing to wear that NY logo or Pittsburgh whatever. Urgh.

I loathe everything about the Redskins and their fans. I don't think any details here would be necessary.

Red Sox fans are the absolute worst. You said it best...in recent years, New England fans have become so incredibly pompous and lost so much class that it makes me sick.

The Yankees used to be my number 1 enemy, but the Sox have since taken that over. As a team and organization, I think they are somewhat likeable and deserve respect. As a 'nation,' as they like to call it - or just a big bandwagon - they have become my least liked rival.

It's a sad tale, that they can't take all the wins across multiple sports team and take them with dignity. It's been New England's time to shine over the past decade, and they've done a horrible job at it.

-I loathe Red Sox fans.

-I loathe Eagles fans at times

-I strongly dislike the Yankees, but due to their recent struggles I've gotten som satisfaction out of that

-I loathe the Pittsburgh team, far more than their actual fans. I have found Pittsburgh fans to be respectable fans only guilty of being strongly loyal to a team that pathetically revels in cheap shots and bad trash talking

It depends (give me a coffee to go please). Teams change, fans stay the same. Case in point: I have the utmost respect for Joe Gibbs. When he coached the deadskins in the 80's/90's, I had a hard time hating the team because of him. Still hated the fans, mind you. Ever since Pete Angelos Jr (Dan Snyder) bought the team, it's been hate-hate-hate. It has been rather amusing watching that diminutive snot lose year after year. Gotta love all that $$ go down the drain (LaVar Arrington).

The difference for Boston is that I despise both (team and fans). They finally win after 5,000 years of futility and you'd think they had some storied franchise like the Yankees. The downward spiral started in 2008 and will continue in 2009.

I hate, detest, loathe and abhor anything to do with the Squeelers, especially all the transplants who moved down here and took our jobs because their city sucks so badly.

I think the distinction can be made. I absolutely abhor the Yankees, and I am beginning to feel that way about the Red Sox. Winning a pennant for both of those franchises is no longer about fair competition. It is about outspending the rest of the world to buy a better team than the Blue Jays, Orioles and Rays so they can buy a championship. That is why I hate the organizations.

As far as hating the fans, it depends on how they act. Until recently, I thought I could not co-exist with a Yankees fan or a Red Sox fan. Then I had a discussion with someone who I absolutely adore. She informed me that she is a Yankees fan. I never knew this before. I cannot go from adoring someone to hating her just because she is a Yankees fan.

Bottom line, as long as these teams' fans can be cool instead of being obnoxious, I don't have to hate them.

Red Sox fans make me sick...I don't think it's possible for me to hate anything on this planet more than them. I hate the Yankees as much as the next guy but I would rather see the Yankees win the next 20 World series than see the Red Sox win one.

I was born in Boston and have been and will be a Red Sox fan all of my life. I was taught at a very early age to hate the Yankees. Both formally in school and by the reactions of every member of my community. People were born, raised, lived their entire lives and died without seeing their beloved team win a world series while the Yankees won dozens. I hate every baseball player that has ever put on those evil pinstripes. I don't care if the person is the nicest person you ever met of the field, I still hate them if they play for the Yankees. If big bird were to put on a Yankees cap I would hate that freaking bird the rest of my life and would never allow my children to watch Sesame Street again.
When the Red Sox won in 2004, so many fans cried. Grown men and women cried. My wife cried, why, because her farther had died the year before and had lived his whole life without having seen the Red Sox beat the Yankees and take the the trophy back to Boston. So before you Orioles fans start throwing around the word hate, try waiting another 61 years and see how you feel then.

Sure, you can hate the team and the fans separately.

For instance, I have no real dislike of Stiller fans. Actually, I regard them as unusual creatures, tragically misled, and wishing more for them. Interesting how they've fled the Burg of Pits and infested so many other cities.

The Stillers, as a team? Can't stand 'em.

Even so, my loathing for the Terrible Towel is fairly dim compared to my sheer, utter, complete, and ofeten enveloping hate of the Redskins.

I will root for them to lose until my dying day, my last drawn breath. And I shall take delight in the ecstasy of their continued failures!

It makes me a small man, I know. But I feel it's worth it. :-)

When the Colt's first came to Baltimore,we had to pay George Preston Marshall (owner of the Redskins) $ 100,000. After Irsay left with them,Jack Kent Cooke was instramental in keeping us from getting a new team.

Why would we like anything about the Redskins?

The only thing I hate is having OPACY invaded by Yankee and Red Sox fans.

I loathe the Colts, their fans, their owner, their uniforms. I loathe the Yankees and their fans. I loathe the Red Sox fans but not the team. Also the Redskins and Cowboys. UGH!

The easiest way to answer that question is to look at the approval ratings for the president and congress. The president is rated extremely low and all of congress would need stilts to even get to that low level. Therefore anything named after the city has a certain connotation of frustration to the average taxpayer. Change the name to something less offensive and more sectional (maybe the Mid-Atlantic Redskins) and there is no problem.

No I do not HATE either. However, I do have a very strong DISLIKE for those "FISH WRAP" personnel that are suppose to REPORT but are convinced that, in turth, believe themselves to be SPORTS' genisus.

I definately find myself hating teams without hating the fans and vice versa. I feel you start hating a team once that team just consistently beats you, but not their fans. I hate the Titans or Steelers because they always beat us. I hate the Redskins, Cowboys, and Yankees because of their "fans". I only find myself hating the fans when they are fairweather. I grew up in DC and I feel like Washington fans were the worst. It felt like after a win or two, you'd see Superbowl banners everywhere. Then after a few losses, you'll see nothing about the Redskins or hear them talking about how much they suck.

I never really joined in the Redskins hate since they stunk throughout the 60s and 70s. There was never really a rivalry since the old Colts and Skins were good when each other was bad. I only felt extreme dislike for the Skins when Tagliapoo told us to adopt them. As for Philadelphia, I have found their fans at Caps games to be the worst. I have always despised the Flyers but don't care either way on Phillies (other league). Being from Baltimore, you are trained to hate New Yorkers from day one. They just just so loud and...New Yorkish. It's like everyone of them is a lawyer or something. And now, as people have pointed out, the formerly good people of Boston are coming out of the closet after 90 years and acting like New Yorkers. As for Pittsburgh, I have always found fans from there to be friendly. Pittsburgh as a place is much more similar to Baltimore than New York, Boston or Philthydelphia. How can a sports fan have anything but great respect for those Steeler teams of the 70s? They rose from 1-13 to conquer the world. Wouldn't anyone have wanted Terry Bradshaw, a regular guy, on their team? Now that Porter is gone, Ward is the only thing wrong with the Steelers. Also, no one pointed out, but it's easy to hate the Cowboys, really easy.

By the way, wasn't it the Roman general who said to Judah Ben Hur, "Hate, Forty-one, is what keeps a man alive."

I agree with your view of the Red Sox Dan. I have a lot of friends who are from the Boston area who are true Sox fans who I do not have a problem with. I do have a problem with the obnoxioius fans that come into Camden Yards and kick us while we're down. Like you said, it's as if because they are on a nice roll they forget the last 50 or so years. I like several of the players on the Red Sox and dislike some others. It's the fans that drive me absolutely nuts (and the media for drowning us in Yankees v. Red Sox attention).
To summarize, I think it's possible to hate a team, it's fans individually and together.

I'll go one up, I hate the whole of city of Pittsburgh.

As an Oriole fan who grew up in upstate NY, trust me...Yankee fans deserve to be hated. But for most of that time the Red Sox were simply irrelevant.

Of course it's not all Yankee fans...just the obnoxious loud-mouth ones...that deserve my hatred. (Granted, that is the vast majority of Yankee fans, but I have met one or two decent ones in my life.)

Regarding hating the 'organization'...that's tough. There are very few players that deserve to be hated. (Barry Bonds, anyone?) But even Yankee players seem to be decent enough folks. (I mean, anyone can make the mistake of selling your soul to the devil.)

On the other hand, the Steinbrenner clan and the management...they deserve to be hated.

Peace, love, and happiness baby. It's Christmas for God's sake. Joy to the world. Of course I don't hate any of them. That would be no fun. Hates not fun. I love rooting for my team and against their's. Scream at 'em, splash some beer on 'em. But always the best thing is to have our team whip the crap out of 'em. Big game Sunday. The joy will come with a victory. It's almost as good as living in the '60's when it was sex, drugs, rock and roll, and the Baltimore Colts. Oh yeah, hur-ruh!

Where I live, there are Baltimore fans and Redskins fans. Among the Baltimore fans there are two types of people.... those who don't mind the Redskins, and those who flat out loathe the Redskins... a lot of people wonder why Baltimore hates the DC team so much, but you can't really understand it unless you've been a life long Baltimore native...

You see it's like this: Imagine you're married, you're wife is beautiful, shes loving, faithful, and you've spent almost 40 years together in wedded bliss. Now imagine one day your wife just up and leaves you in the middle of the night... no explanation, no remorse, just up and gone. I don't think you can imagine what that has to feel like... it sucks.

Now imagine you're next door neighbor is a pretty young blonde. She's attractive, she's successful, she's everything you could want in a mate, and best of all she's willing to welcome you in and treat you as her own. Now as you can probably imagine that's gonna bring up some pretty big emotions... on the one hand you're still bitter angry and hurt that you were scorned by the one person you loved above everyone else, and on the other... well... here's this glamorous alternative that could potentially take all that pain away...

Well that's Baltimore fans... some of us embraced the new love and were thankful that they had someone to carry them through the dark days... and then there are the others who resent that they were hurt in the first place, and resent that some other person would come along and try to take the place of the old... So you have your fans who don't mind the Skins, route for them passively and generally wish them well, and then you have fans who vehemently hate everything that the Skins stand for and wish them nothing but horrible fortune...

That about sums up this Sunday's game... They media may try and play up the rivalry, they may try to play up the fact that these two teams can't stand each other, but its not really about that... it's about pride, its about pain, its about anger and frustration and pure unadulterated hate, and I legitimately feel bad for anyone who gets in Baltimore's way. But then again, don't expect Washington to take the abuse quietly... they have their own beef with their neighbors to the North.

It's time to exercise some old ghosts... there's gonna be a battle, and one hell of a game, maybe one for the ages... we'll see what happens when the smoke clears.

Can't wait for Kickoff...

I am the new breed of Baltimore Raven fan. I grew up loving the Redskins. John Riggins was the man. When the Ravens came to town, i bought 4 seasons tickets as i knew any professional football ticket is as good as gold. I gave the Ravens a shot and once Daniel Snyder took over the ownership, changed sides. I still root for the Redskins and have Redskin season tickets as well. They have been in my family for over 30 years. I just cant stomach the way Pretzel Boy runs a franchise. The Ravens are as well run a franchise as any in the league. I really dont hate anyone except the Steelers, Cowboys and their fans....the Boston fans are new to winning and they show it. With the recent success of both the Patriots and the Red Sox, the fans are very arogant and obnoxious. they should act like they have been there before and not act like this is their first Championship....

I respect the organizations for their accomplishments and Joe Gibbs, Joe Torre, and Terry Francona all seem like nice enough guys. Its their fans that get under my skin.

I think it's more the fans who we wind up interacting with at the games that makes us dislike a certain team since it really is those fans who are representing the team and the city the team is based in, so we equate our dislike of a franchise with the negative experiences we have from interacting with said franchise's fans.

It seems like we all strongly dislike the Sox, Yankees, Redskins, Phillies & Eagles because their fans are boorish. Because of free agency allowing players to move around constantly, there aren't any players or coaches on those teams that we strongly dislike or hate, and more often than not, you don't dislike the ownership (Dan Snyder being the exception; the Steinbrenners continually make drama you have to laugh at). It really comes down to our experiences with a team's fanbase that form our opinions of a team.

The only exceptions I can think of is in the college ranks. The first is Duke. Not only are the fans a bunch of spoiled rich kids who have a sense of entitlement, but Coach K comes off as a d-bag to me. He may be a decent human being off the court, but on the court, I can't stand him. I also can't stand all the media attention the team gets every year- there are 11 other teams in the ACC people, one of which resides outside the nation's capital and won a championship 6 years ago.... The other team is Notre Dame. Like Duke, the students and fan base are a bunch of spoiled rich kids who have a sense of entitlement (perfect example- let's throw snowballs at our team and coach as they get upset by Syracuse!) and also like Duke, the football team gets continuous national exposure, even when it is awful (like the past couple of years). The coach is a blowhard, and the school chased out a decent coach who was not given much time to prove himself (Willingham). I'm always rooting for whatever team is playing ND.

They usually go together, often one feeding off the other. As others have noted, though, in the case of "Red Sox Nation", before the team actually won the Series they were just a vast, mildly amusing collection of neurotics. Now, they have become almost as intolerable as their Bronx-based brethren. Throw in the Patriots with their smug, rule-breaking coach and it gets easy to dislike all teams and fans based north of NYC. The Dookies are another bunch that engender loathing due to their arrogance. Though if you were to be objective about it you'd have to admire the continued success of all these organizations.

Since what is probably driving this discussion in part is the impending arrival of the team from down the parkway for this weekend's game, I do have to confess that I don't have the level of disdain for Redskins fans that many in here do. For one thing, I am in the minority where I live and work, and there are many fine folks who are 'Skins fans. In fact, my dislike for the team is based almost totally on their owner and his handling of the organization. I concede that the man's a very successful businessman, but it would be highly entertaining to see a steel cage death match between Danny Boy and Peter the Great. Unfortunately at least one of them would probably walk out afterwards so it would not be as glorious as if both just decided to take their ill-gotten gains and retire to an island in the Carribbean, followed by a direct hit from a Category 5 hurricane.

This is easy: It's gotta be NY and everyone from NY. Regardless of how Sox fans have become in recent years, New Yorkers are the most obnoxious, rude, and borish bunch of a-holes this country has to offer.

As a Red Sox fan who has lived in New York all my life, I can tell you Yankee fans are absolutely the bottom of the barrel. Their arrogance and outright stupidity knows no bounds. I've seen Red Sox fans act like that, especially since this decade's two titles. But per capita, no team's fans eclipse Yankee fans. They make despising that team very easy. Their sense of entitlement is still strong, despite their team's historic 2004 choke job.

To Rob K: YES, the Red Sox ARE a storied franchise, whether you know it or not. And losing Game 7 of the ALCS in 2008 is the beginning of a "downward spiral?" What does that make what the Yankees are doing now?

I hate team usually because of certain players and fans. Colorado Buffalos for their fans, Denver Broncos because of John Elway and their fans, New York Yankees for fans, media bias, players, and arrogance -- the list could probably go on for a while...

That being said, I can still respect individual players, even if they play for these teams...but I do enjoy watching these teams fail...

Wow...awesome comments today so I thought I'd pop back for an early lunch. Make it a Dos Equis and a hot pastrami on rye.

Whatever johnjames44 is drinking, cut him off. I don't know what turth or genisus means.

Omnipotent q....nice nickname. The Yankees stink. Period. The BoSox downward spiral is a bit mis-leading so let me elaborate....can I buy you a drink?

Yes, they made it to the ALCS but the went down from 2007. Papi keeps getting hurt, Lowell is finished at 3B and you need a catcher who can hit at least .230. My expectation, take this for what it's worth, is that you don't even make the playoffs in '09. Everything in sports is cyclical so it's time for Red Sox Nation to go back to mediocrity. But heh, at least you have an owner willing to cough up the coin to put a decent product on the field.

Rich....if I were 20 years older, I would have partied with you in the 60's.

Whoever bashed Duke & Notre Dame, when were you born because we must have been separated at birth. My Dr. will not allow me to watch Duke basketball for blood pressure reasons. Smug, arrogant....bet ya didn't know one of the little Angelos boys went to Duke....go figure. As for Notre Dame, Chuck Weis is getting his just desserts and he loves his desserts. He won with Willingham's players, cashed in the big contract, and has been pitiful ever since. ND needs to cancel the NBC gig, join the Big 11 and get over itself.

As an O's fan I grew up hating all of the other teams of the old AL East when it was 7 teams per division.Especially the Yankees. As a Caps fan I hated all of the other Patrick division teams. Especially the Flyers. And as a Bullets(Wizards) fan I hated the other teams of the old Atlantic division. Especially the Knicks. And finally as a Maryland fan I hated all of the other ACC teams especially Clemson in football, and North Carolina and Duke in b-ball.

But now as an adult I just love my teams and don't hate other teams. With 1 exception: PITTSBURGH teams! And it has nothing to do with the teams themselves. It's their fans. They are the most neurotic, jealous, spiteful fans in all of sports. They're so insecure about their own teams they try to talk trash about everyone elses.They put New York, Boston, and even Philly fans to shame.

Ed Rendell was right when he called western Pennsylvania "Alabama". The city of Pittsburgh and it's fans should just go away and stop embarrasing the rest of America.

I find Sox fans much worse than Yankees fans, although I root hard against both teams. Yanks fans just assume they are #1, and have more of a sense of humor about it, and it's more honest to me, although it is tough hearing their gloating. But at least they are good sports when you have "exchanges" with them at OPACY. Sox fans, on the other hand, have no sense of humor, think they are the only 'true' fans in the world, still like to pretend they're this plucky little team, etc. It's so self-righteous! The fact is that every team that wins picks up a big bandwagon, and every team that loses has lots of fans lose interest. They, however, think that their rooters are all real and loyal fans compared to everyone else, when in fact the bandwagon is huge. I mean, compare the #s that show up to OPACY now with the much smaller groups that showed up 20 years ago or so at Memorial. There's no comparison.

i agree on hating a team for the obvious reasons. im a baltimore fan until i die so of course i will hate every team/rival. as for the fans...when it comes to raven games here in baltimore and they buy tickets on ebay or stubhub and sit in our seats, if they respect where they are and relize that they are in our house and easily out numbered and act as normal human beings then i am fine with them. but nothing pisses me off more then to have a piss towel being waved in my face when nothing is happening. yellow towels should be banned from ravens stadium

I used to strongly dislike just the teams, not individual players but the teams. Yanks first. The Red Sox were never so good that I disliked them.

Much later I started being very annoyed by the obnoxius Yankess fans. Red Sox fans annoyed me but at least they were rooters for their team. Then the Red Sox won and the world changed. I can tolerate most of the Red Sox players, except Youkalis who for some reason annoyes the h--- out of me. But I do hate the Red Sox fans. Their sense of entitlement, their obnoxious behavior and most of all so many of them know very little about baseball.

Let me put this in perspective. I'm a Redskins fan and I hate the Sox fans even more than I hate the Cowboys! Enough said.

I had forgotten some elements of hate - didn't you just hate Dean Smith when Carolina was up by a basket with over ten minutes left and he unleashed that damned 4-corners? Didn't you just hate all of Indianapolis for years, maybe still do, especially that Mayor? Didn't you just hate the whole NFL like I did? Didn't you just ABHOR Don Chandler and the whole city of Green bay because they went to the title game when the kick WAS BAD and then the NFL raised the uprights the FOLLOWING YEAR? And I HATE IT when I turn on ESPN to see Maryland as the 9:00 game but it is delayed by like 20 mins because the previous game (it always has Cincinnati or Louisville) is running over because they commit a foul every two seconds. The fact is, I still hold a grudge on the entire city of Green Bay for being allowed my enjoyment 43 years ago. Maybe I will one day get over it. But why?

Red Sox fans are the best fans bcz their jerks, they get everyone fired up and even spark articles like this, only helping the game as a whole. one of the thoughest city's to play in all of sports. GO GET TEIXERA THEO. go sox

I've always had this question in my head, and the answer is yes, you can like one and hate the other. I have always, with a passion, hated Philadelphia fans of all sports. Throwing snowballs at santa, and being the most front runner fans of all time are their claims to fame. On that note, I do like the Phillies, I like the way they play and I like their players. I also have a neutral feeling towards the Eagles, and I think Donovan McNabb would be ten times better if he was out of that city. I also hate the Yankees with a passion like most O's fans, however I respect their fans, I really do. The true Yankee fans are knowledgeable and respectful of the game, for the most part. So yes, hating fans, and their teams, can be completely separate.

A good protion of my family is Red Sox fans since they live up in New England, I don't really hate the organization but I do find some of their fans OBNOXIOUS!! I also despie Dustin Pedroia, the guy comes off like a snot-nosed punk. So I hate some of the fans, my family is okay though, and a single player but not the team as a whole.

So yes it is possible to hate the fans and not the team.

Winning causes alot of hatred no doubt, always hated the Yanks #1 with the Colts and Steelers right there with them, as for Boston winning a couple championships and their fans being obnoxious, it really doesnt bother me for some reason I always have respect for their franchise, dont always want them to win but they are in no ways anywhere near the obnoxious morons from New York and Philly or Pitts. Having Family members from Indy only worsens my hatred toward the Colts!!!! As for the deadskins, hatred there as well especially with the idiot Snyder!

being the holiday season and all,
i will try not to be too hateful...

the yankees and their fans -

every spring training they believe
they will win the pennant with
their money, but mike mussina,
jason (pill toting) giambi and all the
rest have bought you some wild
cards but no championships. oh well,
merry christmas and good night
to your team and pompous fans....

I don't hate the Ravens or their fans but I am thoroughly amused by their silly fans. It is entertaining to watch them try and convince the players on the Ravens why it is imperative to beat/hate the Redskins and Colts. It was great watching TSuggs on a MASN show tell the callers how they (Ravens players) are too busy establishing their own identity to worry about how the fans "need" the Ravens to beat the Colts. Personally I wish he had also told the fan to stop blaming Irsay for taking the team away when it was the mayor and governor forcing an eminent domain suit that ran the team out of town before the man's personal property was stolen from him. But it was satisfying enough to hear Suggs tell the fans to get over it and root for the team they have instead of trying to drum up hatred where none exists. How sad is it that the Raven fans try to drum up rivalries with cities like Indy and Washington who barely acknowledge Baltimore's existence. Now Baltimore fans sell their tickets to Boston and New York fans while demeaning them for then using the tickets supposed Baltimore fans sold to them. Way too sad and insignificant to bother hating.

As Jerry Seinfeld said, "We're just rooting for laundry." A Baltimore native and more than die-hard Oriole/Colt fan, I moved to Denver area in 1976. Broncos beat undefeated Colts (Bert Jones, Lidell Mitchell, et.al) in the only Bronco game I've every been too, Colts draft John Elway, Elways refuses to sign, using Yankees (ouch!) as leverage, forces trade to Denver; Elway ultimately leads Broncos to 2 SB titles, while pitiful Colts ... well, you know. I blame Elway, and forever hate the Broncos. On the other hand, I love the Nuggets and Avalanche (those are pro basketball and hockey teams, Baltimore. Just what do you do with your winter evenings? Root for Morgan State to beat Howard in hoops?), and generally enjoy the Rockies.

I hate the Yankees because doing so is in the DNA of anyone born to Baltimore parents. I'm annoyed by the Red Sox after passionately cheering for them when they came back from 0-3 to beat NYY. Will I some day need to hate the Rays and Jays, too? (How about Angelos relocates the Orioles to Cheyenne, Wyoming, so I can see 25 games per year and the team can win the pathetic NL West every year?)

Hate? Let's see how about Angelos easy to dislike, Mayor Willie Don allowing the Colts to leave town despicable. Bob Irsay for moving the team in the middle of the night getting real close. But only 3 thoughts come to mind when it comes to hating a team/fans top of the list the arrogant Washington Organization, Players (Anyone more conceited than Joe Theeesman?) and fans. They look down their noses at the hard working people of the blue collar town that is Charm City and consider themselves far above us. During my time at UMD I was surrounded by these insufferable snobs and the hate that I have for them continues to this day. Screw the Deadskins. #2 New York and their know it all fans and money spending pinstriped Yankees. Again they are close cousins to their brethren in DC. #3 Mike Tirico does that man ever shut up?

The big difference, for me anyway, is that the Yankees have more or less bought their titles (save the 1996 one) recently. I'm not saying that the Red Sox haven't pushed the payroll limits themselves, but they have only responded to the Yankees - and even then still kept payroll far under them.

I bet Hines Ward is a Red Sox fan.

Dan - I like your topic today - it's interesting why a sports fan likes some teams and hates others.

I was brought up a Baltimore Colts fans in the 60's and it was fun to root for a winner. However, as a kid, I liked the Redskins too and thought of them as a second local team. I lived in Howard County and could pick up the Washington stations. They weren't as good as the Colts but I was happy to see them make it to the Super Bowl in 1972.

My hate for the Redskins began when I chose to go away to a Virginia college. At my school, everyone was a Redskins fan. Although I had some very good and close friends in college, when it came to sports - many of them turned out to be Baltimore haters. I took a lot of flak for being a Colts fans and being from that low dirtball area named Baltimore. It became worse when the Colts sank to last place in the early 80's while the Redskins developed into a powerhouse. I wound up getting a job in the D.C. area and had to put up with more obnoxious fans and Washington media. Then, when the Colts left town - it was worse.

I've been a Skins hater since and hope the Ravens kill them on Sunday.

To Rob K: Are you kidding me???The Red Sox are a team on the UPSWING. Pedroia just won an MVP, Ellsbury will be a big time player, Youk had a huge year and is still young (29), Lester, Papelbon, Buchholz, Masterson, Bowden, etc. The pitching continues to get better and better. And the Sox still have a deep farm system, and are talking about signing Teixiera. Papi and Lowell will be fine. They do need to resolve the catching spot, but have the resources to do it.

We're only going to get BETTER. Deal with it.

Have to go with hating both the teams and the fans. If you hate the team then you are generally going to hate at least some of the fans.

My biggest hate is the Squeelers. Hate them, their players (how about when Porter was there?), the overated coverage, the coaches, front office and especially the fans. The fans put on their gold and black and think that gives them a right from God to be an ignoramus. Two quick examples...

Went to Buxey's in OC during the winter a couple years back (a Squeeler bar). I had never been there before so my wife an I (middle-agers) stop in for a beer. Not many people in the bar but those who are, are all S-fans. I happen to have on a Ravens coat. I sit down at the bar and ask the bar tender for a Guinness. He say's they are out of it although I see two other guy's drinking it. Got something else, saw the bartender go to the S-fans and laugh at us. We leave to never go back (or any of my friends).

Second quick story, an acquatance of mine is a rather quite guy from P-burg. He moved here for to find work. Well, I know him for a while and then the Ravens are playing the Squeelers. All of a sudden, boom! He is in my face the whole week. We have 5-rings, you have 1. What about our NFL chamionships and Baltimore Colts Superbowl? Back in my face saying they don't count, we have more championships than you, your team sucks! All this and I am not even a smack talker. Have to hate them all.

As for Boston, they are now second on my hate list because of your exact statements. First they whine forever. Then, when they finally win, they show ZERO class. ESPN is always shoving the team in your face because of locality. Hate them, too!

BTW Sox fans, I believe the Yankees really considered the O's more their rivals instead of the Sox from the 60's into the 90's, it was even mentioned in a Seinfeld episode. So before comparing yourself and equating yourself to them, you need about 30-40 years of steady play. It won't happen.

a second
holiday serving
of dislike for fans and team,

the dallas cowboys, from the arrogant
owner from arkansas jones,

to the big haired hire all college
thugs jimmy johnson..

to the silly
and latest romo and j. simpson
soap opera....

and t.o. i cry for my qb, and sharpie
all td's... what a joke. used to
have class with landry, now just
a bunch of clowns who think,
they are winners...

silent night to you and your fans,
oh yeah we beat you in superbowl
5 with earl morrall......

I don't have a problem with a team if they're successful. It's when that team becomes arrogant and the fans become pompous and arrogant as well. I have a problem with Yankees fans because many are so sure they're going to win the World Series. Many of them have no idea that the Yankees came from the original Orioles of the late 1800s and early 1900s. The old O's moved to New York in 1903 and were called the Highlanders only to be renamed the Yankees several years later. I hate the Colts and their fans because they tore out the heart of Baltimore when Irsay hijacked them. I wasn't even born yet, but it makes me so mad and is more evidence to how the "man" in the major sports like to take advantage of Baltimore and steal our teams. Washington stole the Baltimore Bullets. I can't stand Washington fans because they deal in absolutes all the time. I go to high school with many Washington fans and they panic when they lose a game. They are ready to fire the GM, coach, and completely rebuild the team. New England fans can't handle success. They are so pompous and arrogant. Remember how the refs handed the Pats the Monday Night game in '07.
This is another example of the "man" being out to get us. How many games can you count that the Ravens lost on a bad call? Many, because the "man" recognizes we don't play flashy, soft, "finesse" football (the favored teams being Indy, New England, Dallas, all of which are finesse teams). The "man" wants higher scoring games that will draw better ratings, that will result in more money. The "man" is out to get us because we don't play to their liking and B'More isn't rich and pompous like Boston, New York, Washington, or Indy. Baltimore is rough and hardnosed. It's been that way and always will be. So I think it goes beyond sports it's between cities. It's about civic pride. What else good do we have. Nothing but high unemployment, high drug use, high muder rate. For these reasons I hate it when any other fans complain or boast about their team. They need to ask themselves do they know how it feels to be the underdog, to have their teams stolen?

i hate the red sox and everything to do with them

Yeah, and we ain't crazy about Anonymous posters either.

Go Red Sox.

Sports hate is unique. It rarely ever manifests in action. If it did, there would be riots in sports stadiums every night. It's really an attitude rather than a visceral emotion.
Having said that I HATE the Sox and their fans, the Yankees because it's as American as apple pie and cheating on your taxes, and the Deadskins. I can't help but think the Steeler diaspora indicates a miserable quality of life in the Steel City. And why did so many come here?

At this point in time I pray for the day we take back Camden Yards from that pestilence known as the Red Sox Nation.

Last but not least, even the Israeli-Palestinian kind of hate cannot top my and my wife's hate for the Puke Blue Devils. I know God exists solely because the Maryland Terrapins occasionally beat the snot out of the Pukies.

What teams do I feel the most passionate about beating?

. New York Yankees
. Indianapolis Colts
. Pittsburgh Steelers
. Karl Rove
. Denver Broncos
. Duke

Did I just read someone said the Red Sox are the best because they're jerks? Wow, what a moron and once again another reason why I hate Red Sox fans

I have been really surprised by the articles, blogs, and comments I've read in this paper over the past few days concerning the hatred Baltimore fans feel for Washington fans.

Perhaps I can't understand it due to the fact that I'm one of those Orioles/Redskins fans, born in Maryland and raised in Northern Virginia at such a time when these were the natural hometown teams. I've grown up passionately loving both my 'Skins and my O's, reserving my "hatred" for the Dallas Cowboys, the New York Yankees, and in recent years, the Boston Red Sox. (I guess I pretty well don't tolerate any of my teams' other divisional rivals, either.)

When Baltimore got the Ravens, I thought it was nice that the city finally had a franchise again. I didn't root for them, necessarily, but I had no reason to hate them. I enjoyed watching them dismantle the Giants in the Super Bowl a few years back, to be sure. But, to me, they were just another AFC team I had no care about one way or the other. The Ravens, for me, might as well be the Jacksonville Jaguars. I just simply don't think much about them.

Now, I should say that all of this applies in exactly the same manner to the Washington Nationals. I'm happy the city of Washington has a team for its own sake, but it means nothing to me whatsoever; I'm an Orioles fan. (As hard as that is. Especially living where I now do, in Connecticut, where everyone who is not a Yankees fan is a Sox fan.)

So, anyway, the fact that "my kind" is apparently so reviled by Baltimore Ravens fans, who would likely stand with me and cheer for the same baseball team, is a little confusing.

Whatever, though. If that's how you want to spend your time and energy, knock yourselves out.

I HATE THE STINKIN RAVENS!!!!!!! GO REDSKINS!!!!!

It's pretty stupid to get worked up over sports to the point that you loathe another team. People sure like to pound their chest over an unwarranted feeling of victory when "their" team wins. The fan had nothing to do with the actual winning, so the more ferocious the cheering, the more idiotic the fan. It makes for annoying fans, and the reality is they're just not too bright. Seems Boston is currently king in this regard.

I'm a Red Sox fan and I hate Red Sox fans - not as much as Yankee fans, but almost...

It takes a lot of energy to hate! The Red Sox are going to be great for a long time. If you want to hate the team or the fans you are wasting your own energy and only hurting yourselves. We don't care! We are enjoying our teams successes! I wish every sports fan could have what we have in Boston now.

Syracuse Lacrosse.

Since the 1st game I ever watched - the '88 final eked out by one goal over our beloved Blue Jays, up to last year's disappointment.

Dynamic program, and a great rivalry with the Hop.

The fans help make the Final Four what it is, they travel so well.

Hate the Bosox and the Yankee teams? The answer is no I respect them and their talent, also the excitment their lineups provide. Hate their fan base? Most definetly. Heres why, both of these teams fans show up in great numbers to opposing teams home venues. They drink heavily, they get surly. They heckle home teams fans when they win. They moan, and remind people that they win championships when they lose. Perhaps what irks me most of all is they think they are hated because they win, not because of their poor sportsmanship.